I have a ballerina epidendrum hybrid. Yellow flowers.

It is now about 80cm/2.5ft high, with leaves about 40cms/1.2ft off the
ground on three stems. There are five older reeds which are about
15cm/0.5ft long which were cut where the naked flower reed started off
above the leaves, as well as the 3-4 first-year 2-3cm/1in stubs. I
don't know how this hybrid will behave next year. Will it want to grow
bigger? I don't want to know how the parents look, since the
ballerina hybrids are described as "compact growers" compared to their
parents.

I need to repot the thing when it has finished flowering, if only to
stabilize it in a larger pot. The current pot is a 13cm/5in clay
affair, the plant now has a diameter of 30cm/1ft.

Some people say to cut back all the stems to about 10cm. Do I really
want to remove 2/3 of the foilage from this year's stems? Do I cut
away the "back stems"?

I don't need to split it to get more plants - I already have three
smaller plants from keikis which are growing like crazy.

Geir

On 21 Feb 2003 16:44:02 +0100, Geir Harris Hedemark
(Geir Harris Hedemark) wrote in Message ID
:

I have a ballerina epidendrum hybrid. Yellow flowers.

It is now about 80cm/2.5ft high, with leaves about 40cms/1.2ft off the
ground on three stems. There are five older reeds which are about
15cm/0.5ft long which were cut where the naked flower reed started off
above the leaves, as well as the 3-4 first-year 2-3cm/1in stubs. I
don't know how this hybrid will behave next year. Will it want to grow
bigger?

The plant should produce new canes from the base of the last years
canes. Each new growth should produce a terminal inflorescence, and
with proper culture, it should provide colorful blooms for many
months.

I don't want to know how the parents look, since the
ballerina hybrids are described as "compact growers" compared to their
parents.

I'm not familiar with Epidendrum ballerina, but standard reed-stem
Epis (secundum, ibaguense, radicans, enlongatum, ...) grow up to about
36 inches in height, and the inflorescences can add another ~30
inches.

I need to repot the thing when it has finished flowering, if only to
stabilize it in a larger pot. The current pot is a 13cm/5in clay
affair, the plant now has a diameter of 30cm/1ft.

The rule of thumb is to pot for the size of the root mass not the
foliage. Choosing a pot size that provides an additional inch (or
inch and a half) of new potting medium all around the old roots is
normal practice.

Some people say to cut back all the stems to about 10cm. Do I really
want to remove 2/3 of the foilage from this year's stems?

No. It depends on what you want to achieve.

Do I cut away the "back stems"?

If the plant is getting too tangled looking, you can safely remove a
few of the _older_ reed canes at their base without materially
reducing the plant's vigor.

Plants derive their strength from the amount of leaf surface, roots
and biomass they possess. If you want the plant to grow to the utmost
of its potential, you would not remove _any_ live growth. If you want
to intentionally reduce the plant's vigor and rate of growth to
contain it within prescribed limits, you can cut it back.

Only the new canes will produce a terminal inflorescence. Those canes
that have ceased to flower will only produce new flowers on keikis.
Those keikis will sprout on the nodes nearest the old terminal
inflorescence. These can quickly turn into an untidy looking tangle
if not removed.

I don't need to split it to get more plants - I already have three
smaller plants from keikis which are growing like crazy.

Geir

If the old, non-blooming flower spikes are left in place, you will
have many more keikis.

On 21 Feb 2003 18:55:20 +0100, Geir Harris Hedemark
(Geir Harris Hedemark) wrote in Message ID
:

Larry Dighera writes:

The rule of thumb is to pot for the size of the root mass not the
foliage. Choosing a pot size that provides an additional inch (or
inch and a half) of new potting medium all around the old roots is
normal practice.

But how do I stop the whole thing from tipping over other than
planting it in someting substantial? The plant has reached about 4
pounds now, and a substantial bit of that is located high up.

Wet clay pots are considerably heaver than plastic pots. Because they
dry-out faster than plastic, you can use a larger size clay pot for
the same size root mass and achieve similar results. There is also
the possibility of using the increased weight of terracota-pellet
media to assist in stabilizing, but being characterized as
terrestrial, reed-stem Epidendrums may not thrive so readily in it.

Do I cut away the "back stems"?
If the plant is getting too tangled looking, you can safely remove a
few of the _older_ reed canes at their base without materially
reducing the plant's vigor.

The new growths have to grow outwards for a bit to get around the
older canes. Is that normal?

Yes. Often, new growths occur near the base of older canes, like
large keikis, also.

I had this idea that I would leave the three canes from last year
intact, and one or two from the year before that (that is 3-4
10-15cm/4-6in canes removed from the center of the plant, or about 25%
of the foilage) to encourage it to grow new canes which go directly
upwards?

That sounds like a good plan. It will result in a tidier looking
plant. But, if you're more interested in growing a large specimen
plant in a minimum amount of time, I would not remove any live tissue,
with the possible exception of the flower spike above the point where
leaves cease.

Will there be additional keikis from nodes that have had keikis
removed from them already?

No. There is only one bud per node.

If the old, non-blooming flower spikes are left in place, you will
have many more keikis.

Yikes. Right, so I want to cut back the old spikes like I would on a
phal, then?

Yes, unless you want to grow the keikis into flowering size for gifts.

Do keikis "cost" much for the plant, by the way?

If the plant is making keikis, it's not using that energy for growth
in other areas. So, I would estimate the cost in growth as a result
of keiki production to be proportional to the size of the keiki over
the time period for its growth.

Will there be fewer new canes if the plant is busy growing keikis,

The significance of the effects of keiki production may be negligible
or not, depending on the ratio of the total mass of the keieis to the
mass of the rest of the plant.

or will there be one new cane per rhizome end no matter what?

Geir

That's probably a safe assumption.

Larry Dighera writes:
Wet clay pots are considerably heaver than plastic pots. Because they
dry-out faster than plastic, you can use a larger size clay pot for
the same size root mass and achieve similar results. There is also
the possibility of using the increased weight of terracota-pellet
media to assist in stabilizing, but being characterized as
terrestrial, reed-stem Epidendrums may not thrive so readily in it.

Right. I will try to get a clay pot with a bit of extra height and
fill the bottom with rocks, then. That should also increase the
availability of air to the roots.

That sounds like a good plan. It will result in a tidier looking
plant. But, if you're more interested in growing a large specimen
plant in a minimum amount of time, I would not remove any live tissue,
with the possible exception of the flower spike above the point where
leaves cease.

I am mostly interested in having it stay the same size, bit looking
tidier. My living room can only take a limited number of orchids of
that size.

Thanks for the answers.

Geir