Laelia crispa
Also known as: Crisped Laelia in the subfamily: Epidendroideae
Native to: Brazil
General Information
Crisped Laelia is a sympodial orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to Brazil.
Plant Description
Sympodial. Grows to 33-60cm. Each new growth has a single erect rigid, lance shaped, oblong shaped leaf that grows to 5-30cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 18-30cm
Flowers
Numerous long lasting, fragrant blossoms appear during Summer and Spring
Fragrance
The orchid is fragrant.
Blooming Season
- Spring
- Summer
Substrate(s)
- Coarse
- Medium
- Bark
- Charcoal
- Perlite
- IsFragrant
Climate
The orchids are well adapted for hot weather, accompanied by sporadic, unpredictable rainfall and a generally dry climate. They can tolerate a lot of neglect as they are quite used to it, however they can be prone to underwatering and may collapse in cold, wet weather.
For this reason it's best to dedicate a sheltered, protected area for them where the watering can be controlled, such as a corner of a greenhouse or in a sheltered balcony. They can also do well hung near the roof of a shadehouse or sheltered greenhouse where they receive the extra heat but not as much water as other plants.
Grows at low to high elevations. Rainfall ranges from 20mm to 282mm per day, heaviest in July and lightest in January. Temperature ranges from 11C to 25C, highest in August (17C to 25C) and lowest in January (11C to 19C).Fertiliser
Apply liquid based fertiliser per recommended directions. They can benefit from a high phosphate fertiliser leading up to flowering season, followed by a high nitrogen fertiliser when new growth appears, and a balanced fertiliser in other times. These orchids can also tolerate slow release fertiliser applied 1-2 pellets per cup (250ml) of media.
Apply fertiliser regularly at half strength year round. Use a high Nitrogen fertiliser during Spring and Summer. Use a high Phosphorous fertiliser during Summer.Potting
This plant does very well in baskets or suspended pots This plant does well mounted to Cork slabs. Repotting is best done in a pot the same size or only slightly larger than the previous one.
