Laelia lobata

Also known as: Lobed Laelia in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: Brazil

General Information

Lobed Laelia is a sympodial cool to warm growing epiphytic orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to Brazil.

Plant Description

Sympodial. Grows to 50cm. Each new growth has a single oblong shaped leaf that grows to 30cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 10-20cm. The plant tends to climb or sprawl with each new growth

Flowers

Numerous long lasting, fragrant blossoms appear during Summer and Spring

Fragrance

The orchid is fragrant.

Blooming Season

• Spring
• Summer

Substrate(s)

• Coarse

Care Notes

These orchids like to be kept on the dry side, but may need to be watered daily during warm weather, and prefer a well draining mix or also do well mounted, provided they can be watered regularly.

These are quite a forgiving orchid, there are no special requirements to get this orchid to flower, just good care and consistent conditions. Larger plants may be more fussy and can react poorly to change; a poorly timed repotting, a pest infection or an unusually hot day can set them back for a couple of years. However, even plants that have been treated poorly can thrive, and if they are set back they often recover much stronger then they would otherwise be.

Fragrant:

• IsFragrant

Climate

Grows at low to high elevations. Rainfall ranges from 41mm to 137mm per day, heaviest in June and lightest in January. Humidity ranges from 74% to 81%, highest in September and lowest in July. Temperature ranges from 14C to 27C, highest in August (20C to 27C) and lowest in January (14C to 21C).

Watering

Be sure to provide strong air circulation after watering to prevent fungal and bacterial infections from water sitting on leaves.

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

Due to the growth nature of these plants they are best mounted onto cork, tree fern slabs, or even trees if the climate suits. Water regularly especially in hot weather.

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.