Mexican Señoritas

Mexico is the home of a large number of orchids, a few of these genera are: Barkeria, Brassia, Catasetum, Chysis, Cuitlauzina, Encyclia, Euchile, Laelia, Lycaste, Oncidium and Stanhopea with some occurring only in Mexico and others are represented by one or two species, with the majority of their cousins growing farther south. The tropic of cancer runs through roughly the geographical middle of Mexico, giving it a tropical climate. Because of its mountainous terrain, major stretches of this country are semi-deserts with continuous sunshine – lovely for the tourists!. There are very few orchids that belong in the desert area, like the diminutive Mexipedium xerophyticum – a close relative to Phragmipediums. What is left of the natural vegetation, including orchids, covers only a rather small part and the plants have adapted to long dry seasons without rain.

Reading up on cultural advice for these orchids, the long dry rest, with some scant misting is always emphasized. Yes, many people go to Mexico in the winter because it doesn’t rain there. Uninterrupted sunshine is what the tourists want – and get. The orchids too get this uninterrupted sunshine. How can they stay alive?

When I try to do as the books say and not water these plants for 4 – 6 months, only giving them an occasional careful misting, they go dormant and STAY dormant, never to bloom for me. There is not just a Cuitlauzina drying out beyond hope; a lot of other orchids from Mexico have been on my “Don’t Buy” list for the same reason. When we plant Lycastes, Oncidiums and Brassias, they usually go into pots, into a potting mix that may hold a bit of humidity. We try to help those “difficult” species like Barkeria, Catasetum, Chysis, Cuitlauzina pendula, Euchile citrina and Euchile mariae by mounting them on slabs or sticks, because they are so fussy. There they cannot be over-watered and will have a better chance to get their total dry rest. Thus they go to their “eternal rest”. What was I doing wrong?

Then there came this revelation: if you look at the front cover of the April 2007 Orchids magazine, you will see a charming photograph of an inflorescence of Cuitlauzina pendula. Inside the magazine, there is a very informative article about this plant’s history and at the end, there are cultural notes from the author, Dr. Rudolf Jenny and more notes written by Dr. Wilford Neptune. There I had my answer.

It is true that in their native haunts, at high altitudes, on leafless trees, the orchids never get a drop of rain, sometimes for 6 months! But here is the secret: All night long, there is fog and in the morning, everything is covered in dew. The plants don’t get their water as rain during the day or night, but rather as dew during the night. And then during daytime, the hot sun dries them off again. But they do not go without any water for six month!

Thanks to Drs. Jenny and Wilson, I shall try again to grow those Mexican Señoritas and I shall provide the dew for them, in the form of daily early morning misting. Regular watering and fertilizing can start once the new growth is about 10 cm long. I just hope that this treatment will produce Sleeping Beauties that will bloom again – do they just need that dewy kiss to live?

Ingrid Schmidt-Ostrander - Canadian Orchid Congress