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I was given a plant by someone over the weekend and I think it may be an Orchid but I'm not sure whether it is or what type it is - please can someone assist?
As you can see by the photos, it's potted in soil and it has been standing outside over a long period of time. I presently have 2 Phal and a dendrobium Orchid, they are potted in moss / wood chips and they remain indoors, so if this new plant is in fact an Orchid, I have absolutely no idea on how to care for it. Your assistance would be grately appreciated!
Hi Taryn. From your pictures...Yes you have an orchid. It is kinda hard to tell exactly which one without blooms, but it looks a great deal like an Oncidium/Oncidium alliance plant. It is also difficult to find clear pics of the actual plants as most focus on the blooms. Here is some info for you. This is generally the time of year when Oncidiums like Sharry Baby start to form spikes and are usually in full bloom by late April/early May.
Yes, and the third photo also, but they are still two different orchids, In my opinion. The pseudobulbs are as different as the leaves. As it happens, I have 6 Cyms on my porch, and orchid leaves aren't as variable in the early stages as many plants are.The ones that travel via rhizomes can easily mingle with others.
Agreed,. And since it is planted in soil, I agree it is likely a Cymbidium...as for the other growth, I am not sure. I grow orchids fairly well, I am just not that good at looking at leaves and offering ID's.
The shape of the pseudobulb should be a clue to an expert, but that's not me. With 20,000 species out there, it's pretty hard to get even the species without a flower to look at.
I googled "orchid species with square pseudo bulb" and got Bulbophyllum, so that may be it. The rest of the description seem to fit some of the Bulbos.Of course there are 3,000 species to look through.
Haha!!! Yes, my two doggies are just as interested in my new plant as I am! I have to keep them away from it!! Thank you so much all for the pointers! My sister also went to an orchid expert in JHB and he said that the one with the longer leaves is a Cymbidium but he does not know what the other is and he'll only be able to tell when it's in bloom. My thinking is that they've lived together for a few years now so I will treat both plants as I should the Cymbidium and they should be fine. Yay, I'm so excited!! I've just become an Orchid collector, they're absolutely magnificent and here I'm given two for free, YAY!! I'll keep you all posted when they bloom.
