"Bruce Rogers has a passion for... Sobralias-- the... tallest [not all...] orchids in the world...
Rogers has been raising, hybridizing and decorating with orchids for more than 25 years, but it's the Sobralias(sew- BRAIL-eyah [Well, English Latin...]) that have captured his heart... at next weekend's Pacific Orchid Exposition... He will bring many examples... which he says will thrive in California gardens. ... [Bruce said :] it was love at first sight. I had little glimpses of them from afar, illustrations from books and magazines. My first encounter with a blooming plant left me speechless... Years ago, I was asked to decorate a large urn as a backdrop for a statue unveiling. I used a large eight-foot Sobralia rogersiana in full bloom, and stood aside ready to receive praise and compliments. No one there had ever seen a Sobralia before. People thought I had tied Cattleya orchid flowers onto a bamboo plant so well that the wires could not be seen. No one believed it was a real plant! ... Sobralias... grow very well here and can be found in older gardens and estates... the flowering season lasts all summer and into the fall. They can be grown both in pots and in the ground, in sun or shade, rain or shine. There are Sobralias for every microclimate that occurs in our area, from the warmer areas to the cooler spots. Sobralia macrantha seems the most adaptable with blooming plants reported from the top of the Santa Cruz mountains to the flats of Fresno, the hills of Marin to Santa Rosa and everywhere south. ... The scarcity of Sobralias has kept them from the public eye. While they have been in private and civic gardens for many years, availability has always been a problem, as they are difficult to raise from seed and take from four to eight years to raise to flowering size. Sobralias only have a small window for dividing, which also hinders propagation. After working with several local laboratories with little success, my... friend Terry Root and I decided to form a nursery business specializing only in Sobralias... after much work we now have production numbers that can begin to satisfy demand. ... Once established, Sobralias are as tough as a jade plant or any other garden plant. They can take dirty water and dirty air. The only thing fussy about them is they can only be divided or repotted when showing both new growth and new roots... There is no other orchid genus that is so diversified in terms of size [?], from Sobralia elegans, which grows less than a foot tall to Sobralia altissima, which is over 40 feet tall. The most popular group, the field type with species such as xantholuca, macrantha veitchii and their hybrids grow from 2 to 6 feet tall. There are new hybrids, which grow from 2 to 4 feet, making them ideal for patios and gardens. ... I often tell people that Sobralia flowers are so big, you can use them to wrap gifts, as tablecloths, or as clothing for small children. The modern Sobralia field types have huge Cattleya-looking flowers from one to 10 inches across, with some species such as Sob. rosea and Sob. rogersiana having flowers as large as dinner plates. When you read orchid reports from Victorian times, you read about even larger Sobralia flowers and one wonders what is now extinct in the wild [in the literature / smile...]. ... Sobralia flowers and plants are divided into two groups: the ephemeral group, where the flower lasts only one day, and in some cases just a morning, and the field group, where the flower lasts from three to 10 days. With both types, the individual canes carry many flowers that are displayed singularly, so the overall display lasts for many months with a mature plant carrying multiple canes. Some ephemeral species such as Sob. klotzscheana carry 20-plus flowers and bloom for over a year, although the jasmine scented flowers last only a day. The longest lasting flowers in the field group are probably Sob. undatocarinata and Sob. pulcherrima, with 10-day flowers, with five to seven flowers per stem, which give you two months of heaven. We are breeding for flower longevity also, and species such as these are very intriguing building blocks. ... Although I have seen them grown beautifully in full sun, I prefer morning sun or filtered shady afternoon sun. Water drainage must be perfect. Sobralias love water and when in active growth, it is hard to over-water. They also love fresh air. ... When... grown outside, pests leave these alone except when they are in flower. Snails and slugs will travel miles and lie, cheat and steal to get to the flowers... Either use a safe product like Sluggo, or take a little copper garden tape and wrap the stem below the buds or new growth. When grown inside as a house plant in dry conditions, one must watch for mites, but this is seldom a problem in California. ... with Sobralias it's all about the roots. A strong root system is key for success. You might hear from old garden talk that they need to be pot-bound to bloom well, but that is because usually a pot-bound plant will have a good root system. They do not have to be pot-bound, they just need good roots. If growing outside, plant Sobralias in raised beds and pre-check your drainage. ... Sobralias are like women [and men...], there are many kinds... To pick a single one as a favorite is impossible, so here are my three favorites. Sobralia fimbriata is an ephemeral type with beautiful dark green pleated leaves. The 2- to 3-foot plant blooms twice a year with pastel flowers with a beautiful fimbriated (fringed) lip. The fragrance is incredible and unique. It is the only orchid flower that I will pick and carry with me through the day just for the fragrance. Sobralia rogersiana var. Bolin is my obsession. Sobralia callosa is my favorite miniature. Perfect little flower, perfect little plant. It is truly a jewel of nature. ... I was not bitten by the orchid bug. I was assaulted by the orchid bug many, many moons ago. I've been growing, hybridizing and decorating with orchids for over 25 years. I began my professional career in the late 1970s when the city of Atlanta Parks Department hired me to work with its orchids in the greenhouses in Piedmont Park. Returning home to the Bay Area, I was hired by the Rod McLellan Co. as the head grower for the boarding department and to hybridize Vanda orchids. In the early 1980s, I left to start Bruce Rogers Orchids, an orchid consulting and management company based in San Francisco. In 2002, I joined Terry Root of the Orchid Zone and co-founded OzGardens, a business devoted exclusively to hybridizing and growing Sobralias... They will be available at the Pacific Orchid Exposition from several vendors and at the San Francisco Orchid Society sale table. This is probably the best venue in the world for Sobralias right now with species and hybrids, ephemeral and field types and both mature plants and seedlings. Sobralias can be found at nurseries such as Berkeley Horticulture Nursery, Flora Grubb Nursery and Sloat Nurseries in Marin and San Francisco. Large specimens can also be found at Living Green in San Francisco. In San Jose, Serene Orchids has Sobralia seedlings... expect to pay around $15 for a seedling in a three- to four-inch pot... in the entrance exhibit. We will have a few of the giants like Sob. calloglossa and Sob. cattleya and a few of the miniature and mid-sized hybrids. Elleanthus is a close relative to Sobralia, with identical foliage, but pine cone-shaped flowers, and they should have flowers (but the really big flowers don't come along until summer)... Growing orchids is one of the few socially acceptable art forms that men can get involved in and their masculinity is never questioned [except by...]." URL : http://www.mercurynews.com/lifeandstyleheadlines/ci_8342105 photo : ["Sobralia mirabilis"] http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2008/0223/20080223__orchids23~1_Gallery.JPG **************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
