Oerstedella centradenia

picture taken february 19th, 2007

Oerstedella centradenia [Rchb.f] Rchb.f 1852
syn: Epidendrum centropetalum (Rchb.f 1852), Epidendrum centradenia (Rchb. f. 1865), Oerstedella aberrans (Hamer 1983)

Acquired: Kringveiling, Best, mei 2003
Size: flowering size

Description:
Sympodial. Reedlike stems about 50 cm high. Easily producing keiki's from the leaf axils of the upper third of the stem.
Stems are thin, less then 5 mm across, densily covered with short purple brown hairs. Leaves alternating in two rows, 5 to 7 cm long, up to 8 mm wide. Dull green with purple, slightly haired, under side. Leaves are partialy decidious.
From the apex of the stem arises a racemose inflorescens, approximatly 10 cm long, sometimes branched. The inflorescens bears up to 15 flowers.
Flower is 25 mm across. Sepals and petals pink, 12 mm long, the sepals a bit wider than the petals. The lip is 18 mm long, pink, with a white heart. Lib is three lobed. Side lobes pointed and sideways connecting with the column. The midlobe is deeply bilobed at the apex. The center of the lip has a callus, resembling a nectargland.
The colum is 6 mm long and looks like a lip a small lip as well. Together with the sidelobes of the real lip it looks like it has a tubular lip as you find in many laelias and cattleyas. The reproductive part of the column is only 2 mm long and thus really hidden inside the flower.

Culture:
I have the plant mounted on a slab, made of rockwool and chickenwire. Normally I would bend back last years growth to the slab, thus giving the keikis a mount to grow on and then cutting them loose from the parents plant. In that way you get a large specimen very easily. Last year I did not bend the stems back but let the keikis on the top of the plant free in the air, hoping for a more vigourous bracnhing specimen. I am not very happy with that since te plant is not flowering as rich as it was before. For some reason the real basal growths have not developed as well as they did in other years. So I will be cutting them of this year. Small advantage is that in this way I will have some propagations.
When in growth the plants are heavily watered (roots always moist to wet) and regurlarly fed (weekly weakly). When the flowers start to arise, watering is reduced, letting the roots become dry between two waterings. During flowering and several weeks afterwards the plants have a sort of restperiod (no active growth).
The plant is temperature tolerant. Intermediate to warm suites it best, but it can stand temperatures down to 5ºC for short periods. It does well in moderate shade, but more light doesn't harm it and probably increases the amount of flowers. I have never found sunburn on the leaves although I have grown it outside in full sun as well.

History:

• 2007 flowering: february 4th - ??