Grammatophyllum - culture sheet
Grammatophyllum are the family that contain the largest orchid in the world.
Gram. speciosum is in the Guiness book of world records as reaching 2000
pounds with 7 foot leaves and 9 foot flower sprays.
The varieties that we sell are large but manageable reaching leaf lengths of
3 feet and flower sprays of 4-5 feet. Although, we always keep a
couple of speciosum around for those who want one.
Gram martae is a Hershey color chocolate with bronze accents. It
produces a tremendous amount of flowers. It's flowers are one of the
larger flowers in the family.
These are easy to grow if given enough water and fertilizer. They increase
in size rapidly if re-potted into larger containers. They have a tendency to drop leaves if grown too cool over the winter, but recover rapidly when growing season starts.
They like high sunlight to set flowers. Flower inflorescences will normally have
30-50 flowers from 3-4 inches each. One AOS awarded plant had 32
inflorescences and 367s flowers.
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Gram scriptum var citreon is a light lemon green without any markings (left
photo).
The type form of scriptum is the leopard pattern. (right photo)
Gram scriptum var Kiilani is a newly introduced miniature. It flowers with the
same coloration as its big brother and yet seldom gets over 10 inches and
flowers in a two inch pot.
You have to look close at the comparison photo. The Kiilani is hardly bigger
than the height of the basket. It is in front of the basket
Grammatophyllum have several unique growing characteristics. They drop
leaves when cold but they grow back rapidly. The can be grow to specimen
size rapidly with enough water, fertilizer, light and frequent re-potting into
larger pots.
They are very unique in that they have two distinct types of roots for different
purposes.
The thick normal roots grow down into the medium and function
like any other orchids' roots. The thinner hairy roots that grow up should
never be forced into the medium. In the wild their purpose is to catch
debris such as leaves and as the debris decomposes it feeds the plant.
The roots grow so fast it is not necessary to untangle the thick roots before
re-potting. It is probably impossible to do anyway.
We like potting in baskets as they are more stable than pots and the thin
roots will grow out the side and up. Do not trust the hock on normal hangers as
they will straighten under the weight and drop your plant. Baskets can be
placed on a table similar to a pot without a hanger .
Another unique characteristic is that in order to grow larger the plant will
discard old pseudobulbs that have lost their leaves. Most orchids do this
but Grammatophyllum will also discard center bulbs. They do this by the
bulb turning brown and rotting rapidly. (left photo) The important point is to know
this is natural and not worry the plant is dying. The pseudobulb will get
soft and if squeezed stick of rot. Unlike other orchids the rot will not
spread to the healthy parts of the plant. If left alone, the rot will dry
into a papery shell. (right photo) It then can easily be removed or if left it will
decompose and feed the plant. (bottom photo)
