collector’s item

Ascocentrum garayi By Martin Motes A Bright Exposure is Key to Successfully Flowering this Relative

1 greg all i kas

Ascocentrum garayi packs more brilliant color into a small space than nearly any orchid. Four to six hyacinthlike, 4-inch (10-cm) plumes of golden orange, perfectly formed emanating from a 3-inch (7.5-cm) pot earn this species a place in any orchid collection. Long confused with the Javanese species Ascocentrum minia- tum, Asctm. garayi is an Indochinese quickly distinguished by its shorter, thicker foliage and overall more compact growth habit. The lip shape also differs from Asctm. miniatum. 2 The key to the greg all i kas simple cultivation [1] This is the true Ascocentrum minia- of ascocentrums Outdoors in tropical and subtropical also lies in an un- areas, Asctm. garayi is typically grown in tum, a native of Java, and not the plant derstanding of its slatted wood or plastic baskets to allow properly referred to now as Ascocentrum plant architecture. for the rapid drying that it needs following garayi. The narrow straight lip and red- Culture is similar heavy rains. In temperate greenhouses, on dish coppery color of Asctm. miniatum windowsills or under lights, clay pots are to that for dishtinguish it from Asctm. garayi. Shown (from which ge- more practical. These can also be partially filled with bark, charcoal or wood pieces here is Asctm. miniatum ‘Mary Motes’, Martin Motes nus DNA evidence CHM/AOS. Grower: Motes Orchids. shows little differ- relatively large for the 3–4 inch (7.5–10 cm) ence), but the short thick of Asctm. pots that usually contain this diminutive [2] diminutive size and ease of culture make garayi denote a plant that needs high light species. In a mixed collection of orchids it Asctm. garayi a favorite. You will find this intensity. It should be grown in the brightest is advisable always to water Asctm. garayi orchid also offered for sale as Asctm. min- part of the greenhouse, windowsill or light (and the other ) first and then at iatum. Ascocentrum garayi is distributed garden. Like vandas, Asctm. garayi does best the end of the watering session, last. Weekly in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Mature to biweekly applications of Peters Excel® with abundant water but should dry quickly. produce many keikis, making it an Also as with vandas, the best advice under 15-5-15, plus additional applications of po- excellent choice for specimen culture. A all growing conditions is to water with two tassium nitrate and magnesium sulfate will or three passes until the roots turn overall keep the plants well nourished. Michigan well-grown plant should have thick, rigid dark green. Water again when the roots have State University 19-4-23 is also recom- leaves liberally sprinkled with purple an- returned to a white appearance. mended. Like most other Aeridinae, Asctm. thocyanin spots. Grower: Greg Allikas.

144 OrchidS MARch 2011 www.AOS.org 3 4 jo hn so n larry greg all i kas garayi does best at temperatures between Ascocenda Motes Goldpiece crossed to [3] Ascocentrum garayi is still commonly 60 F (15 C) and 86 F (30 C). Growth will the deep purple Ascocenda John De Biase confused with Asctm. miniatum as in the be slowed or stopped at temperatures below (Kasem’s Delight × Yip Sum Wah) pro- beautifully grown Asctm. garayi ‘Mary’s 50 F (10 C) and above 94 F (34 C). duced the even more variable-colored and Easter Basket’, CCM/AOS, shown here. Ascocentrum garayi has been much highly awarded Ascocenda Bartholomew Ascocentrum miniatum is a larger plant improved in quality by selections Motes. with longer more narrow leaves than in both Thailand and Florida. There is no Ascocenda Motes Goldpiece has been Asctm. garayi. Grower: Jean Wilson. reason for anyone to seek wild-collected the most successful parent of standard [4] Ascocenda Motes Goldpiece ‘Mary plants. In addition to improving the species, Ascocenda hybrids. It is also the most breeders in both Thailand and Florida have successful parent of new lines of breeding Motes’, AM/AOS (Ascda. Sagarik × created numerous colorful, compact hybrids using Vanda lamellata to lengthen the spike V. Filipino), with a boldly marked, vividly that are exceptionally well suited to culti- and separate the flowers on densely packed colored, full-formed flower, garnered a vation under all circumstances and highly hybrids from Asctm. garayi. Perhaps the silver medal at the 18th World Orchid desirable for their free-flowing nature. finest of these is Ascocenda Motes Burning Conference. Grower: Motes Orchids. An early line of highly successful Sands, recognized both by American Or- breeding in Thailand arose from Ascocenda chid Society and World Orchid Conference Pralor (Meda Arnold × Asctm. garayi). judges for its perfectly arranged brilliantly This hybrid consistently transmits the colored flowers. Vanda lamellata has been golden-orange color and the desirably com- also successfully paired to ascocendas of pact growth habit of Asctm. garayi to its the Ascda. Pralor lines to produce more silver and bronze medals at the 18th World progeny. Both Ascocenda Su-Fun Beauty vividly colored orange flowers on longer Orchid Conference in Dijon, France, where (V. Bangkapi × Pralor) and Ascocenda stems, such as in Ascocenda Motes Ginger Vanda Mary Motes (Blue Grig × tessel- Udomchai (V. Nam Phung × Parlor) are Hot (V. lamellata var. boxallii × Motes lata) garnered the trophy for Best Vanda famous for brightening greenhouses with Goldenrod), Ascocenda Fulford’s Gold in Show. He is an accredited AOS judge their nearly constant bloom. The color (Udomchai × V. lamellata) and Ascocenda and author of three books: Vandas: Their dominance of Asctm. garayi in these hy- Karina Luciano Schmidt (Fuchs Inferno × History, Botany, and Culture, Florida Or- brids makes distinguishing between these V. lamellata). These vigorous hybrids con- chid Growing and Florida Vanda Growing lovely orange flowers difficult. sistently produce their long stems of glow- plus articles in Orchid Digest, The Orchid A more distinct and varied line of ing gold flowers several times per year. Review, Orchids and elsewhere. Motes, in breeding began in Thailand with Ascocenda Both Ascocentrum garayi and its hy- collaboration with David Roberts, PhD, of Sagarik (V. sanderiana × Asctm. garayi). brids have earned a well deserved place in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is working This hybrid when breed to the V. sand- the hearts and collections of orchid growers on a monograph of the genus Vanda. He eriana-like Vanda Filipino (sanderiana × worldwide. is looking forward to celebrating his 35th Lenavat) produced the golden-masked Ascda. anniversary of marriage to Mary Motes, Motes Goldpiece, a winner of both AOS and Martin Motes, PhD, a second-genera- author of the widely praised memoir of international recognition for its nearly perfect tion orchidist, has been growing vandas Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Kosova, and the cult, form and rich color. When Ascda. Motes in South Florida for more than 50 years. best-selling comic novel Orchid Territory Goldpiece was crossed to Ascda. Motes He has bred hundreds of new hybrids and based on the arcane orchid world of South Mandarin a range of color beyond the gold of received scores of American Orchid Society Florida. 25000 Southwest 162nd Avenue, Asctm. garayi emerged in the highly awarded awards, including three FCCs and three Redland, Florida 33031 (e-mail martin- Ascocenda Miami Mandarin.” Awards of Quality. His hybrids swept gold, [email protected]).

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