# Ludisia Discolor (Jewel Orchid)



## B&Y (Mar 10, 2007)

My Jewel orchid is getting extremely large and it's throwing off new plants. I am interested in cutting it back and or removing the new plants. I have attached some pictures so that you can get an idea of what I am talking about. I appreciate the help. 


Best Regards,

B&Y


This is the mother plant and a smaller new plant








This is the newest baby that has just popped up









A closer view


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## B&Y (Mar 10, 2007)

Any suggestions on how to remove the daughter plant and about cutting it back, if it's possible?

B&Y


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2007)

Do not remove the daughter plant. Once the larger plant has grown to a certain point it will bloom if conditions are right, and then it will slowly die off. If you cut the daughter plants, there will be nothing left to replace the old one. If you want to keep the plant small, cut the old growth when you see a descent leaf growth on the daughter plants.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Obviously you've not told my L. d. var. 'alba' the news that it should die off... not only is it sending out new branches, but new sprouts on the branch that bloomed! Most orchids I know of don't die off after blooming (like broms do) tho I do know the branch will not continue to grow longer after it's bloomed... evidently my alba is getting around that by sending a new lead on that stem out the side... I tend to hack up my jewels so often that I don't get them blooming as often as I'd like (trying to get them more established) and the alba is the first one I've let do it's own thing, so I'm not totally sure...

Jewels are easy to split up due to their rambling habit. Most people have not seen a fully developed clump of jewel orchids, so they don't realize how big they can get! I've had discolor tank over a 10 gallon tank easily. Like most creepers, they run their stems over the ground until they find a suitable surface to dig in roots (discolor typically inhabits rocky areas where it will ramble around finding spots to root) - which is good for you because you can basically chop off these runners and root them easily. I prefer them to have 4 leaves before trimming, but your older runner could be done if it really needed it, but it may not establish itself as fast or as well. They can be rooted in water, but I prefer rooting them on sphagnum moss... I can then transfer the plant by just picking it up, let it bring along the moss it's grown into, and it on top of the substrate where I want it to grow  You don't need to "plant" the stem, instead just lay it on top of moist sphagnum moss. It will root and then orient it's leaves upwards and grow like madness. Best place to cut is below where the lowest leaf you want included is attached to the stem, just above the leaf you want there. Another note - more runners will be produced from what is left on the plant! No rooting hormones needed.










The red line on the pic is where you'd want to cut it... many times you can snap it because the stems are so fleshy, but I always use scissors to get it just where and how I want it.


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## B&Y (Mar 10, 2007)

Wow, thanks Corey! Your information is exactly what I was looking for! This will help, I'm sure. The only other question I have is where there is an even smaller daughter plant that is about 2"-3" away from the mother...Do I wait until it gets a bit bigger to cut it below that bottom most leaf? The bigger one you marked in red on the picture was great and I now know exactly where to cut it. Thanks for all you help!


B&Y


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

No problem 

Yes, you'll have to wait until it's about the size of the larger offshoot before you should cut it for a successful resulting plantlet.


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