# mini orchid for plant hat?



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Any orchid connoseiurs have ideas?

I wonder if any would work? They would need to be...

Fairly small and compact...something a few inches tall with thin strappy leaves wiuld be ideal...fleshy could be prone to breakage. This includes the bloom spike.

Tolerant of full sun and dry conditions.

Fast growing and inexpensive.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Look at Dockrillia and Tolumnia. Both are fleshy, but I don't think they're especially brtittle. The flower stalks will be much taller though. Maybe Bulbophyllum ambrosia? That one seems damn near indestructible.


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## bicyclephysics (Apr 26, 2013)

You're putting an orchid... on a hat? What about a tillandsia of some type?


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

bicyclephysics said:


> You're putting an orchid... on a hat? What about a tillandsia of some type?


He's done that twice already. Quite successfully too!

I can't wait to see what you come up with this time, Joe. I will definitely be following 

How about an Aerangis sp? I don't grow any, but I think many can take lots of sun and possibly drought. They grow slow though.... (i think)
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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

bicyclephysics said:


> You're putting an orchid... on a hat? What about a tillandsia of some type?


http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/195393-air-plants-car-3.html#post2079594


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Check out the SCADs thread for a pic of the hat in action. Gotta give u props on that one Joseph!


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 22, 2013)

Ceratostylis maybe? Or try barbosella or pleurothallis. How are you going to provide them with their climate needs?


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

bet there are lots of us who wanna see THAT hat....


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## Hobbes1911 (Mar 22, 2013)

How about a giant phalaenopsis in the middle of the hat? Or three along the edge? You could bare root them, get them from HD or Lowes and it would be fun looking!


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

They will need to be small to keep things lightweight and practical...this hat goes on hikes and the like.

Whatever it is it will need to like conditions that prevail on a hat...for the most part sunny and breezy...should grow alongside of xeric tillys.


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## cwb741 (Feb 16, 2012)

Neofinetia falcata would be my choose.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I settled on 3 possibilities.

Leptotes bicolor. This critter is pretty tender...so unlikely to work unless you baby the hat and live in the bay area or something.

Dockrillia rigida and striolata. I put some striolata strands on and they died but were bareroot...rigida has thinner roots that would be easier to keep moist....these two would be my top picks

Tolumnia. I have a tolumnia crumb that I stuck into the hat...I thought it died but lo and behold it is growing! I doubt it will flower successfully.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

So I mounted a dockrillia rigida to a little piece of scrubby pad and hygrolon with aluminum wire...this after abusing it for several months and drying out most of its roots...and lo and behold it is putting out new growth. Proof will be if it flowers on here.

Anyone here grow or know where I might obtain doc. Nugenti or doc. Linguiforme?

The tolumnia bit was misplaced and vanished but I think a small species that throws a short bloomspike would work...many of these dangle them like a foot away from the plant...


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

I think Dockrilla Linguiforme is the same as Dendrobian Linguiforme. If so J&L orchids has them...

Edit. You could also try Bulbophyllum kanburiense... These like to dry out and shoot out a spike and flower like you mentioned. Kind of like an angler fish lol 

Andy's Orchids has these...


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Haha a spike like that is exactly what I dont want. It will get windburned, snapped off or something quickly(over the summer the hat crossed the golden gate bridge with me on bike numerous times...a few times in winds strong enough that the brim would fold back and the hat stampede strap had to be clinched tightly to keep from having it blown off my head...surprisingly this didnt seem to phase the plants much). Flowers need to stay close to the plant.
Not sure how sun tolerant other ssp. Of orchids are. I can offer some shade for tiny pecies under the Tillandsia potentially but would much prefer species that can withstand full Tillandsia light levels.


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## cam1941 (Jan 16, 2014)

LoL You want one of the clumpers then like:

Den. Linguiforme
Den. Lichenastrum
Bulbo. Alagense large or small

There are so many more but some of them are to nice to put through this torture LoL


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

You know, a Pleurothallid that migh work well for you is Pleurothallis sertularioides. Although ISOPE says it is technically from wet areas, it seems to be pretty tolerant to drying out. Mine was quite dry over the summer and that didn't slow it's growing or blooming at all. It's flowers definitely won't be in the way either as they stay very close to the plant. It might be worth a shot 

John


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Den lichenastrum is a good bet! Maybe even on the same mount as rigidum to fill gaps.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Anyone able to track down species tgat grow alongside really xeric Tillandsia? Or even plants like stricta, aeranthos, and ionantha (aeranthos in particular does well...but all three of these grow in the harshest spots on the hat...although I have found a lot of variation in suitability among different varieties of these species)

I found a great picture of trichocentrum growing with Tillandsia xerographica...but that orchid is not suitable. Afew photos show cattleya growing near Tillandsia...no catts/laelia are small enough though. Hard to find info on how much light plants can take....lots of factors seem involved. 

I do have a couple supposedly fussy Tillandsia on the hat...Tillandsia pruinosa and T. Bulbosa mini brazil. Both supposedly **** cooler temps...bulbosa is rec'd for breezy terrariums and moister conditions but has proven pretty hardy on the hat...growing and all. By contrast crocata doesnt seem to like hat life. Strange.I keep these in spots where they get dappled shade and likely protection from the wind. So maybe something a little more sensitive like dinema could survive. Would have to be a mini mini but with blooms notable enough to be worth it.

I will be living in the bay area...right by sf for at least a couple years it looks like. So I bet I could get crazy...but id rather stick to hardy ones...

Oh yes...fragrance would be nice since in the end no strongly fragrant Tillandsia proved suitable for hat life.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

I also wonder if any other epiphytes might be worth trying.

What about a shingling dischidia?


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## gnathaniel (Mar 26, 2013)

Great project! Dischidias like hirsuta and astephana could be very cool, Dischidia in general seem very drought-tolerant once established. 

WRT orchids, I'd second Den. lichenastrum, along with its var. prenticei and the related Den. toressae. In Laeliinae look at species like C. (Sophronitis) cernua, Isabelia virginalis, and Isabelia (Sophronitella) violacea. If you see too much drought stress maybe try establishing plants on swatches of hygrolon or felt sewn to the hat? I think Dinema polybulbon would do great with some moisture assistance, in my experience it's highly tolerant of light and temperature extremes as long as I don't let it dry out too much.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Gnathaniel: How much space do you think a dischidia would need to produce enough roots? Trying to keep mounts as small as possible. Do you think they would actually grip the mesh on their own?(if not, you could use the other wiring on the hat to hold them down so that strands don't fall away from the hat and then get ripped off)

Yes-the plan for all the orchids is to mount them to pieces of brille pad and/or hygrolong. The D. rigida is on a 2 inch or so piece of brille pad underlaid with hygrolon. I figure put the hygrolon underneath so it holds moisture longer. 

I have some Dinema polybulbon that are getting eaten alive by moss in one of the tanks. I think I will try moving them onto the hat...they have been in very dim light so maybe to a windowsill first.

Here is a picture of the hat in action
https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=c7cdb056269b234b44e0895913125d7b&oe=56AF5BC7

And a view of the Dock. rigida
https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=f2fc3fa32b89227b25b8d996b4b2697a&oe=56F0CCD3

I am also seeing on ebay a few crosses involving Sophr. cerna. They look like they stay <2inches...perfect! Sophr. cerna seems like it grows its leaves in a flat plate fashion so even safer bet.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Ibet ficus pumila would live but botanically rather boring...


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

So I will soon be getting a dockrillia nugentii. I think it is mounted to a giantcedar popsicle stick. If it is attached I will probably just cut this down a bit and attach it to hat. Not sure on the kifespan of mounts.


Sophr. Cernua seems like a possibility. What would be ideal would be this crossed with brevipedunculata...I dont know how often orchid fanciers breed for toughness.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

I don't think any Sophronoitis will work. Cernua is "tough" for the genus, but still doesn't do well with any prolonged drying, and really likes to be kept on the cool side. Even up here, I've had some shriveling on my plant outdoors on occasion.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Good to know....esp. noting your cool humid and well watered coastal location. I do water the hat very frequently but things can be breezy up there.

I just discovered pleurothallis teres. Not showy...but seems possible

Edit: so apparently it smells like cat pee? That's a deal breaker

Are their any tolumnia that throw spikes 6" or less?


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Pleurothallis teres is cool. I may have lost mine, hopefully it'll pull through. It's not an easy plant to find. I don't think it smells like cat pee, more like bug spray.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

That still sounds quite unpleasant-no? Bummer as its a pretty cool plant. Do you think it could handle hat life? I found a few vendors who carry it...though im sure demand is not very high-ha



What is killing yours?


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Not sure. It's a plant that seemed to grow slow, but steadily but I've had sudden die back a few times over the years. I have divided it not long before moving to Cali, and it never thrived after that, producing only 3 leaves in the past year, all of which were way smaller than normal. Now it has dropped roots, and I'm not sure what to do at this point other than keep it warm and dryish and maybe sacrifice a goat.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

How about laelia liliputiana? Unfortunately no one mounts this species...so may beno go

Bummer on the teres. Was it warmer where you came from?


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

So the dockrillia nugenti is tied with a wallop of sphagnum to a cedar plank. Might the roots like being more exposed? I see a few twining among the leaves. Most pictures so these mounted to bare cork. Thoughts on leaving it versus removing and remounting on a brille pad?


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Dendrobium rigidum continues to be a success on the hat. It has put out three new leaves since being mounted and a good number of new roots. I'd love to get another one of these. 

nugentii appeared to be too wet with Hygrolon...I went ahead and remounted it but it lost a lot of leaves. It is throwing new leaves and roots so fingers crossed.

I got some Dendrobium prenticei(lichenastrum just seems to uninspiring)...it looks like it will do well. Andy's orchids rec'd that species and Sophronitis. Seeing how they grow Sophronitis on mounts w/o any moss makes me very tempted to try this species.


Btw, the hat has proved capable of supporting Tillandsia blooms. Here is a picture of the aeranthos preparing to bloom in early spring of this year. 
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1....=a71d63d5af9300caffa6689a8131ef1c&oe=58288242

~Joe.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Some updates

prenticei has not really done anything that I can tell-but is likely putting out new roots. I realized that lichenastrum and prenticei have blooms the same size-if I can get ahold of lichenastrum without paying I will try it.



I managed to get my hands on a couple Sophr. cernua and they seem to be doing well. They are either on hygrolon or on a brille pad with moss overlay(in with the prenticei). The hat gets watered pretty often(as it is worn) and they so far have new growth coming in(roots and leaves)...and have survived some pretty hot days without burning up. 

Nothing has bloomed for me yet. But considering I was unsure if any orchids would even survive I am pleasantly surprised!

Curiosity killed the cat-but I may try Isabelia virginalis and Den. cucumerina next. Particularly after seeing this photo of the former species with Sophr. cernua.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/62/2f/f0/622ff0a6125ecf08d78d3525db40383c.jpg


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## Midraj (Jul 20, 2016)

Is this the same guy I met at the Andy's orchids booth at orchids in the park in sf this year? (Anthony)

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## SuperAWE (Aug 21, 2016)

This could be the ultimate Kentucky derby hat with a few mini horses up there.....


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Midraj said:


> Is this the same guy I met at the Andy's orchids booth at orchids in the park in sf this year? (Anthony)
> 
> Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk


Yep, thats him!

I wish I had got the Sophr. while I was there too. I did some more reading on their natural habitat and ordered a few over the web-but they are not as big as the ones Andy had.


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## Midraj (Jul 20, 2016)

It turned out to be too warm and wet in my viv for most of the plants I bought that day. The soph went outside and I get it wet about twice a week and hopefully it will come back.....one day

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