Orchids on Palms

[epiphyte]

The other day I received an e-mail notifying me that Neiacassorielo had added me as a contact on flickr. Much to my pleasant surprise, when I visited her page I saw quite a few nice examples of orchids on trees. Not just any trees...but palm trees.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots...Meu Paraiso and Coqueiro Areca com orquideas. Woah! Awesome! I especially like those shots because, as the admin of the landscaping with orchids group, I'm all about seeing tree-mounted orchids in context.

How many of your palms are naked? Why not broaden/multiply their appeal by attaching some epiphytes to them? Should there be a law that requires you to do so? Yes. Definitely. Heh. Everybody should have to "pimp"* their palms.

But seriously though...can't quite remember who came up with the phrase...but promoting your favorite group of plants is all about "cross pollination". If you want orchid growers to get into palms then it would help to show them what excellent hosts palms are for orchids. In essence you would be creating a positive association and broadening the appeal of your garden.

To be fair...Neiacassorielo is located in Brazil and growing orchids on trees in Brazil is wonderfully easy. But if I had to guess though...I'd say that 99% of the palms that you grow share habitat with epiphytic orchids in nature. The exceptional palms come from Mediterranean climates, the Middle East and the driest deserts.

As an orchid nut, I have over 200 books on orchids. If any of you palm nuts are interested we can collaborate on a book of orchid/palm associations. People could use the book to look up a palm/orchid species and see all the orchid/palms that share the same habitat in nature.

Here in Southern California...probably the second and third most commonly available orchids...Dendrobium nobile hybrids and Oncidium hybrids...are very suitable for growing on palms with similar water requirements. Dendrobium nobile is widely distributed around Asia and the Oncidium hybrid is from Brazil. Here's a breakdown of their culture requirements.

Temperature: Both orchids are eurythermal. They can handle temperature down to freezing provided they are in their rest mode and have no active growth.

Water: They both have fairly similar water requirements...more water during summer and less water during winter. The Dendrobium will bloom better though if you almost completely withhold water during winter. That being said...last year neither had a problem with our nearly 30" of winter rain though.

It would be hard to overemphasize the importance of growing orchids epiphytically in winter rain climates. It is my firm belief that 90% of the tropical plants that perish during winter here in SoCal are not killed by cold...but by insufficient drainage. For example, my Adenium obesums (Desert Rose) kept rotting during winter...until I said phooey and started potting them in 3/4" gravel.

Drip system: Palms can be a bit challenging because their bark often doesn't have the best texture. What they do have going for them though is that, because most have vertical trunks, it's easy enough to just run a drip system up their trunks. Gravity will then do the work.

Watering Frequency: You want to attach orchids to your palms that have the same watering requirements...doing so will allow you to kill two birds with one stone. During summer it's really difficult to over-water mounted orchids...so it's fine to attach orchids to palms trees that have greater summer water requirements than the orchids do.

During the hottest days of summer I turn the drip system on every night long enough to ensure that the orchids are soaked. During the coldest days of winter I turn the drip system on perhaps once every two weeks first thing in the morning...just long enough to hydrate the orchids.

Medium: It's always safer to err on the side of less moss rather than more moss. If you do include some moss, then in the case of sympodial orchids you want to make sure that the moss does not touch the orchid's rhizome. In the case of monopodial orchids you want to place the moss underneath the base of the stem. In the case of CAM orchids it's generally safer not to include any moss.

Light: Both orchids require bright light to bloom well. The Dendrobium can handle a surprising amount of full sun. When I moved into my house here in Glendale I was surprised to discover that my neighbor had theirs growing in full sun. You can tell when this Dendrobium is getting sufficient light because its canes will grow upwards.

Location: The higher up on the palm tree you attach the orchids the less likely it will be that pests...slugs, snails, pillbugs, etc will climb up the palm to eat the orchid roots and new growth. Generally I try and keep the base of my orchid-laden tress as clear of other plants as possible. Plants at the base of the tree provide a staging area for pests that make nightly forays up the tree.

Important: The trick to attaching orchids to palm trees in less than tropical climates is making sure that the orchid is super super super securely attached to the palm tree. This is absolutely essential. If the orchid is not securely attached then new roots can potentially break off. In order to help ensure that the orchid is firmly attached, I tie a slip knot on one end of a fishing line which allows me to tightly cinch the orchid to the tree without losing any tension when I tie the finishing knot.

Don't be afraid to experiment! Dendrobium nobile hybrids and Oncidium Dancing Ladies make great test subjects. They can help you learn about the moisture/dryness cycle that encourages epiphytic orchids to produce new roots.

If anybody has any photos of orchids growing on palm trees then please feel free to share them. Let me know if you have any questions.

Here are some of my other orchid related threads...

Epiphyte Grand Prix

Orchid Seeds Germinated on My Tree

Vanilla chamissonis Outdoors in Southern California

*pop culture reference to the show Pimp my Ride.

[Benjamin D.]

I wish I could grow epiphytic orchids! I think it would be cool to see which palms and orchids share the same habitat. And, some orchids might do well nestled in old leaf bases. One example of a palm tree that has many old leaf bases is Sabal texensis. Cycads from wet areas might also be good for orchid mounting!

[virtualpalm]

I have an Arenga pinnata that is around 30 feet tall with 12 feet of clear trunk that is perfect for orchids. Each old leaf base has two "pockets" that are created by the fibers, and I just stick the orchids in there. I probably have a dozen or more different varieties on that one palm. Here is a recent example of one of them flowering:

Jody

[Cindy Adair]

I've moved all my orchids except the terrestrials from my Virginia hobby greenhouses to my (3 years from now) retirement farm in Puerto Rico. So when we visit we get to see what's in bloom that week. These are a few from a week last April. We use mostly plastic IV tubing which stretches just enough to work well. Veterinary emergency clinics save it for us and we trim off the parts we don't need so it's free--plus keeps it out of the landfill. I wouldn't want to worry about the contagious diseases if it had been used for people and I doubt human hospitals would be allowed to save it anyway. Fishing line cuts into the fast growing trees too quickly for us to prevent damage to the trees. If we could monitor more than 3-4 times a year it might work fine. Any natural product we've tried is eaten by termites over a couple of days and I don't wear hose nearly enough (almost never) so that idea wouldn't work as well for us. We do remove the plastic tubing when the roots are firmly attached and we have time.

Most palms seem great orchid trees plus many other kinds. Of course tree ferns work well for us as do lychees, annatto, mango, etc. Interestingly vandas failed to attach to pine bark and had to be moved. We avoid using weak or short lived trees like cecropias and African tulip trees.

We simply attach them (away from street view to avoid tempting thieves) and leave them alone. We NEVER water them or use any moss. All are labelled with permanent aluminum tags including the source and the date.

We continue to learn from our failures and delight in our successes. Thanks for the great website and photos!

[Cindy Adair]

Just a few more photos from a few days in November and a view of the surroundings... The phal was a grocery store discount plant that we felt sorry for and purchased.

[virtualpalm]

Here are some photos that I took at one of our customer's houses. More of the orchids are usually blooming, but it is winter now so there are only a few:

Jody

[epiphyte]

Hey everybody! Thanks for sharing your photos! Very inspirational.

[DoomsDave]

WHOA!

[Patrick]

Wow- nice stuff!

Dave (or anybody for that matter)- since you're an orchid nut could you recommend a few that will gow well up here in a 9a/b environment? I'd love to start doing stuff like this but, alas, haven't plunged into the depths of Orchid-aholism yet. Maybe you could pop the cork off that bottle for me and give me a swig or two?? Thanks!

[realarch]

Holy moly Cindy, those are beautiful! Wow.

[epiphyte]

Hey Patrick, here's an orchid forum post on the topic...What Orchids Can Grow Outdoors in NorCal? I posted my list of possible orchids in that thread and shared a few thoughts as well.

What palms grow well outdoors for you and where are they from?

[Patrick]

Thanks for the link epiphyte. I def. appreciate it. Soon I will have to really scramble to fill in what's left once my upper story palms finally get "up".

Well, my favorite that has been growing well at this point is my Jubaeopsis caffra from South Africa. I have it planted right in front of some Strelitzia nicholai- which is also from South Africa. Both are on the south side of my house and the Strelitzia has been in about 7 years now and has absolutely flourished. I'm hoping the Jubaeopsis does the same.

Of course, I have a bunch of queen palms (who doesn't ?), but I'm seeing this time of year that they really need more resources- the pigs.

A few Livistona decoras }(Australia)here and there. I really like the overall look of these too once they get up a few feet.

Trachycarpus wagnarianus from China

Phoenix rupicolas (India)

L. chinensis

A fuew ButiaxSyagrus (sort of a South american love child)

A plethora of Braheas (Mexico)- of course all anyone can rave about is the decumbens.

a bunch of Chamaedoreas- from Mexico- still not ready to plant out, though.

And the list goes on and on. I'm kind of conservative as far as palms go. I have only a few palms that are really sensitive to cold. But then again, I'm only about 10 years in to my palm yard. My upper canopy is just barely starting to get up and overhead, and those absolutely have to be cold hardy to protect what's underneath.

I saw that youre also into Crinums and Ginger also. same here. I've been working with Hedychium for a lot of years and have just started with the crinums. I forget the species. They are the common large ones you see at Hawaiian resorts- "spider lillies". They have grown well for me so far.

Thanks again for the orchid info. I will have to make a trip to e-bay

[Puna Pua]

WOW,WOW, I am so impressed with ALL the pic's of orchids on palms!! We have them mounted on our palms here in Leilani Estates, Puna area of the Big Island, but have a lot of problems with fungus, from all the rain But we keep trying! Maybe we also need to fertilize them more?

We do have more luck with Bromeleiads on our trunks!!

[Moose]

This is an intergeneric cross (I lost the tag) growing on a boot of a Sabal domingensis. There are 4 other orchids on this palm but not in bloom. It was transplanted from a Copernicia hospita that had an ant infestation of ants. Leaf bases had to be removed to treat the ants, therefore a transplant was needed.

.

[Kim]

This is a great thread, I'm in awe of all the gorgeous orchids. I have orchids on ohi'a trees and on stumps and logs, but not on palm trunks -- yet! Very inspiring! Love that red one, Moose.

[aussiearoids]

Just mounted an epiphytic cactus Cryptocereus anthonyanus ? by tieing on an Aechmea tocantina as well as a Dendrobium hybrid

Above is a flowering Tillandsia Estee I grew from seed with a few other broms well established .

10 epiphytes in total , with one self sown !