Orchids on Table Mountain

[tyronegenade]

Hi all,

Here are some pictures of three orchids spotted on top of Table Mountain.

Monday I went up Platteklip Gorge up to the top of Table Mountain. The first picture is a view looking up the gorge, about 30 m from the top. At this point I'm about 1000 m up from the City. The second picture is looking down from "top". The clouds have passed.

From there it is another 3 m to the top plateau of the mountain. Along the way I found Holothrix villosa var. condensata (3rd pic). On top I came across a Disa cornuta that is preparing to flower (4th pic) and a little Disa bracteata that is in flower (5 & 6th pic). It is quite pretty in a humble sort of way. I came across one going up Constantia Neck some weeks ago (pic 7) that lacks the red. Apparently, this little Disa is so tough (it grows as a weed in some places) that it has even colonized Australia via the ships ballast that was loaded in Cape Town in the 17 and 18 hundreds and dumped in Austrlia. (Any one interested in seed?)

The 8th pic is a shot of the Twelve Apostles: 12 peaks that follow on from the rear of Table Mountain along the western coast. The houses form the suburb/town of Camps Bay. The house where I live is just cut off from the picture (bottom right). The 9th pic is another view of Camps Bay including Clifton and Lions Head. The 10th pic is of Cape Town as photogrpahed coming down the Cable Car (you don't want to have to walk down Platteklip Gorge!). The 11th peak is of Devils Peak. I work, at the UCT Medical School, just behind Devils Peak.

Hope you enjioy the photos. If you come visit, I'm available for guided tours. February is Disa uniflora season.

[Justin]

Nice photos Tyrone, scenery is specatular. I'd love to see Disa Uniflora in the wild some time, good to know that Feb is the season, I'll have to put it on the long term todo list...

Do you know much about Disa cultivation? I've got a couple, but they're not really doing too well, do they need less water in Winter, or same all year round? I'm growing with 11 to 12 degC min, I guess that should be cool enough?

[tyronegenade]

Hi Justin,

My expertese with Disa uniflora and hybrids is the following:

I've killed them potted in sand, gravel and spag moss (dead).

I've killed them with tap water, with rain water, with watering every day, when they look unhappy, and I've had them sit in a dish of water.

I do now have 6 plants growing in live spagnum moss. They get water every day in summer and ever second day in winter. They are potted in a 2 L coke bottle which has had the top cut off. The moss is resting on a layer of coarse gravel and the plants lie in the moss about 7 cm above the gravel and the moss extends up another 3 or so. The crowns of the plants penetrate through and out the moss as they do in nature (where I got the idea from). There are some small holes pressed through the coke bottle about 2 cm from the base so that water can accumulate in the bottom part of the bottle. The water, by capiliary action, moves up the gravel and into the moss. The moss supplies the Disa with water and humidity and through evaporative cooling it also keep the plants cool (very important!). Whether I will continue to keep the plants alive and flower them is a big mystery. I am happy to say that I started with 3 tiny seedling plants and now have 6 large ones. Blooming size? I don't know. But two of the plants are bigger than those I've seen on sale at the nurseries. They are still far smaller than the wild plants.

I don't know if this helps you... I'm still far from confident to tell you "do it my way".

[Dirk]

Very nice shots!!! Keep 'm coming.
Dirk

[Justin]

That sounds like a brilliant approach Tyrone. I remember someone in Melbourne who grew them in a drain with water regularly flowing through them, your approach sounds simpler though, I'll have to give it a try. I've got to the stage where I only slowly killed D. uniflora, and the other Disas are still clinging on, so I can't be too far off the mark (ever the optimist) Please post photos when you get them in flower.