The jewel orchid (additionally referred to as the tiger orchid and golden lace orchid) is a straightforward plant to develop. Sure, an orchid that’s straightforward to develop -in potting medium, no much less. There are a lot of orchids which are straightforward to care for, however orchids have acquired a repute as being arduous and even inconceivable to develop. I’ll admit, there are various that want specialised situations to thrive, however not this orchid. Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at the attractive jewel orchid.
The foliage of the jewel orchid is superb!
The Jewel Orchid
The botanical title is Ludisia discolor (previously Haemaria discolor) and it’s a terrestrial orchid, in contrast to most orchids which are epiphytic, which means they develop connected to both different crops or different objects. It’s discovered naturally in Southeast Asia, India, and Southern China the place it thrives in humid tropical forests and since it lives on the forest flooring, it doesn’t want full, direct solar to flower. Mine resides in my east window and reliably blooms each winter and is blooming proper now.
Foliage
The foliage is the star of this orchid present, with its pink stripes and iridescent shimmer. It appears as if a fairy has sprinkled iridescent mud over the leaves. There are different kinds of jewel orchids, so seek for these as properly. The darkish burgundy leaves have pink pinstripes working by way of them they usually do shimmer.
My Ludisia discolor or jewel orchidJewel orchid foliage is placing
Care
The beauty of this orchid is it may be grown within the potting medium you utilize for many of your different houseplants, however I do add further vermiculite and perlite to any industrial potting medium I exploit. The jewel orchid wants good drainage however desires to remain moist. In case you enable it to dry out, the underside leaves will flip purplish after which brown and can have to be eliminated. This may make for a leggy stem with leaves solely on the ends. The stems are additionally brittle so they’re simply damaged, however no drawback if that occurs. You may simply root these stems in water or simply plant them in a moist potting medium.
