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Orthophytum - succulent bromeliads

Lars
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Having trouble posting this; will add text after photos are accepted:



Orthophytum sucrey x gurkenii - photo in June right after I bought it at the World Bromeliad Convention in San Diego.



Same plant today, with pot with soil in it under the offshoot, but not planted



When should I cut the stem from the mother plant?



Main plant with side shoot.



Orthophytum lemeii in June.



Same plant today, looking withered.

I've never grown Orthophytum before, but I discovered that they are considered succulent bromeliads, and so I think they should be grown more as succulents, as they need more soil and make more roots than most bromeliads.

Anyone else here growing Orthophytum? I've only seen a couple of threads where they are mentioned in the succulent forum. Here are some more from the convention:


Comments (12)

  • cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
    5 years ago

    Lars, if you're on FB, I could hook you up with an expert on Broms. Otherwise, I know little to nothing.


    Lars thanked cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
  • karen__w z7 NC
    5 years ago

    I like Orthophytum and have several, though some are now changed to Sincoraea. I don't know what that means for the x Neophytum hybrids, haven't seen the name change carry through. I'll try to post some photos later.

    Lars thanked karen__w z7 NC
  • Lars
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    I do belong to a bromeliad group on FB - should I post the photos there as well? Is that where your expert is?

  • karen__w z7 NC
    5 years ago

    Here are some of my Orthophytums.

    O benzingii


    Orthophytum ‘Gold Dust’



    O. sanctum



    O rubiginosum Leme



    Orthophytum Iron Ore



    Dont want to push my luck with the photos so will add more later.

  • cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
    5 years ago

    Lars, I don't know - I don't belong to any Brom groups there. Contact me via PM if you want to know more. In the meantime, Karen's posted a heap of pics.


  • karen__w z7 NC
    5 years ago

    Some more photos, and some of my experience relative to your questions but know that I am so not an expert here, just climbing my learning curve.

    This is Orthophytum foliosum 'Silver Clone'. The offsets on this one come at the end of long stolons which you can see in this photo, and I've also had them form on the blooming stalk, so I tend not to cut those off the mother plant until I see if there will be pups. The second photo is from an offset that I rooted, which subsequently bloomed while still small and then pupped again at the base. The offsets from this plant have rooted when they please and not when I want, no matter what I do to try and speed them up. I've got pups that have sat in media for over 6 months doing nothing and then up and rooted just fine.



    Orthophytum 'Stardust' (guerkenii x lemei)


    O. guerkenii


    Orthophytum Gold Dust bloom stalk - back on the theme of when do you cut these back, I do it when I don't think there will be any more pups on it (as above) or when I'm not enjoying it anymore. (Or sometimes when it gets top heavy and keeps falling off the bench.) This photo from Gold Dust was taken last April and I'm still enjoying it. Leaving it on hasn't kept the plant from putting up two nice pups at the base.

  • karen__w z7 NC
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Some used-to-be-Orthophytum are now Sincoraea, so I have to go back and change my tags. This one is a favorite, Sincoraea rafaelii. It's a great bloomer and prolific pupper.

    I also really like a lot of the intergeneric hybrids with Orthophytum. These are the seasons of x Neophytum 'Galactic Warrior'. (Here's another place the name change for some of these to Sincoraea is probably going to affect my tags.)


    And one more Orthophytum that I really like, O 'Red Frost'. Wild collected but of uncertain parentage, seems like maybe a hybrid but without consensus, at least on the BSI site.

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    5 years ago

    Nice plants Karen. Thanks.

    tj

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    5 years ago

    beautiful! So so tempting to start another spurt of acquisitions.

  • HU-967887042
    3 years ago

    Your plant is Orthophytum "Starlight" by Michael Kiel. It is not Red Frost I grow both and when grown side by side, the difference is obvious. It is important to grow them in bright light to full sun and not fertilize them. Nitrogen and shade will make Starlight have lots of green as yours shows. Tropiflora has a good photo of Red Frost. Kenneth Stokes, Bromeliad guild of Tampa Bay

  • karen__w z7 NC
    3 years ago

    Is the influoresence on your Red Frost also red? I got mine from Tropiflora and they show the green in flower on their website photos. My plant is less intensely red right now coming out of winter in North Carolina but isn’t at all green. I don‘t fertilize any of my orthophytums and they usually have pretty good color on the sunnier side of the greenhouse. This is a photo of what I have as Red Frost now, after less light in winter. I’d estimate leaves are about 18” long, if that helps differentiate.