Download Beallara Orchid Growing - Wagga Wagga Orchid Society

BeallaraOrchidGrowing(synAliceara)intheRiverinaregionof
NSW
-partoftheOncidiumalliance
Beallara(Bllra.)isanOncidiumintergeneric4waycross
betweenBrassia,Miltonia,Cochliodaand
Odontoglossum.Toachievethiscrossbreedersusually
crossMiltassia(MiltoniaxBrassia)withOdontodia
(OdontoglossumxCochlioda)(1).
BeallarahasrecentlybeenrenamedAliceara
abbreviatedtoAlcra.
Theyhaveupto12longlastingstarshapedflowerson
1.2mlongspikes.Flowersareoftenfragrant(1).They
flowerinspringandsummerintheRiverinaalthough
mightflowerearlierifgrowninaglasshouse.
GenerallytheircareissimilartoOncidiumsbutisalittle
differentduethedifferentspeciesinthecrosses.
BeallaraMarfitch‘Howards
Dream’
Theycanbegrowninawell-protectedunheatedshadehouseintheRiverinabutwoulddo
betterinaglasshousewherewintertemperaturesarehigherandhumiditymorefavorable
insummer.
Temperaturerequirements
Theoptimumtemperatureis15to29°Cbuttheywilltoleratetemperatureextremesfrom
1°Cto40°Cforshortperiods.Theywilltoleratelowernighttemperaturesinwinterif
daytimetemperaturesarehigher.Theywillnottoleratefrosts.Theyaregenerallymore
tolerantofhighertemperaturesthanOdontoglossums(1,2)buthumiditymustbekept
higherastemperaturesincrease.Coolernightsarenecessarytoflowerwell.
Light
TheypreferalittlemorelightthanOncidiumsbutlessthancattleyas.Around2000-3000fc
insummerand3500-5000fcinwinter.IntheRiverinaregion50-70%shadeclothshouldbe
adequate.
Humidityandairmovement
Theypreferahumidenvironmentwith5575%humidity(2).Usewater-filledgravel
traysormistingtoincreasehumidityinhot
weather.Goodairmovementisimportant
whenhumidityishightominimisefungaland
bacterialdiseases.
Water
Theyprefertobekeptmoistthroughoutthe
growingseasonbuthavedrierrestinwinter
(1).Lettheplantsbecomealmostdrybeforewatering(2,
3).ApolycarbonateroofisrequiredintheRiverina
regiontopreventthembecomingtoowetinwinter.
BeallaraDianaDunn
Pottingmedium
Pottingmediumvarieswithyourwateringregimeandplantsize.Astheyhavefinerroots
theypreferasmallbarkmedium(1).Itneedstobeopenandfreedrainingbutretain
moisture(2).Repotevery2years.Donotoverpotandusethesmallestpotnecessaryto
containtheroots.Plantsarelesssusceptibletooverwateringwheninsmallerpots.Repot
whennewgrowthsareabout5-8cmhigh(3).Squatshapedpotsarepreferred.
Fertilizers
Theyrequirefrequentapplicationofquartertohalfstrengthfertilizerduringtheirgrowing
season.Ahighphosphorusandpotassiumfertilizerisrecommendedinmidsummer
onwards(3)oronceflowerspikesappear(2).Leachpotsperiodicallytoremoveexcesssalts.
Diseases
TheybehavesimilarlytoOncidiums.Ensureleavesaredrybyeveningandmaintaingood
airmovementtoreducetheriskofbacterialandfungaldiseases.
BeallaraTahomaGlacier
“SugarSweet”
Furtherreadingandacknowledgements
Theinformationinthisguidehasbeengainedfromlocalgrowersandthepublications
below.
1. GardeningAustraliaFlora’sOrchids.ABCBooks(2005).
2. Beallaraorchids.Nurseriesonline.http://www.nurseriesonline.us/Orchids/BeallaraOrchids.html
3. Open-lineGardenshow.http://www.brucezimmerman.com/articles/ORCHIDS.htm
Updated15/12/15
Thesenotesareintendedasaguideonlyandarecomposedfromavailableinformationandlocalexperience.
TheWaggaWaggaOrchidSocietyanditsmembersarenotresponsibleforanylossordamage.