Psytonia Caribbean Jewels, a rare cross

[Ricardo in PR]

It is rare to come across a cross using the genus Psychilis. This plant is apparently a cross of Psychilis kranzlinii and a Broughtonia or a Cattleytonia. The Psychilis parent heritage has powerfully dominated the appareance of this hybrid flowers. Psychilis plants in the wild are very hardy and grow under dry and sometimes quite hostile conditions. But they tend to die under cultivation mainly due to scales and white flies which are deadly to them. They also succumb to being potted in the wrong media and given innapropiate care. What I think is their main virtue is the ability to bloom several times in a season from nodes in the same inflorescence. This means a plant can have flowers for several months even though each individual flower doesn't last too long.