In technical terms, the term “jewel orchid” refers to a number of the orchid species in the Spiranthoideae subfamily of the Goodyerinae subtribe of the orchid family, which contains over 500 species.
In layman’s terms, “jewel orchid” can be used to refer to any small orchid grown, not for its flowers, but for its quietly beautiful leaves. The leaves are like black or dark green velvet, veined with glittery gold, silver, or red, and the veins sparkle like vampires in the light.
Follow this guide to give these sparkly jewel orchids the best care possible. Give jewel orchids low light, high humidity, and the right kind of potting medium, and these little gems will brighten your life for years.
Jump to:
- Common Characteristics of Jewel Orchids
- Notice: Jewel Orchids Will Pretend to Die After Flowering
- Ludisia
- Macodes
- Anoectochilus
- Dossinia
- Goodyera
- Cultural Considerations for Jewel Orchids
- Potting Media
- Light
- Water
- Humidity
- Temperature
- Pests and Diseases!
- Can I Propagate My Jewel Orchid?
- Buyer Beware: Avoid Buying Wild-Collected Orchids
- A Note About Jewel Orchid Names
Common Characteristics of Jewel Orchids
The Goodyerinae subtribe has a number of gorgeous, small orchids with all these different names. What common characteristics do jewel orchids share?
- They bear inconspicuous white flowers on a little stalk. On some jewel orchids, the flowers are barely noticeable.
- But that’s because the leaves are showier than the flowers!
- Jewel orchids bear pretty, dark leaves decorated with glittery veins of gold or silver.
- They’re terrestrial, growing on the ground (as opposed to epiphytic orchids, which grow on trees).
- They prefer bright but not direct light, the same intensity as dappled forest light.
Read more: 18 Easy to Care Orchids for Beginners
Notice: Jewel Orchids Will Pretend to Die After Flowering
Jewel orchids bloom in winter in the southern hemisphere, and some have fragrant flowers, which is a bonus.
But remember that jewel orchids often die back after flowering. Its leaves curl up and fall off. The stem looks dead, though it’s still green underneath. If you try to pull up the plant, it’s still firmly rooted.
So when your orchid falls apart or turns into a yellow-leaved mess, don’t panic. Let it rest for a while, and keep the soil moist but not wet.
In fall, a tiny leaf will appear, followed by others – and soon, you’ll have a brand-new little orchid.
However, if you feel a little stressed about your orchid pretending to die, feel free to cut off the flowering shoot, especially if it’s not a very showy one. That should solve the problem.
Ludisia
This indestructible little orchid species is, naturally, a favorite. They’re tough and easy to grow, and their dark red veins on dark-green to black leaves are insanely gorgeous. They don’t need the high humidity that many other jewel orchids require. They’re actually fast-growing orchids, which is amazing in the extremely slow-paced world of orchids. Ludisias will form a mat of kindred plants and eventually crawl out of the pot if you let them.
Naturally, this orchid is one of the most hybridized, so you can find Ludisia variants with leaves of all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors.
The small white flowers with yellow highlights are grown on a twisting stalk, and they stay colorful for over a month.
‘Spiderman,’ a cross between Ludisia and Anoectochilus orchids, is an example of a popular, easy-going Ludisia that gets a lot of love for its looks.
Macodes
Now, we’re getting into some of the tougher jewels to work with. These might be considered fussier than the above orchids.
In the wild, Macodes orchids grow in tropical and subtropical rainforests. It prefers low areas where it’s always damp and very humid (ideally, 60 to 85% humidity), and it stays tucked into the leaf mold on the forest floor where there is very little light. These rainforests don’t have a long dry season, as other places do.
If you get water on the leaves or in the crevices of the plant, wipe it off with a paper towel or Q-tip. These are prone to rot easily.
Choose a potting medium that allows the water to drain easily. A substrate might include coco coir, fir bark, charcoal, bark, a little bit of worm castings, or perlite.
Keep humidity at 50% or more if you can manage it, but they also need some air flow because stagnant air also leads to rot. An open jar is a good place for a Macodes.
Anoectochilus
Also called marbled jewel orchids or filigree orchids, Anoectochilus orchids can be found in tropical and warm temperate areas from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia, across the South Pacific islands, and out to Hawaii. They are found in the deep shade in sheltered areas in the rainforest, tucked in among the leaf litter. They like to grow close to small streams, in gullies, and in pads of moss where they can stay moist but not soggy. These orchids love high humidity. They send creeping rhizomes out (like strawberry runners) through the leaf mold to start new baby plants.
Anoectochilus can be a pricey plant because they’re a slow grower. Some of them, such as the ‘White Center’ cultivar above, take years to grow large enough to sell.
But the flowers are fancy, with little fringes coming out. Some Anoectochilus hybrids are extremely sparkly as if they’ve been dusted with holographic glitter.
Dossinia
Dossinia is a compact, dark-leaved orchid that will bloom every summer. Its native home is on the island of Borneo, where it grows on lowland and hill rainforests. Dossinia stretches its roots in leaf mold and moss and will tuck in between rocks and ledges. It enjoys hot weather, high humidity, and shade – but needs air circulation because it is susceptible to rot. It does best in an open terrarium where the air can move.
Like other jewel orchids, the Dossinia will grow a little flower spike; then it acts like it’s going to die. Give it a little time, ease back on the watering, and soon you’ll be rewarded with a brand-new plant.
Goodyera
This is actually a wildflower native to forests in the United States called downy rattlesnake plantain, even though this is not a plantain (nor a rattlesnake). I used to look for native orchids in the woods and never managed to find one. It turns out that they prefer conifer forests with shortleaf pines (Pinus echinate). They can be found along the edges of a humid cedar forest, enjoying the broken sunshine that dances through the branches.
Cultural Considerations for Jewel Orchids
The best way to grow orchids is by replicating, as much as possible, their native environment. (This is a good rule of thumb for growing almost any plant, really.)
Read more: Butterfly Orchids – The Ultimate Growing Guide
Potting Media
Jewel orchids won’t do well in orchid bark mixes, and potting soil isn’t ideal. Jewel orchid roots use soil mainly as an anchor. They prefer to grow among the decayed leaves and matter on the forest floor. The trees of the rainforest provide a thick layer of decaying humus that is perfect for growing jewel orchids, along with ferns and other shade-loving plants.
That’s why a potting media mix should replicate the leaf layer of a rainforest. Pure sphagnum moss isn’t good for jewel orchids unless it’s alive (i.e., green). A mix of bark, coco coir, rice hulls, charcoal, perlite, worm castings, or cut-up sphagnum are examples of potting media that jewel orchids might enjoy. Keep it moist, though you can let it dry out a little bit now and then.
Light
Generally, jewel orchids are found in dark places in the forest, so they’re good for low-light situations.
But how do you find out how much light your jewel orchid is getting? Put your hand between the grow light and the orchid.
If your hand casts no shadow? It’s too dark.
Does your hand cast a strong shadow? It’s too darn bright!
Does your hand cast a slight shadow? Just right, your plant thanks you.
If the light bleaches the leaves, move the plant to the side or behind a larger plant for shade.
Read more: 20 Stunning Houseplants with Striped Leaves
Water
Jewel orchids hate being overwatered. Check the pot and let the top dry out before watering, but don’t let the whole pot dry out. That will stress them out badly.
Use distilled water because, in some areas, the water contains minerals (alkaine water, hard water, etc.) that might harm the orchids.
Reduce watering in winter a little, but still keep them moist.
Humidity
Jewel orchids like humidity of 50 to 70%, and they don’t like sudden changes in humidity.
I grow my orchids in an old, open-topped aquarium with coco coir substrate at the bottom. I water the orchids and the substrate, and that keeps humidity levels high. Any small aquarium or decorative container is helpful to jewel orchids.
A bathroom is a great place to grow orchids. Give them a little grow light and let them enjoy the humid air.
Temperature
Keep temperatures on the cool side. Somewhere between 15 to 20 C (60 to 68 degrees) is best. Summer night temperatures are best under 22 C (72 F).
Read more: 12 Rare Variegated Houseplants You’ll Love
Pests and Diseases!
Keep your eyes on orchids because pests can show up at any time. Mites, such as spider mites, are common predators to jewel orchids. Some orchid growers wipe their orchid leaves with a light solution of neem oil any time they think there might be trouble. Fusarium is a fungal disease that has recently been wreaking havoc with jewel orchids and other orchids, often targeting seedlings or young shoots. Some fusarium types cause oval, dark brown spots on flowers and leaves. Others are a source of root rot, stem rot, and foliar blight.
To combat fusarium and other fungal diseases:
- Always remove infected material from plants.
- Don’t splash water on the leaves when watering.
- Don’t water from overhead to avoid the spread of the Fusarium pathogen through splashed water droplets.
- Don’t reuse potting soil. Wash pots in hot, soapy water with a splash of bleach added before using them for another plant.
- Increase the spacing between plants to improve aeration.
- And avoid overwatering!
Can I Propagate My Jewel Orchid?
Yes! Yes, you can. Cut a growing tip with at least three nodes and root it in water.
Some orchid growers pollinate compatible orchid species then, when the seed pods ripen, gather them in little flasks to start them. This is a tricky process, and often, the germination rate is very low, but it’s a lot of fun starting a ton of new baby orchids in agar jelly and seeing how the new hybrids grow up.
You can take a tip cutting, which is just the upper two or three nodes of the jewel orchid. The cutting will be small – so add a little water in a shot glass, enough to cover at least one node, and let the orchid sit in there until roots form. Once they get ½ inch long, pot them, water them, and let them grow with the other orchids.
Sometimes, a cutting will fail because the plant it was cut from had trouble with rot. It can be tricky to get a clean piece of a diseased plant.
Read more: 5 Types of Holiday Cactuses to Grow Indoors
Pro Tip: If you propagate a few extra jewel orchids, then you can trade the young plants with local orchid fans. “I’ll trade you this Ludisia ‘Spiderman’ for one of your extra Vandas.” It’s a great way to expand your orchid collection for free, and it builds goodwill.
Buyer Beware: Avoid Buying Wild-Collected Orchids
Most jewel orchids come from Southeast Asia and the Pacific. As jewel orchids exploded in popularly, this has put their wild population in danger. Wild orchids are being poached and sold in the West, wiping out whole populations of these fragile plants.
Worse, orchids collected in the wild do not handle transit very well. These plants have been torn from the soil and lost all the mycorrhizal associations they’d created in the wild. Then they’re shipped in from overseas and suffer in high temperatures that drive bacterial and fungal growth in their shipping box. Many of these orchids die of rot before they even arrive at their destination. It’s heartbreaking because lots of these endangered orchids end up dead and are dumped in the trash. What a waste.
Do your best to buy jewel orchids from reputable dealers. Look at the pictures of the plants. Lab-grown orchids or those grown from cuttings will all look fairly uniform and similar. Wild-collected orchids look rough, and there is a lot of variation between plants of the same species. Check the seller’s website for any mention of “collection season” and read the reviews of people who have gotten dead orchids in the mail.
Read more: Growing Dendrobium Orchids: Everything You Need to Know
A Note About Jewel Orchid Names
It’s worth noting that there can be a lot of confusion about species descriptions and identities, especially when it comes to orchids.
Part of this confusion is due to current genetic sequencing. As orchid DNA is analyzed, taxonomists have to recategorize different species, and it can be hard for growers to keep up with the changes. Some confusion also stems from the wide range of variations possible even within a single species of jewel orchid. There’s plenty of confusion to go around as far as what an orchid is actually named!
It happens; nobody is perfect. At the end of the day, a jewel orchid always looks charming, whatever its name or taxonomical designation happens to be.
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