Every year, the American Orchid Society (AOS) grants 23 special awards recognizing the best plants from all the AOS awards given the previous year. Thousands of orchids are judged across the 27 AOS judging centers each year and the competition for these special awards is very high. It is a huge honor to have a plant win one! Sacramento Orchid Society member, Tyler Albrecht recently received the Carlyle A. Luer Pleurothallid Alliance Award for his Lepanthes calodictyon ‘Dana Lynn.’ This means that Tyler’s plant beat out every other pleurothallid type plant that was awarded for all of 2022! Tyler’s plant was originally granted a Certificate of Cultural Excellence (CCE) at the 2022 Sacramento Orchid Society Show, where it was included as a part of his garden display. The CCE is the most prestigious cultural awards given and plants receiving this award represent “the highest level of orchid culture” according to the AOS. As Doug Kubo always reminds us, cultural awards belong to the grower rather than the plant because they reflect the skill and care that is needed to grow a culturally magnificent plant. Congratulations twice over Tyler!

I asked Tyler if he was surprised when he learned his plant received the Carlyle A. Luer Pleurothallid Alliance Award. He says, “You bet I was! Honestly, I was surprised that I got a CCE! Before the show, I took a video of the plant and sent it to my friends in PA who are both accomplished growers. Told them that I thought this was nice and would be a decent addition to a display at the 2022 SOS show. The reply was ‘ya, it looks nice for a Lepanthes.’ Later they told me that they had discussed the plant right after seeing the video and agreed that I have a clear CCE on my hands. Every leaf had either a bud or flower, not a marred or damaged leaf either.” Tyler received ‘Dana Lynn’ and another L. calodictyon plant as part of an import order that consisted mainly of Dracula and some Masdevallia (that he says he killed rather expeditiously). Knowing that the box needed to be filled, he also added a few Lepanthes. There were two L. calodictyon, two L. felis and a couple other “teeny tiny little dudes.” The L. felis were “slowly sacrificed to the orchid gods,” because this species does not like to dry out at all, which makes shipping them very difficult. The other “teeny dudes” continue to grow and flower for Tyler, but really “are not Cosmo cover material.” The two calodictyon, however, have thrived! Tyler says “to me, it (L. calodictyon ‘Dana Lynn’) was just a cute plant that filled a box. Lol.”

A few years ago, I tried my hand at a L. calodictyon. The little plant didn’t die, but it didn’t really do anything else either. Eventually I gave away the plant to a friend who could better fulfill its specific cultural needs. Lepanthes are cloud forest orchids that grow in cool, wet, high-elevation forests in South America and are known for being challenging to grow in many hobbyists’ collections. Tyler shared that he grows all his orchids, including Lepanthes, in a 14x20 foot greenhouse in Loomis that is in a sunken half basketball court in his backyard. He says that the spot is really perfect considering that half of the structure is protected and “insulated” by a 5-foot retaining wall and is shadowed by his neighbors’ house after 3 pm. Tyler says that sometimes he wishes his greenhouse got more light, but that he’ll “take cooler temps associated with subdued light any day!” Tyler’s greenhouse is cooled by two different sprinkler systems, one that is more like a torrential downpour and another that is like a heavy fog. Both are controlled via an irrigation controller that he monitors and controls with his mobile phone. In the summer both systems are automatically engaged at various times of the day, but never after 3 pm to prevent rot as greenhouse temps cool overnight. There is also an oversized swamp cooler (4500 cfm) installed which is set to engage at 75°F and should the temps go over 90°F two 4000 cfm exhaust fans kick in to pull more air through the cooling mats. Tyler puts 50% shade cloth on his greenhouse from April through October, but leaves it without any the rest of the year to maximize the light it receives during the shorter winter days before the sun goes behind his neighbors’ house. In the winter, Tyler’s greenhouse temps drop into the high 40’s F and in the summer, it has been 95°F in the greenhouse. He says, “if there was not a constant mist on those hottest of days providing evaporative cooling on the plants, they surely would be compost now!”

Tyler shares that he keeps his Lepanthes drier than most people. Discovering that his beloved Dracula’s thrived when they were allowed to dry out completely for a couple days between watering, he tried it with the Lepanthes. The results were very positive and his Lepanthes had new growth, tons of new roots and flowers non-stop! He says there is a fine line though, and you must watch your plants carefully and adjust accordingly. Tyler has municipal water at his house in Loomis, which is pulled out of the American River and is, therefore, pure and clean with very low total dissolved solids. However, the water distributor adds chlorine and chloramine to ensure the water is safe for drinking. To overcome this, Tyler uses a high-grade carbon filtration system for his house and greenhouse.

Tyler fertilizes with 20-20-20 at 350ppm. He says “don’t quote me on the math but close to full strength!” He gives even the Masdevallia and Dracula that high of concentration. Tyler believes that orchid growers need to rethink plant nutrition and the concentrations that we were brought up thinking were appropriate. Tyler says his plants benefit from higher fertilizer rates because he has rather bright light from 7am to about 2pm; “More light = more photosynthesis = more nutrients = more growth. Be careful though, there is a fine line between too much and way too much!”

Tyler is an American Orchid Society student judge and, therefore, got to watch his L. calodictyon ‘Dana Lynn’ progress through the special award nomination process. When he saw that his plant was nominated for the Carlyle A. Luer Pleurothallid Alliance Award, he figured that there was “not a chance” that it would get the award because he saw all the other incredible plants that it was competing against. Then, one day, he got a call from his very dear friend, Jurahame Leyva in Hawaii (a recent Sacramento Orchid Society speaker). Tyler reports that Jurahame started the conversation with, “Hello my friend. As a trustee it is my privilege to make these sorts of calls and it means even more when they are made to great friends…” and Tyler thought “ok what’s going on…?” Then Jurahame said, “congrats on winning the Carlyle Luer award!!” Tyler’s initial response was that it was too early in the morning in Hawaii for such a prank! Tyler says, “Needless to say, I was floored and it was all the more special that my ‘brother from another mother’ let me know!”

When I asked Tyler if there is anything else he’d like to add about his L. calodictyon ‘Dana Lynn,’ he says, “never underestimate what your plants can tell you. They communicate by doing many things, their likes and dislikes. Be observant and remember or take notes on what works or does not work. Experiment with what makes them happiest and never stop learning!”

Congratulations to Tyler Albrecht for this exceptional achievement in orchid growing!