For any of you who may be in the area the Naples Orchid Society sale is SAturday October 15. I try NOT to go -- I'm planning loads of yard work for the boys that day-- but it is really a great one. If a bunch of you want to come, I'll ask the landscaper if we can do the work another day. I believe the sale starts at noon.
Cool October Orchids
scbegoniaguy- love the colours of that den. flower.
Thanks, Bree - me too - unique for a dendrobium, I thought.
Elaine, I'd say that's a great buy, too. I'm always happy to stumble across something well established...on its way to a nice specimen. And thanks for the product info, by the way.
Yesterday I found myself at the USF (University of South Florida) Fall Plant Sale. It's one of the big garden events in the Tampa area. There were lots of venders, societies and clubs offering plants for sale and it's a lot of fun. I was after a particular palm tree and found one but it looked a bit shabby and the guy wanted $50 for it. Sometimes you have to know when to fold 'em. That led me to the orchid venders and three followed me home. The first one is Bl. Mem. Bernice Foster, mounted on a nice piece of wood. It looked like it would fit in nicely with my Brassavola collection. Here she is:
The second one is Zygo Cynosure 'Blue Birds', in bloom. The tag says "Patent Process Initiated".
Jim
And a look at the plant:
Jim
The third one is large, healthy and mounted on a big piece of ceder. I need some help on the name. The tag reads: Myc. Mem. Louise Fuchs AQ/AOS ('Weesie' AM/AOS X self). What I would like to call it is Schomburgkia Louise Fuchs 'Weesie' AM/AOS. Now please tell me why I shouldn't and that I should better behave myself. Thanks.
Jim
Look, it's in spike!
Jim
Love that purple color on the zygo, Jim. As for plant #3...you got it to spike, so I think you earned the right to call it anything you please. :o)
Actually, it was already in spike when I bought it but I did fork over $40 for it so I do have some rights.
Jim
Got thirty seconds but the reason why your orchid is a Myc., Jim, is because it is a Cattleya/Myrmecophila cross and is called a Myrmecocattleya. Nice haul, BTW.
Isn't Myrmecophila just another name for Schomburgkia? They invent names like that just because they know I can't pronounce them. :>)
Jim
Myrmechophila is a totally separate genus from Schomburgkia. What's happening is that now that they are able to genetically test orchids to see if they belong to the genus they are named for they are finding some belong to other genera. That is why, though it's ridiculous to try and keep up with the name changes, you should eventually concede. Maybe. And I say maybe because there have been so many changes since I started growing and those were not based on genetic testing. Now "they" are getting ready to majorly reclassify lots of orchids again. Just warning you that there's a big change a comin'. Remember the jokes here a few years ago about just naming your orchid "Fred" or "Tina"? Perhaps that is best.
So Jim, you get to name that one "Weesie"? Cool, I had a cousin named Weesie. (kid talk for Louise)
Why do I see all over the internet, " Myrmecophila aka Schomburgkia"?
Jim
Or is it Weesie...as in Weesie Jefferson..."Movin' on up to the East Side...to a deluxe apartment in the sky?"
Jim, there's an article on the AOS website entitled "Farewell Schomburgkia." You can link to it here: http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=171. I haven't read this through for details...mostly because I don't grow that type of orchid...but at a glance, I thought it might help explain. I can't make the link active for some reason, but you can cut-and-paste, I suppose.
Thanks, Scott, it's an interesting read. This quote explains it pretty well: So the genus Schomburgkia is gone. The South America species have moved north to Laelia and the ant-lovers are now in the genus Myrmecophila. Withner addressed the latter move even though he himself used Schomburgkia for all of them in vol. III: "The choice of using the segregate genus (Myrmecophila) for the ant-inhabited taxa, or keeping them altogether within Schomburgkia, seems to me a relatively arbitrary one". He goes on to propose keeping them all in Schomburgkia and dealing with the differences at the sub-generic level.
Too bad as I like the way Schomburgkia slides off the tongue.
Jim
Many orchids were registered and named one name and later (or more recently) found to be be the exact orchids growing elsewhere. Often two or more people found and named orchids that they thought were new discoveries. Other orchid genera were clumped together and then found to have specific traits that made them different from one another. Sometimes one orchid is it's own genus at this time and other times they are separating new groups. IMO where this gets really complicated is not so much with the species but with the hybrids that have names created from combinations of the formerly named parents. An example is my former Schombonia Firefly which is now a Myrmetonia Firefly.
Even for those whose names have long since been reclassified, most of the plants I buy still have the old names...from most every vendor I find. Speaking of hybrids, I've got lots of Blc's, a couple of Slc's, and a Ctna...where technically my reference is now wrong. But I doubt I'll ever catch-up to all the changes.
Just out of curiosity, Laurel, when genetic testing is done...how specific are its findings? I mean, can it identify down to genus...grex...named variety/cultivar? One of my favorite orchids is my C. Portia...a marriage of C. bowringiana and C. labiata. I can't find photos of any Portia that look like mine, and have often wondered which "labiate cattleya" might have been used in this particular cross.
Do you have any pictures of your Portias flower SCBegoniaguy? I have 2 and one flowered and i didn't think its a portia (can't find the photo atm).
Here it was in bloom last year, Bree...
Oh, and there's both C. Portia AND C. Porcia, spelled differently. Also, C. Portiatia is another one used in one some popular hybrids...
One of my big catts has opened. This is Lc Irene's Song X Marie's Song X Irene Finny.
Jim
Scott, the most accessible and knowledgeable person that I know to discuss genetics as they relate to Catt hybrids would be Mark Reinke at Marble Branch http://www.marblebranchfarms.com/ He will be sure to respond. He is usually expert about recognizing Catts and their lineage since he and Gary have a hybridizing program. He really has those Catt traits lined up. He can also give you more specific info about genetic testing.
I promised myself I'd take photos today but it's been raining all day. The humidity is 85% in the greenhut. Makes for foggy photos. Finally got around to an overdue fertilizing. I'll try to take photos tomorrow though I've got to be on the run most of the day. You may see a bunch of "almost" bloomers because we will be in and out of town several times the next weeks and I might miss the actual open flowers. We still need to finish the new passive ventilation, restore the misting system and heaters. I'm loving the two feet we added to the height and so are the Vandas! Meanwhile, Aerides odorota x lamalleta took a blue ribbon at judging last night. :)
Congrats on the Aerides win and thanks for the contact, Laurel. I'll look forward to any photos you find time for. There's not enough coffee in the Carolinas for me to keep up with what you accomplish in a given week.
Jim, that's one colorful cattleya! I like the splash petals a bunch.
Another blue ribbon! Congrats, Laurel.
Jim
Thanks guys. I got in a few photos today. Geez, what a circus here.
Jim, isn't that Lc x the one I'm always giving you a hard time about floofiness?
First you can see what's been hanging me up...
Here's the blue ribbon baby. Aerides odorata x lawrenceae
A photo of the plant and ribbon. Jim, I got this as a tiny thing in a four inch pot on our first visit to Charlie Chapman. Didn't know they can get very large. He lost his in the freezes down there.
Close up of those flowers. They smell like waxed lips. The judges love those packed flowers. Luckily they didn't notice the one Steve knocked off. lol
I am very fond of this Vanda Bronze Butterfly, a primary species cross. It blooms from one of it's two growths every few months. It never gets any ribbons because of the few and widely spaced flowers but that is very true to the species parents. Meantime, the parents are popular for crossing with the large flowered Vandas because the stems are long, so huge flowers really stand out and the wide space between flowers accommodates large flowered Vandas. I love the brown flowers and it is incredibly fragrant both day and night but especially during the day...like patchouli.
Here is the plant.
Gastrochilus dasypogon is coming along. I'll have to go back and look at old photos but think three spikes is a record.
I've posted this one a lot but want to show how quickly new flowers form. The spike on the right lost its flower yesterday and you can see the new bud swelling already. It will be open next week.
There are three spikes on this Cleisostoma discolor which came to live in the greenhut last May. It came from Krull Smith. It was in pretty rough shape so I ditched the pot and mounted it. It must be happy.
Hope the flowers last because I'm going out of town tomorrow for a few days.
How weird is this one. Tagged Lc. Susan Holcombe but doesn't look like it to me.
Had to bring mine inside before we went on vacation. Poor babies got double stressed. Need to move them to a sunnier window in the next couple days & get them "happy" again.
Good show, Laurel! And by the way, Mark was very helpful...taking the time to send very detailed information. He thinks I have Ctt. Porcia 'Cannizaro,' FCC/AOS...but an exceptionally dark form, registered in 1927. It's parents would be C. Armstrongiae x Gur. bowringiana...explaining that C. Armstrongiae is C. dowiana, bicolor, purpurata, and warscewiczii. Great insight! I complemented him on the fact that all his orchids are labeled with more up-to-date terminology, too. Now to get myself accustomed to calling it a Cattlianthe instead. :-)
Great color on that Lc, Bree, regardless of whether the tag's right or not!
Hey, Bree...here's that big Blc Toshie Aoki 'Pizzazz' you asked about a while back. I brought it indoors for a cleaning this morning. It's added 6-8 new growths this year alone...but so far, NO SHEATHS. I'm hoping this isn't the first sign I'm not getting enough sunlight here. I'm hoping it is just late developing...
