/Please post pics of your wonderful orchid blooms and plants.
Here's a Cymbidium I got ten days ago that has been torturing me with suspense while its blooms open at glacial slowness.
We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1235438
This message was edited Jan 18, 2012 5:54 PM
My new little Oncidium has pretty dancing ladies.
Good job, Elaine! You're elected. I'm excited about that Cymbidium too. White is not such a common Cym. color. Don't forget to lock everything up. Qwilter is on the way.
Not mine but I wanted to share this photo. While at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for an American Orchid Society judging I spent some time in the conservatory. This Paphinia posadarum rocked my boat.
Here's the plant. Note that it is growing in an open basket with straight sphagnum. Wet and high humidity. Not a windowsill plant.
One more, a close up. Unfortunately I don't know the right people to move plants around for photo ops. lol
Thanks for the new thread ! My Cyms are in that glacial speed too.
Laurel, I can understand why that rocked your boat! Very interesting orchid!
Me too. I love it, right up my alley. I need to learn more about it.
Jim
Hi everyone. Maypop, I haven't had a chance until now to tell you how much I like Baptistonia echinacea -- what a beautiful little thing. I love the placement of the flowers along the stem and the color of course. Just beautiful.
Lovely dancing ladies, dyzzypyxxy! Do you know the name of the cross? And PLEASE post a photo of that white cym when it opens all the way! I'm in suspense too!
My phals are starting to bloom. They have been full of buds for what seems like a month. Will post tomorrow.
PtP, my little dancing ladies' tag says Onc. Ester Oka 'Lake View' but the grower told me it is a Tolumnia cross. Plant is a bit bigger than the Tols but smaller than your regular blooming-sized Onc. Still the leaves are less than 5in. long and it's very happy in a tiny little 2in. clay pot.
I'm hovering around my white Cym. with camera in hand waiting for those crazy flowers to open. Never fear, you'll see it practically as it happens. I've got two phals that are keeping me waiting, too! Must be the cool weather that has them moving so slowly, d'you think?
Elaine,
I love your little Onc. Ester Oka 'Lake View' also...where did you get that one ?
I'm on the hunt for to fill up that 2 1/2 ft long cedar branch that's all wired up, sitting outside in the weather, looks like it would be a great candidate !
Got that one at the Sarasota Orchid Society show from a grower in Bradenton, Palmer Orchids. It's pretty tiny, see pic for the whole plant.
I've been meaning to make a trip up there to check out their operation, because the lady who sold me the little Onc. said they also have Neofinetia Falcata - the so-called Samurai orchid - back at their greenhouse and it's on my wish list. Maybe I'll call them today and see if they're open. It's a half-hour drive from here.
All these orchid growers seem to travel every weekend to shows, so often they're closed even on weekdays. This orchid shopping is a bit of a challenge!
Thanks Pinetop. A few days makes a big difference. The flowers are still not all open but this spike is more open than the other.
Can you see the slightly brown barring? It really looks like a swarm of little bees.
I've been patient with Bulbophylum medusae for months. Everyone I spoke to said theirs had already bloomed so I thought the flowers would abort. Here it comes. One of the flowers is laying right on the medium. Here's hoping it extends more.
Another. BTW, here's an example of my wicker basket culture.
A little closer.
Maxillaria sanguinea continues to open flowers. It's such a hard worker and smells good too.
This is Dendrobium auriculatum. I've had it for about a year. It's grown like cray, is an attractive plant, and blooms sporadically. I have not been able to get more than one flower at a time though. The flowers are large in relation to the canes and weigh the cane down.
The blooms appear anywhere along these delicate, evergreen canes with bright green foliage.
Tolumnia Golden Sunset 'Waiomao' AM/AOS. All flowers are now open but facing different directions. Here's an interesting read on Tol. Golden Sunset http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=442
Laurel, congratulations on blooming medusae. Both you and Ursula bloomed it this year while mine clings to life support. I don't know why that orchid is so difficult for me. Your D. auriculatum looks great. Good growing.
Jim
Jim, I realized yesterday that there were almost flowers on mine last year too. They formed, started to open and then shriveled up. This Bulbo likes more light than some and more humidity than others. I'm spraying her "hair" with a hand held mister several times a day. I've seen spectacular specimens of this Bulbo.. Mine is hardly in that category, but thanks. Your problem might be the dry FL. winter. It seems happiest at close to 80% which is enough to give most orchids athletes foot (or at least a case of rot).
Laurel, your 'Waiomao' is beautiful, and that was an interesting read, with all those drool worthy pictures.
Carol, there were a lot of beautiful Tols in that article that I'd love to own. At one time I had a sizable collection. I'd like to add more to the current one. Most of my Tols will be coming into bloom in March. Just a guess mind you. Some buds might open in a few weeks. I recall writing here several years ago that I used to gather up blooming Tols and sink the little pots in a large, deep terracotta tray filled with pea gravel, tipping the tiny pots in different directions. They kept me company for months on the breakfast room table as a centerpiece. They thrive in relatively low humidity during winter which is, coincidentally, when they bloom. Perfect house plant if you have a sunny spot..
Maypop, absolutely, Baptistonia echinacea flowers look like bees! Something about that orchid really tugs at me. Just a beautiful little flower & plant. Congrats! Dendrobium auriculatum is pretty darn cool too. Very nice. Medusa sounds like a chore and a half, though I too have seen photos of plants with amazing, prodigious blooms.
"I'm spraying her "hair" with a hand held mister several times a day." WOW. You are the epitome of a good orchid mother. I hope she appreciates you . . . AND shows that appreciation in blooms!
dyzzypyxxy, I'm gonna be on the lookout for that oncidium/tolumnia. Very sweet! Also wanted to say that I think Neofinetia falcata is a wonderful orchid. When I had very few orchids in my collection, I could always count on Neofinetia to bloom and bloom well. The scent is vanilla/floral and the flowers just lovely. This coming from someone who is an admitted "floof" fan. It grows beautifully. I got my original plant from Hausermanns. Unfortunately, I was away from home on a tour and the plant suffered terribly. I am currently trying to nurse one small fan back to health. I may not get flowers for a few years now, but I don't mind. The plant has become a good friend!
Thanks Laurel. The low humidity, I've got, and the sunny window. I'll keep an eye out for one.
Maypop, love your wicker basket idea. I have some baskets lying around that I could put to good use.
Thanks, Jean. I scout out thrift shops for a supply. Between that and the chopped up wine corks potting is clean and simple and the cost minimal.
I am watching for more lovely little Onc. or Tolumnias as I am enjoying my little Ester so much. That didn't prevent me from bringing home a baby Paph. 'Gloria Naugle' this morning. It was on a bargain table at a greenhouse nearby that is closing. Pretty spotted foliage, but does anybody have one? I'm dying to know what the flower will look like!
Here you go, Elaine, try this: http://www.orchidweb.com/orchidofweek.aspx?id=391
Jim
Ohh, beautiful. Such a nice pouchy one too. Since it's a cross between two species Paphs it's a primary hybrid and no single quotes are used.
Great link, Jim. Thanks! Guess I'll be waiting a year or two before I see a flower, but sure looks like it will be worth the wait.
Mine is in a 2in. pot and the leaves are about a 5in. span now. By the price on that page, I got a raging bargain, too.
I don't want to throw cold water, Elaine, but I never was very good at blooming them. I had three or four and was lucky to get a bloom every three years. They just don't like our hot summers and I grew them outside in the lanai. They went to summer camp in the bushes during my lanai conversion and none of them made it. I think you would have better luck if you brought them inside from May to October. Anyway, I now own zero Paphs and will leave it at that. I am content to admire the photos from northerners and grow those that do well in our climate.
Jim
Yup, I was expecting that I'd need to keep it on the cool side. I still don't want to keep plants in the house, so I'm going to try to nurture the little thing outside my patio doors - alongside the Cymbidiums. It's a cool little micro-climate and I have hopes it will do the trick. Humidity's a lot better outside, too.
So, the score won't be in until probably a year from this spring, but hey, what's life without it's little challenges? Found a big snail on one of the leaves of David Sander last night, inside the pool cage, too! Never a dull moment when you're a keeper of orchids, what??
Elaine
ps. speaking of Cyms, those crazy flowers STILL aren't open all the way!
This message was edited Jan 20, 2012 11:44 PM
dyzzypyxxy that IS a crazy Cym!
Here's a NOID phal I've had for a little over a year. She's just opening some blooms now. I love the pattern.
Pinetop: Love the colors and the pattern. Until the couple I brought to FL bloom, I will have to enjoy all of those here. Keep the pictures coming!
Finally, a bloom on a plant I did not buy with buds. This is my noid Brassavola that I got at the MG plant sale with the tag that said "white flowers". Go figure. I've been puzzling over it as this bud formed because it was reddish, not green like the B. nodosa and 'Little Stars'.
Elaine that is a VERY nice color !
I'm loving it, too. I have another Brassavola cross called 'Yellow Bird' and I think its flowers are similar.
Here's a shot of the whole plant - would anybody else give an opinion as to whether to divide this big clumpy plant? My fingers itch to divide it every time I look at it.
I know the Brassavolas like to grow in a clump like this, and the clumps can get to huge size but the leaves are smaller than my others, and I'm wondering if it would be healthier if I separate it into a few smaller plants?
Elaine
