We're coming http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1244761/ More talk and photos to share for the month of April. Please join in with comments or questions. Compliments are always welcome. :)
This one is no April Fool's joke. It is clownish though. The color combo is for real. Odontonia Debutante 'Oxbow'.
Two flowers are now open on Cattleytonia Jet Set 'White Cloud'.
Views into the greenhut of Dendrobium fimbriatum. It's one of the few big orchids in my collection.
The first time I saw Dendrobium unicum was at a show. Though diminutive, it's so brilliantly colored, it attracted me from across the room. Had to have it! So I ordered one from Andy's, April '09. It bloomed in May '09. The first and second photos are of the orchid today and the last is its first time in bloom. You can see it still has lots of flowers to open. The lip looks like a bird's feather. It is semi-deciduous with blooms on the older canes. The green is mostly new growth starting.
Great start to the month! I may have to rethink Den. unicum. That is a cutie.
Thanks for the new thread, Laurel. Amazing color on your Oxbow. I think it burned a hole in my monitor. :>) I also like Dendrobium fimbriatum. Nice size and color.
The Cattleya maxima spike has opened three blooms with more to come.
Jim
My big Encyclia cordigera, var. rosea has several spikes and some are just beginning to open.
Jim
Zygo Cynosure 'Blue Birds' is sending up several new spikes and a few are beginning to open.
Jim
I couldn't resist taking another picture of Blc. Pali Polka Dot 'Nalo'. I just love it.
Jim
Dendrobium spectabile. What an incredible orchid.
Jim
My Oncidium dancing ladies plant is beginning to bloom:
Jim
This is a look at what I call the pink wall in the OC.
Jim
Beautiful, Jim! I love the "pink wall"!
Me too and, Jim, you really have a case of the blues.
Carol, Den. unicum gets the cold shoulder and no water in winter except an occasional spraying. Is your humidity ridiculously low year around? I started watering it a few weeks ago when the flower buds began to swell and new growth sprouted.
Yeah, pretty much year round. It gets very high at night while we are under the ocean influence, then it drops during the day. Normally May and June stay cool,damp, and gloomy, but who knows what will happen this year.I'm switching between the heater at night, and the fan blowing across water during the day. It works as long as I keep the door closed and we don't get any seriously bad winds.
Jim,
I have an Oncidium dancing ladies "I think" came with a tag and pic that looks just like yours...However, I may have mine seriously over potted judging by your plant. Mine has not bloomed since I got it on the Lowe's Rescue rack...maybe that is the problem.
I am having no luck finding the right shading and size with the Aluminet...either it's too big/small or the size I want doesn't come in the shading I need. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
I fell in love w/Dendrobium fimbriatum and then Jim posted Dendrobium spectabile and it was double love. I so NEED 1 of each!!!!
My Den. fimbriatum came from Fuch's down in Hoemstead. It's heat tolerant in summer and cold tolerant in winter. In fact, it must go through a cool, dry period to bloom well. They are slow growing but bloom on year old canes and re-bloom on older canes as well. Some of my blooms are on very yellow canes that would not look capable of flowering.
Go for it Jean! Life is short; don't try to live it without the things you NEED.
This is Blc Walanae Leopard 'Mai Ling' X Bc Richard Mueller which opened last night:
Jim
New blooms on Blc. Mem. Vida Lee 'Limelight'.
Jim
Here is Brassavola tuberculata. It is delicate and beautiful.
Jim
Finally, Zygo Cynosure 'Blue Birds' has opened up a bit more.
Jim
Mjs, are you looking at the Aluminet in increments of 7' widths and you buy it by the foot? Here is another site I looked at http://www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com/shade_aluminet.htm I recall their prices being the same as the first link I sent you and they have other shade options but their minimum order was slightly larger. It gets expensive when you order from companies that prefab set sizes with finished edges meant to cover travel trailers, dog kennels, etc.
MJ, the pot on my dancing ladies feels like it is going to explode. I think I best repot after this blooming cycle.
Jim
Hi again; I do so love reading all the post and I'm getting so much insight on growing orchids. We just recently had an Orchid Show here in Pensacola and I had bought a Den. superbum just like what my mother had on Guam. What happened when I looked out my back window to admire my recent acquisition was two mature stem broken off and also a brand new one too. What my question is; will the canes be able to grow again or is all lost?
Hi all, got back from sailing last night and all orchids survived our vacation - Yay! My anonymous Phaius is starting to drop lower flowers but the second spike burst into bloom while I was away too. A little Phal that was all buds when I left has a magnificent plume of flowers now, too. Camera's down on battery so more pics later. Best thing about going away is coming home to see what's bloomed.
You've all been so busy, it's taken me forever to catch up from the last part of last thread. Some absolutely gorgeous flowers posted there - love the Dens and Paphs. Jim the two Psychopsis are fabulous, too.
Oh, Pearl what a shame about the damage to your new Den! Maybe a squirrel took a liking to it? Is the picture above before or after the damage?
Here's what I have left. Any help would be appreciated.
The den will grow back as it still has the new canes, I m not sure if you can re root old canes?
dyzzypyxxy- wow love that Phaius better than any of them!
No harm in trying though? I'd certainly give it a shot - wrap the ends of the pieces in sphagnum and lay on a bed of moss. Keep them moist in the shade, and you never know . . you might get roots. Those are pretty vigorous plants, and it's spring!
Squirrels are bad about gnawing on those canes! The broken ones will not re-root. However, you can try laying them horizontally on a bed of perlite, sand or barely damp sphagnum. They are capable of producing keikis from the joints on the canes. I know...not the same as re-growing full sized canes capable of flowers. You'll be years away from bloom size plants if you are able to get keikis but think positive; you can share your superbum with DG friends! lol As an aside here, I want to encourage people with questions to start new threads with appropriate titles and, if there is no response, poke us here on the main thread. I don't mind being OT at all but care and culture questions and answers gets buried in a thread with a title having nothing to do with the problem. When DGers do a search or come to the forum seeking general advice they will never see this response.
I have arrived at Maypop to spend the week on the garden. No orchid photos from me.
Elaine, we grew up sailing, I on single handed. SO's family kept boats in Dinner Key (Morgan Out Land 33') and the BVI's (CSY 44'). We used to spend part of the summer with the kids mostly in the BVIs but also the American Virgins. My SO misses it but as much as I love the water I never loved sailing for more than a few days. Maybe because I was the one who had to go overboard and tow in the dingy every bad storm. lol
Great info on the Den problem though, Laurel! Pearl, try some anti-terrorism stuff on your squirrels. I've had some success with scent deterrents like pepper or mothballs (although I couldn't stand the smell) to keep the little beggars away from my mangoes. Spraying them with the hose is good, too. Doesn't hurt them but scares the bleeps out of them.
We were sailing on a Moorings Beneteau 50 out of Tortola for the week. Cruised 4 days then raced the last three out of Nanny Cay. Beautiful wind and weather, easy boat to sail, no worries, lots of fun. I learned as a kid, too. Raced Lasers for many years while we lived in Utah and now we race here all the time.
Wow, all this talk about sailing . . . sounds beautiful.
Elaine, that anonymous Phaius is beautiful! I can't remember seeing so great a contrast between petals and lip. Very striking!
Maypop, I am going to be gardening too this weekend, working on my mom's garden in Pennsylvania turning the soil. Not looking forward to it even with a rototiller, it's such a patch of weeds. This year much more mulch will be used! Will be planting peas (edible and flowering), lettuce, chard, beets, and leeks.
Jim, beautiful flower shots. Especially love the Blc Walanae Leopard 'Mai Ling' X Bc Richard Mueller and Blc. Mem. Vida Lee 'Limelight' (I almost bought one of those recently). So exotically pretty. BTW, I'm really enjoying my Epidendrum cordigera. The flowers seem to last and last, and the fragrance in the sun is like vanilla perfume. I'm going to enjoy growing it to larger proportions!
Will have some photos to post soon.
I'm going back a few posts to let Jim know how beautiful his flowers look. Evidently there's been a lot of shopping going on without me. I'm checking your shoes, Jim, the next time we get together.
Elaine, the Moorings, Fleet Indigo and CSY were the three charter yacht anchorages in Tortola when we had our boat down there. The boat was in charter for all but June and July when the family had the boat. I think the Moorings is the only one left.
I thought I had no orchids to post this week since we are putting in our veggie gardens at Maypop but a young Calanthe is almost open. I'll be here for several days so hopefully there will be a photo or two.
I have found an excellent fire retardant that I pre-apply to my shoes thus eliminating the constant problem of smoldering pants cuffs. Actually, most of those orchids are oldies but goodies. That reminds me, Elaine, are we still on for the 12th?
Currently, I am hot on the trail of another hard to find palm. I talked to a grower in Bartow, FL., yesterday about an Allagoptera arenaria (Seashore Palm) and will head there tomorrow cash in hand. I've been looking for this one for over a year.
Jim
Looking forward to a foray to Fenders Floral next Fursday, Jim. btw. Their ad for the sale says to bring your own boxes. I have lots. I'm walking around my garden saying "I wonder if Jim would like a start of this, or one of those".
Laurel? You definitely need to join us if the planting is done by then! Help me keep Jim from lighting my shoes on fire? Lots of flights from Atlanta right into SRQ. I'll pick you up. Bring a big suitcase.
My list is getting longer and llonnggerr and I'm probably buying for PtP, too. (we may yet need to take the Tundra!)
Here's my little Phal that I've had for nearly 3 years. It's 3rd bloom cycle anyway. This is the one I showed a while back with the purple leaf reverses and dark leaves with silvery markings. It's lived its whole life outdoors, too! A survivor.
Jim, how great to collect palms! One time vacationing in florida I picked up a book on palms and was amazed at the variety. Some incredibly beautiful ones. Wonderful hypnotic patterning to the growth. I think I'd collect them as well if I was down South!
Elaine, I love the "wild" look, if I can call it that, of your phal. Must be more than a bit of schilleriana in it, no? Very nice.
At the SEPOS show I picked up a replacement for a plant I had when I was a teenager and really loved: Slc. Jewelbox 'Sheherazade.' I had bought it years ago from Jones & Scully and it used to bloom for me all the time just under lights in the bathroom. Wonderful plant that succumbed only when I went away to college and didn't take it with me. Here are a couple of photos with different lighting. This time I'm hoping to grow it to specimen proportions!
Speaking of Jones & Scully, I recently got my hands on a copy of their old 70's "Recommendations" catalogue, and have been having a ball looking at the old hybrids and remembering dreaming over the plants in that same catalogue when I was much (much) younger.
Here's another shot of the NOID red phal/dorit. Just love the color on this. Can't quite capture the fluorescent purple on the end of the lip . . .
And another shot of the whole plant. I don't grow in this type of decorative container, but it seems to work well with this plant.
Very good pic of the red Phal, PtP. The Slc Jewelbox has good color and form. I wish you luck in growing the new one.
Jim
Wow, the colors on those are spectacular! I can see the bright purple on the lip of that red Phal just fine! Amazing.
I don't know the name of that white one sadly. The tag faded right out on me so it is another anon. I like to let the flower stems trail 'au natural' rather than staking them up. This way the flowers know which way to face when they open. (well, sort of)
