Ooo, that is gorgeous, Ted. Take it inside so it will last, and you can show us the color change in photos.
Awesome April Orchids
Masdies are so enchanting. That's a beauty, Ted.
I have returned to Atlanta after more than a week away. There are several new bloomers in the greenhut. Time to dig out the camera.
Hello All and congratulations on all the beautiful orchid pics as usual. I've been pretty much out of commission trying to recover from another back surgery. I haven't acquired any new orchids or any plants at all for that matter for well over a year. Losing many plants due to inability to care for them, but the Miltonia pictured here ('Breathless') has been a welcome surprise--Not only blooming under adversity, but flowers lasting 3 months. Flowers from red in sunlight to almost purple under "daylight" fluorescent bulbs.
Allan
I do so admire Miltonias and that one is a beauty. Congratulations Allen, and welcome back. I hope your recovery is speedy and complete.
Jim
Jim, I joined the Tampa Bay Orchid Society since it's easier for me to meet in the evenings. I went to my first meeting tonight. It was lots of fun with many beautiful orchids. Saturday, I'll be going to the Green Thumb Festival in St. Pete where I'll hopefully acquire a few more orchids of my own!
Allan, I lost a lot of my bromeliad collection when I got sick with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. If nothing else, you learn which plants thrive on neglect. Hope you do better soon!
Melanie
Ok, this isn't one of mine, but I was at the Green Thumb Festival in St. Pete today and I saw this beautiful vanda. I walked over to it and it had a sticker that said "Rare Species" and a price tag of $250! Trust me to find the most expensive thing in the place. I took a picture since that's the only way I'll get to enjoy it, LOL! And now you can, too. This is V. Goodwin Thai Sunset.
Melanie
That's a beauty, Melanie. Did you get the name of the grower/dealer? I'll bet if you visited his 'home' operation, the price would be a lot less for that plant!
I've got a new one opened today, too! Blc. Mem. Hans Graf x Blc. Edisto. Funny, no fragrance as yet, but last time it bloomed it smelled like spice cookies. Maybe it's an evening fragrance.
Elaine
Ok, I admit I'm a newbie. I was searching the internet for that Thai Sunset orchid and one site listed it as being a cross between V. Rasri Gold x V. Dr. Anek. Well, I bought a plant labeled V. Rasri Gold x V. Dr. Anek but it didn't say anything about a Thai Sunset. I really don't understand how all these orchids get named anyhow. Was Thai Sunset a special one that came from the cross? Either way, I'm happy with the plant I did buy. Check out the picture and tell me if I bought the same plant or if they are slightly different.
Melanie
Melanie, Laurel can answer your question better than I but I know the crosses take time to get registered and receive a name. I also know that there are lots of variations out there. Thus if you cross A with B you may get C. The next time you cross A with B you could get C variation 2, or you could get D. The trick is to get a C or a D consistently which requires a division or a clone.
Anyway, what you bought has not yet been registered and named. The V. Goodwin Thai Sunset has been registered and named. Chances are you have the little sister which must pass some tests before being named. Both are very nice so enjoy your new Vanda.
Elaine, we may have to haul Melanie to Apopka to see Vanda heaven. Nice Blc cross.
Jim
Looks like it could be the same to me, but I'm no expert either.
After almost two weeks of a cold snap, looks like all the orchids will be moving outside again on monday or tuesday! I'll be sure to post some pics of the jungle!
Jim, I think your explanation was very good!
Melanie, Think of them as siblings. You can have many siblings from the same parents, and though they may all have some family features, they won't all look exactly alike. In this case the breeder picked one out of many seedlings and named it Thai Sunset. The rest will either have different names, or not be named at all....in theory. I have one, bought from the breeder that I found three photos of on the internet. Of those three, one was the breeders photo. The others don't look anything close to the breeders photo, nor does mine. Even with tissue culture, they can vary. It's always best to see what you're buying, in person.
The one you got is close, and very pretty!
Good to hear you got everyone indoors in time, Franco. I was wondering if all your 'chids were ok.
It even got cool down here for a few days.
Ok, that makes sense. I just joined my local orchid society and went to my first meeting last Thursday. I learned a lot! But you can tell some of these people are very, very into it and are on some kind of scientific level I will never get to. I'm just glad I got a pretty plant and didn't have to pay $250 for it!
Melanie
Haha! You'll be amazed at how much of that scientific stuff you'll absorb by accident.
You explained it, Jim. Anyone can cross the same two orchids but then the hybrid seedling needs to be registered with the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society). The registrant owns the equivalent of a patent. Sometimes old crosses go out of favor or have carrier diseases (become virused) or genetic problems and the cross is re-done.
I'm off to Maypop this afternoon but will try to grab some photos for later posting.
Thanks everyone! Here's one of the plants I bought at the festival this weekend. It's tag says it's Blc. Seto Rainbow "Fantasy" Splash Petal. It might be my favorite, but it's hard to choose.
Melanie
It's a pretty one, Melanie, and I'll bet it has a nice fragrance as well.
Jim
Yeah, driving home with all the orchids in the truck smelled soooo good!
Melanie
Well, I was checking on my orchids today and found the squirrels ate all the buds on one of my vandas and chewed through the stem of one of my cattleyas. Has anyone found a way to keep the squirrels away from their orchids? Dad's going to be building me a greenhouse (we priced the materials today at Home Depot) so I imagine that will help - or has anyone had critters raid their greenhouse? It's so aggravating to see the buds come out and then lose them to a furry rat. Here's a pic of the cattleya he ate through; at least I got a picture (sniff, sniff). It's Rlc. Hawaiian Wizard.
Melanie
There are several ways to control the squirrel problem but apart from a cage or greenhouse, all involve the death of the squirrel.:>)
Jim
Oh, what a shame, Melanie! That catt flower will most likely last a long time if you put it in a vase in the house, though.
I haven't had problems with squirrels getting at my orchids in the yard, at least not yet. But I have a pool cage, where the ones in flower come so that I can ogle and smell them. They sit in state on the table in there until the flowers are over. When my 'Chia Lin' was in bloom it was so fragrant I think it attracted a whole family of raccoons into the pool cage one night just because it does smell like something to eat. (there is a cat door into the cage)
I also have a bird feeder. While lots of birds eat the seeds, the squirrels eat 'way more than all the birds put together. So, I'm concluding that my squirrels are so well fed most of the time they're not interested in the orchids.
HOWEVER when my mangoes are ripening I do wage war on the squirrels. They nibble a mango stem, let the fruit drop to the ground, then eat about a teaspoon of fruit and leave the rest to rot. When they come back they don't finish the ones on the ground, they get a new one! So, I have two fake owls that are silvery reflective stuff, I hang them from poles on either side of the tree. Also strips of grocery bags tied to bamboo stakes around the tree make a sound like a snake when the wind moves them. And I use a product called 'Critter Ridder' that is a peppery spray scent deterrent. Available at HD or Lowe's. Wear a mask or scarf over your nose and wear glasses when you're spraying the stuff, and don't spray when it's windy. It really makes you sneeze!
Jim,
My brother has already contributed to their population decline. The county kind of frowns on shooting within so many feet of a home, but that doesn't stop us out here in Lutz, LOL! We're lucky enough to have some Red-Shouldered Hawks in our neighborhood, too. Maybe once the greenhouse is built it will protect the orchids.
Melanie
Melanie, don't forget to factor in the cost of some shade cloth for your greenhouse, so it won't cook your orchids during the summer. Jim was saying he's putting some on his greenhouse this year, too. Did you get your Aluminet yet, Jim?
The greenhouse will be mostly covered by a large oak tree so that should help, too. I guess it's more of a partial sun greenhouse. Most of my orchids hang from some smaller oaks in the backyard and get dappled sunlight. They haven't died and bloom a few times a year (the vandas anyway) so I assume they like it. My cattleyas are mostly on the fence between me and my neighbor's house. They face east and are also shaded by trees. I only have so much space to work with so the greenhouse has to be somewhat under the tree. Hopefully, that will be all right.
I have a question about vandas. When they're done blooming, can I just cut the flower spike off?
Melanie
Melanie, yes, you can trim off the spent Vanda flower spikes. Good for your brother. They bake up nicely in cream of mushroom soup.
The Aluminet is more to reduce heat than give shade. The Polycarb roof already eliminates UV rays. The contractor should be here any minute to measure the roof and place the order. All of the local growers use it and love it. The big fans I have do a good job but make lots of noise.
Jim
I love the Aluminet but you still need fans running continuously. The more thermal mass, like a stone floor or pool, the harder it will be to swing temperatures downward. I have misters timed to go off for ten minutes at the time when the sun is hottest on the roof (1 p.m.). The fan disperses the mist and the floor, which is covered in outdoor carpet, acts like a swamp cooler. This reduces the temperature fast. I can go from 92 to 78 degrees in those fifteen minutes. Last year, without the Aluminet and three of the four walls removed AND the fan, it was over 115 degrees when the burnout disaster happened. The greenhut is slightly recessed between a small solarium on one side and the bkfst room in our kitchen on the other. Fortunately, by the time the day is at it's hottest (late afternoon) the solarium blocks the direct sun. The Aluminet helps but is not a sure fire solution. A swamp cooler is really appropriate for a large hot space. I don't know a big greenhouse without one. I have seen some attractive ones decoyed into water features.
Woohoo! The temps finally a little more loving toward the orchids. I got about 80-100 of my 'chids outside today. Let's pray that i don't have to move them all back in again until October (and for some spikes and blooms too!). Here are some pics! As promised.
Those Orchids look so happy hanging from the tree. I had to remove my large Oak last week (it had bore worms). So now just have 1 tree from which I might be able to hang a few. But, after hearing of the squirrel attacks, am reluctant to put many out there.
Squirrels are terrible. They love to gnaw on orchid pbs. Come fall they dig out the potting medium to bury nuts. I have often told the story of my thirty five year old Catt. aurantiaca that has just now grown big enough to produce its first sheath. Aside from natural disasters over the years that set it back to seedling size multiple times, the squirrels have spent many a summer chewing away. It went missing from spring until late fall one year. Came home and there was nothing but an empty pot. We found what was left of the plant in a pile of fall leaves under the deck.
With good intentions, I took new photos before leaving Atlanta for Maypop. Unfortunately I think we forgot the card reader. Sigh. Hopefully someone will give us a May start.
I will but I'm currently on phone duty at the Extension office and then head down to a county library to give a talk on cycads. I should be back home around 9:00 PM. Long day for a retired guy.
Jim
I just ordered the Aluminet. It will be 25 X 34 feet with grommets every 2 feet around the edge. They say I should have it in about ten days.
Jim
It's time for a new thread. Please join us at http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1255626/ .
Jim