Orchid of the day: Paphiopedilum niveum

Paphiopedilum niveum

Paphiopedilum niveum belongs to a group of warm growing Paphiopedilum species with large white or pale yellow flowers from South-east Asia. Paph. niveum comes from the Malaysian Peninsular and is probably the warmest growing in the group. In addition to its well-shaped flowers that are almost snow-white (niveum) it has attractive mottled foliage.

Arne bought this orchid on January 21st, 2017, the same day as the Women’s March in Washington DC (and all around the world). So far based on his experience, Arne admits that this Paph. niveum is not the easiest growing species to grow. Perhaps our current growing conditions is not quite optimal for this plant as compared to our other warm growing orchids. For example, it is probably too cold for the two-three months during winter. The Paph. niveum seems to be much less forgiving in that respect.

Arne sees this as a challenge and aims to learn how to really grow this orchid well. After all, it comes from my birth region. If we finally find the secret to keep this orchid happy, I guess it will appear in this blog again next time! 

A) April 29th. 

B) July 4th. Took a little time before the flower bud developed.

C) By July 8th, the single white flower was completely opened.

 D) To the left, the flower in natural light; to the right, in our basement with the artificial lighting

E) Our Paph. niveum enjoying the Baltimore summer with our other warm loving orchids in the backyard.

I am happy to say, that until today, July 25th, the single flower is still in bloom and looking great. No signs of wilting as yet. That is why I love orchids! A challenge to grow but worth the wait.

Orchid of the day: Schoenorchis fragrans

Schoenorchis fragrans

Our Schoenorchid fragrans, from southeast Asia, which is one of the absolute smallest vandaceous orchids, is in full bloom again this July. I love this particular orchid because it was no bigger than a quarter when we first got it and now it has grown...actually not too much but we have about fifty flowers! See below.

A) Actual size today.

Below is when we began noticing the buds developing in late June.

B) We almost missed seeing these tiny buds. The leaves are thick and fleshy.

C) Another angle of the developing flower buds.

D) By July 4th, some of the flowers were already opening.

E) More flowers by July 8th.

F) By July 18 about 5 buds left to open.

I hope you enjoyed these tiny beauties, we certainly do. Until my next post, have a great week everyone!

Please visit my earlier posts regarding this orchid, you will see how many flowers have developed over the few years we have had this orchid. Interestingly, the entire plant remained miniature. Here are some of the links, July 19, 2015; August 2, 2017; July 23, 2016.

Orchid of the day: Tolumnia popoki 'Mitzi'

Tolumnia popoki 'Mitzi'

This orchid which is also called "Oncidium Dancing Lady"  was purchased in 2009. This miniature oncidium is also commonly called equitant oncidium. The intense purple to dark red hue has a tendency to fade away rather quickly, so by the time these photos were taken, the flowers looked a little 'washed out'.

A) By May 20, we have at least fourteen flower buds emerging from the single flower stem. 

B) The entire orchid in full bloom on June 14.

C) Beautiful blooms on June 14th.

I posted about this particular orchid in 2014. If you click on the link from 2014, you can really see how this orchid has grown. 

D) A final close up of our Dancing Lady.

I hope you have enjoyed the photos from my post today. Unfortunately, all the blooms have wilted away today. But these flowers do last for almost one month. That is what I love about orchids. 

Orchid of the day: Prosthechea mariae, formerly known as Encyclia mariae

Prosthechea mariae, formerly Encyclia mariae

A plant like Prosthechea mariae or formerly named, Encyclia mariae, will always attract attention.  Although the plant as such is very small, each growth produces an impressive flower stem with three to five large flowers in white and sharply contrasting apple green colors.  This year our plant had fifteen flowers and it really looked spectacular. Arne decided to display this orchid at the show table for the monthly meeting of the Maryland Orchid Society recently.  It was voted the best species and became the judges’ choice as the best plant for the evening.

Not many orchid growers have Encyclia mariae in their collections because of its reputation of being difficult to grow and I guess that adds to its aura of uniqueness.

A) Five flowers stems on May 20th.

B) By June 13th, all fifteen flowers had opened.

C) Zooming to one of the individual flower.

D) Flowers are still blooming as of June 24th.

I hope you have enjoyed my post today. This is one of the most impressive looking orchid in our collection. A beautiful specimen, native of Mexico.

Orchid of the day: Phalaenopsis parishii

Phalaenopsis parishii

This miniature orchid, native to eastern Himalayas, Assam India, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam, thrive in hot to warm climates. The flowers are densely scatter on the stems and have a mild scent. This orchid came to us in 2012 and I posted it for the first time, June 13th, 2015.

Like most of our orchids, our Phalaenopsis parishii seems to bloom around the same time each year, late May to early June. This time, we have twenty one flowers blooming.

A) May 20th, 2018.

B) By May 26th, more flowers had opened. This time around we have 21 flowers.

C) Anthony providing size comparison of this tiny orchid from June 2015.

D) Our orchid enjoying the warm sun on May 20th.

E) A close up of the individual bloom.

I must say that this miniature orchid is very breathtaking to look at. The flowers are about 2 cm in height yet the colours are so vivid and each bloom is so beautifully shaped.

I hope you all enjoyed my post for today.

These tiny beauties never fail to amaze me each time.

Until next time, have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul Bariah'

Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul-Bariah' AM/AOS

A) Our orchid was recently selected as the Judges' choice at the local Maryland Orchid Society meeting  on the 17th of May, 2018.

B) Here is Anthony with our Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul-Bariah'.

For the past three years, we have had a single flower stem with six flowers. Actually, six flowers per stem is more than the norm, hence this orchid clone received the Award of Merit (AM), from the American Orchid Society on June 7th, 2014. I had mentioned in the past, how much we would love to have a second inflorescence in the future with twelve flowers in total! See my post from June 21st, 2015. Now that we do, we ended up having only five flowers per stem. I guess we can't have everything. Ten beautiful flowers aren't too shabby, I would say. 😊

C) On April 14th, we clearly saw two flower stems and with five flower buds developing. This was in contrast from the last three years, where we only had one flower stem.

D) By May 14th, almost all ten flowers, five per stem or inflorescence, were opened to show their magnificent shape and colour.

E) Zooming in, we see how extended and twirly the petals are.

F) An 'aerial' view of our orchid.

G) From behind, you can see the stripes on the sepals.

H) A final close up showing the details in the flower.

To conclude today's post, I must confess that this is definitely one of my favourites. Of course having an orchid clone named after me didn't hurt either! I hope you found this post a feast to your eyes.

Until next week, here a photo of this orchid with it's certificate from the AOS in 2014.

Orchid of the day: Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom Carmela

Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom 'Carmela'

Our Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom 'Carmela' or it is now officially called Vanda Cherry Blossom 'Carmela', is in full bloom today. It has nine flower spikes and at least one hundred and sixty flowers. Here is the link to my May 26, 2014 post, which shows how small this orchid was. This orchid has a keiki, which is a 'baby' plant that has generated from the stem the mother plant, hence the term, keiki. This hybrid, is a cross between Neofinetia falcata x Ascocentrum ampullaceum, do not have a scent.

A) April 14th, developing flower buds.

B) View from above.

C) My dear Anthony, posing quietly next to our orchid.

D) By May 4th, all the flowers are in full bloom.

E) A profile view of our orchid in the sun.

F) A view from above of our orchid.

G) Zooming into each individual flower.

This is my post for this weekend. I hope these photos brought you some pleasure.

Until my next post, have a great week!