Orchid of the day: Paphiopedilum dianthum

Paphiopedilum dianthum is native to Southwestern China and Northern Vietnam, where the forest is semi-deciduous, evergreen and mossy wet areas.

http://www.orchidspecies.com/paphdianthum.htm

http://slipperorchids.info/paphdatasheets/polyantha/dianthum/index.html

These photos were taken in July 2006 when we lived in our 5th floor apartment. This orchid has been doing very well in Arne's hand. I think it is very unique and 'wild looking'. I can just imagine how it would look out in nature.

Up close, our Paphiopedilum dianthum. Below are two photos from websites to show how interesting this orchid is.

http://www.orchidspecies.com/paphdianthum.htm

http://slipperorchids.info/paphdatasheets/polyantha/dianthum/index.html

Caring for his orchids at home

Today I'm just showing you how much Arne works to keep his orchid hobby going. 

 Here's some photos of his orchidarium in our basement. He has two and both with their own timers for lights. Anthony likes to keep him company because it is quite cool in there.

              

Orchidariums up close. Arne has them in the corner of the basement right next to the electrical outlet. We hope to expand the tool bench and buy another orchidarium. This blog is encouraging him to buy more orchids. I guess I'm partly to blame!

Arne uses my upstairs bathroom to water his orchids, those he hangs in our study window. 

He waters them like this. He makes sure the water runs out and he allows the remaining water to drip off before hanging the orchid back.

Yes, this is how it has been living with Arne and his orchid collection. He just bought another Cochlioda rosea and it came yesterday. I will keep you posted when it starts to bloom. I am actually excited because many of his orchids are budding already! I have taken pictures of those budding orchids and waiting for them to bloom. There will be more beautiful posts to come!

Orchid of the day: Cochlioda rosea

Cochlioda rosea is an epiphytic orchid from the genus Cochlioda. This orchid is native to the high altitudes of the Andes mountains of South Eastern Equador, Northern Peru and Bolivia (1500 to 2200 meters). The common name for Cochlioda rosea is The Rose Colored Cochlioda. They are cool temperature (45°-50°F) growing orchids and require moderate light. (http://www.orchidspecies.com/cochrosea.htm)

A few websites recommended potting this orchid but Arne prefers to keep his orchid on the wood piece they come on. Arne waters the orchid twice weekly to avoid leaving the orchid 'bone dry', as he puts it. This orchid is a cool grower and is quite a challenge to cultivate in Baltimore especially during the Summer.

Flowers from this genus are well adapted to pollination by humming birds (An Atlas of Orchid Pollination: European Orchids by Nelis A. Van Der Cingel, CRC Press, Jun 2001). Arne got this specimen from a friend, Evan, who bought it from a reliable online orchid growing company.

There are about six species Cochlioda; C. rosea, C. sanguinea, C. coccinea, C. vulcanica, C. densiflora and C. noezliana. I am afraid my blog has inspired Arne to buy more orchid, he just bought one inline for $60.

After viewing many orchid websites and forums, I noticed how the contributors like to put real close up of each flower. I decided to try this out for my blog. Maybe there is something 'they' notice with super close-ups that I don't...

Orchid of the day:a primary hybrid, Cattleya or Laeliocattleya (Lc)

This is another Laeliocattleya (Lc) or Cattleya hybrid (see previous post). The name is interesting. The company that Arne purchased this specimen, produced this primary hybrid and named it.

The name is Lc. Mini Purple 'Heavens to Betsy' x Lc. Mini Purple 'Blue Hawaii'. If you click on the link below, you can see the exact same flower. I guess Arne succeeded in taking care of this hybrid orchid as instructed.

Cattleya are native to the slopes of the Andes in South America. They love temperate climate, mild nights and relatively warm days. Bright light is great for flowering but not direct sunlight. Good drainage is good because too much water can rot the roots. See how the roots are growing out of the pot.

Here's the same orchid but at a different angle. I didn't notice any strong fragrance from the flower. Good thing for me!

The flower up close. These photos were taken at the end of January 2014. At that time, the flower had bloomed for more than 1 month. Unfortunately, the flower is no more. Until next time.

Orchid of the day: Laeliocattleya Love knot

Laeliocattleya Love Knot is a cross between Laelia sincorana x Cattleya walkeriana (abbreviated Lc. Love Knot). The orchid is very compact with 4 large lavender flowers. Lc. Love Knot has received an award merit from the Japan Orchid Growers Association.

These photos were taken in February 2013. Very soon it will be blooming again! I used flash for this picture and you can see have vibrant the lavender shade is on the flowers.

Interestingly, as I researched the web, Laeliocattleya Love Knot might NOT be called that anymore! In the link below,  the new name for this orchid is Cattleya Love Knot. Not only is culturing orchids tricky, naming them is also very complicated. Oh and by the way, Arne doesn't think the word 'tricky' is appropriate. "I should say culturing orchids is different from regular plants". And with that, I have expressed Arne's opinion.

The flowering period for this orchid is Winter, well these photos were taken in late February 2013. I hope to get new photos this year to share them with you all. This orchid also emits a strong fragrance. I must say I am quite sensitive to floral fragrance, I am grateful that Arne puts them in his orchidarium in the basement instead of our study. They are beautiful though!

Orchids of the day: Coelogyne nitida and Phragmepedium bessae

I am happy that this blog has been helpful to some of my friends. Together with Arne, I will post on how to culture orchids at home pretty soon. Right now I am just introducing the orchids that we have at home. Orchids are tricky to culture. I know some of us over water them thinking that they are like regular plants. That is why I added links that would provide some basic background on the sensitive nature of orchid growing. If you have questions, you are welcome to send in comments as Anonymous (if you are not comfortable to sign in). Arne and I would love to help out as best we can. Once again, thanks for your interest. This makes posting new photos fun for me! 

This is Coelogyne nitida. This orchid is in the Coelogyne genus and is a cool growing orchid, a native of the Himalayan region of India and Southeast Asia. This photo was taken late February 2010. We still have this plant and it grew very well that Arne split it into two. It might not be as big nor produce many flowers this year but we look forward to the blooms! The flowers are very beautiful and produce a pleasant mild fragrance. I will certainly take more photos of the blooms this year. This blog has made me more interested in orchids! 

Phragmepedium bessae is a native of South America and was discovered in 1981 in Ecuador and Peru. Here is a blog site that shares the basic care for this particular orchid, commercial-free! http://www.orchid-care-tips.com/phragmipedium-besseae.html. The flower lasted between 2 to 3 weeks. Unlike Coelogyne nitida (above), Leptotes bicolor and Cattleya walkeriana (from previous posts), Phragmepedium bessae produced one flower on the stalk. But the color of Phragmepedium bessae flower is so vibrant and striking. Here's another link with more information on culturing this orchid.

Orchid of the day: Potinara Memoria Shirley Moore Mendenhall

Arne told me that this orchid is complex. "You won't believe the name," he said. He was right.  I have never heard of Potinara as an orchid name before. Potinara, abbreviated to Pot. is a complex hybrid orchid where the parental orchids come from the genera Brassavola, Cattleya, Laelia and Sophronitis. 

This photo was taken in mid September 2009. The plant is still growing well and I will be sure take more photos of the flowers this Summer. This orchid was named after the well known Knoxville orchid grower, Shirley Moore. 

The care of this orchid is similar to Cattleya.

Going through the internet, I found other Potinara with the name Memoria Shirley Moore. The one that we have is Mendenhall and the other one I found is Pot. Memoria Shirley Moore Newberry (look it up online). 

Orchids of the day: Encyclia mariae and Dendrobium jenkensii

Back again after 2 days hiatus. Happy Groundhog Day and Super Bowl! Six more weeks of winter and maybe the Broncos will win. After all it is the year of the Horse per Chinese calendar. OK, enough of current events in the States. Let's talk orchids now. 

Encyclia mariae (synonymously known as Euchile mariae) was discovered in 1937. A native of the higher elevations of the dry oaks forest near the border of Mexico with Texas. It has greenish yellow flowers with prominent white lip with green veins at the base. Here you can see how Arne hangs the Encyclia mariae in his orchidarium along side his other orchids but when it gets warm, he will hang it in the window.

This orchid is best mounted on wood or the bark of a cork oak. It blooms in Spring and Summer and the flowers produce a pleasant subtle fragrance. Out in nature, this orchid is a semi-deciduous plant and does require dry winter rest, and moderate light. Arne has been very successful with Encyclia mariae indoors here and it will be flowering a lot more in Spring 2014! These photos were taken from June 2012.

Up close with the blooms. They are very fragile looking. It fascinates me how small the actual orchid is attached to the bark and how large the flowers can be. Imagine how beautiful it must look in nature! Apparently there are 4 clones of the Encyclia mariae and if you are interest simply go to an orchid forum and type in Encyclia mariae. 

This is Dendrobium jenkensii, also called Jenkin's Dendrobium because it was named after an officer of the East India Trading Company in the early 1800's. I gather he was an orchid enthusiast. It is a native of Hainan China, Assam, Eastern Himalayas, Nepal, Burma and Laos. Dendrobium jenkensii thrives in open forest on tree trunks at elevations of 700 m to 1500 m. 

This photo was taken in April 2010 and we are looking forward to more flowers this year. This orchid flourish in the warm Summer weather. Arne keeps it extremely dry between mid-November until mid-February. Then he would start watering once a week to induced flowering. Arne said this is a tricky one to grow indoors but he can! 

The species in the above photo is Dendrobium lindleyi which is commonly confused with Dendrobium jenkensii. The difference between the two is that jenkensii is a true miniature orchid with big but few flowers. Dendrobium lindleyi on the other hand is larger, produces bigger and more  flowers per stalk when it blooms. Plus the flowers produce a pleasant fragrance. This photo was taken in April 2013 and the orchid is doing well. Hopefully I can update you with more pictures.