Orchid of the day: Laelonia Dave's Dapper Dandee

Laelonia Dave's Dapper Dandee

I thought it would be most appropriate to conclude 2016 with the same orchid I started the year with, Laelonia Dave's Dapper Dandee. My first post for 2016 was on January 2 (click here). I am happy to report our specimen produced seven flowers again.

For those curious about the background of this orchid, it is a primary hybrid between Broughtonia negrilensis x Laelia crawshayana.  See my posts from November 10, 2014 and  December 15, 2014.

A) On Dec 7th, the flower stem was once again shooting upwards. Making it rather tight in our basement orchidarium.

B) At the top of the stem, we see the seven buds developing.

C) The flowers are still in bloom but some of them are wilting. At least two of the flowers were blooming by Dec. 17th.

D) This is the only Laelonia that have ever received an award and probably the only Laelonia registered. We are very fortunate to have this specimen in our collection.

With this post, we bid farewell to 2016. May the new year be a good and promising one.

Happy New Year!

Gott Nytt År!

Selamat Tahun Baru!

Orchid of the day: Phalaenopsis lindenii

Phalaenopsis lindenii

We have been quiet for a while as a few of our orchids are not in bloom yet. Then I realized, I had saved some photos during the summer because we had many to post at the same time. Well, I hope you will enjoy our Phalaenopsis lindenii. We posted about this orchid last year, September 20, 2015 (click here).

A) In August 7th, two of the flowers were blooming. There were about seven buds at this time.

B) The entire plant, mounted on cork. We managed to also have a fern growing on top!

The flower size is between 2.5 cm to 3.75 cm. This cool loving orchid is native of the highlands of the Philippines (1000 m to 1500 m elevations). This year we manged to have about 12 flowers although not all of them flowered at the same time.

C) Another close up of our flowering Phalaenopsis lindenii.

We hope this beauty helps to cheer you all during these dark wintry days. Until next post, have a great week!

Orchid of the day: Brassavola Little Stars

Brassavola Little Stars

A little story below about our orchid today, Brassavola Little Stars by Arne.

Brassavola Little Stars is a primary hybrid between B. nodosa and B. subulifolia (the latter parent was earlier known as B. cordata).  Believe it or not, I found this plant at Lowe’s hardware store some 5-6 years ago.  It was in a plastic pot and I transferred it to a clay pot where I kept it for some years.  That was a bad idea.  Finally, I cut the plant into three parts.  I actually trashed most of it and I mounted the two most healthy parts.  This is what mounting can do for a true epiphyte.  It grows well, every new shoot blooms, and the plant presents its flowers as a nice display.  My advice to anyone interested in orchids is to mount orchids that are truly epiphytic.  Water them every day or when you remember.  The vast majority will not die if you accidentally water them too much and the vast majority are very forgiving if you forget to water them for weeks.  To have epiphytic orchids mounted is the way to go.

A) November 6. About seven buds popping out.

B) Buds up close.

C) The day after Thanksgiving. There is still one bud waiting to open.

D) Beautiful white flowers. A pleasant citrus fragrant.

E) Beauty in the Fall sun.

F) A final close up for this post.

This concludes today's post. Until my next post, Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Orchid of the day: Laelia gouldiana

Laelia gouldiana

As this is one of our newer orchids, Arne had put the following paragraph together as a brief introduction to this Mexican beauty.

Laelia gouldiana is a true Laelia from Mexico.  Laelia used to be a genus with species in Mexico and tropical South America, mainly Brazil.   Nowadays, only the species in Mexico are considered Laelias while all the species in Brazil are considered Cattleyas.  Laelia gouldiana is a delightful orchid that is relatively easy to grow (it is very easy to grow where the climate is Mediterranean).  I give it a lot of water from the time it puts out new growths in spring until the flowers have developed in late fall.  While in active growth it needs bright light and temperatures in the range 68 – 85 °F (20 – 30 °C).  It does not like hot Baltimore summers so I let it grow under lights in the basement until it cools down in late August when I put it outside where it can develop its tall flower stems.  It needs a lot of space then! Winters should be on the cooler side when the plants should receive almost no water at all.

By Arne Schon

A) As the temperature hits up, we began to take our orchid out to enjoy the sun in August.

B) The flower stem began shooting upwards and we see signs of flower buds in the tip.

C) By September, the single stem was more than 12 inches in height and we can see the developing buds.

D) Developing buds.

E) By October 16, two of the flowers were in full bloom. We still had six or more buds waiting.

F) The beauty of each flower in the sun.

G) By November 6, the two flowers (in E & F) had wilted but almost all of the remaining buds were opened. We needed a flower stake at this time to hold the flower ladened stem stable.

H.1

H.2

H.3

In photos H.1, H.2 and H.3, I tried to figure out if I can see how many flowers we had. It looked like, on November 6, we still had one more bud still waiting to open. 

Today, I can confirm that our Laelia gouldiana had a total of ten flowers. Quite impressive for our first time. The height of the flower stem is definitely more than 2 feet tall! Our specimen is now sitting indoors by our study window as it is getting cold here in Baltimore. We are getting frost each morning and the Fall is definitely here! Until the next flowering cycle then!

It has been a strange and difficult week for us in this country. I just need to say that I believe there is still a lot of goodness here. Thanks for reading my post today. Until next time, keep the faith and be safe.

Orchid of the day: Cattleya Trick or Treat

Cattleya Trick or Treat

A) On October 16, five brightly coloured flowers were already in full bloom.

I posted about this orchid on November 29, 2015. Each flower can remain in bloom for more than six weeks if not longer. We are seeing the same this time around. I love this orchid because of the bright and vivid orange colour. Not only that, the entire plant, including the flower stem can reach up to 2 feet high. Which makes finding a spot for it in the house quite a challenge!

B) Today we have six flower in full bloom and four buds (to the upper right).

C) The entire plant on our back deck.

D) A closer look of the flower buds. So it looks like we will have ten flowers from our Trick or Treat this time.

I have been waiting to have all ten flowers in full bloom before posting but it is likely some of the 'older' flowers will wilt. Maybe next time, they (the flowers) will time each other better! Well, I hope this post makes you happy. Have a good work week until next time!

Orchid of the day: Cattleya Newberry Radiance

Cattleya Newberry Radiance

I posted about this specimen in 2014 (click this link). Arne bought this orchid in 2005 and this time around, we have two beautifully formed flowers. These flowers were in bloom in early August. This orchid consists of 50 % Minipurple, which we have and I've also posted (click here).

A) Our Cattleya Newberry Radiance in harmony under lights in the orchidarium in our basement.

C) Flowers in the sun.

D) Note the extensive root system in the pot this year.

E) Our orchid is now resting in the basement under lights. Until next time!

That is about it this time around. We have a few more coming up but until next time, have a great week!

Orchid of the day: Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket

Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket

We have had this orchid since 2013 and it usually flowers twice a year. I posted about our Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket in August 2014 and January 2015. Each time it blooms, the flowers become more prominent and emit a pleasant fragrance.

A) Happily growing in our basement, August 14th, 2016.

This orchid is also known as Brassovola Jimminey Cricket and is a primary hybrid between Brassavola nodosa and Rhyncholaelia digbyana (see post in August 2014). We are fortunate that this time around, we have three flowers instead of our usual two.

B) A better contrast in daylight.

C) Zooming in the beautiful fragrant bloom.

D) The beauty of the entire specimen outdoor.

Today, the flowers are gone and our Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket is resting until the next flowering cycle. Until next post, I hope you will have a great week.

Arne and the Maryland Orchid Society

Today's post is about Arne's experience as a new and active member of the Maryland Orchid Society. He has put together a little story of his experience. The photos in this post are two specimen that was awarded the first and third place at the local Maryland Orchid Society meeting in September. I hope you will enjoy.

A) Broughtonia sanguinea Karin' AM/AOS, this orchid was awarded first place.

Maryland Orchid Society (MOS):

I have been growing orchids for 16 years in the US and for much longer if I think of my years in Sweden.  I joined the American Orchid Society (AOS) the same week I arrived in the US, but it took another 16 years before I joined the Maryland Orchid Society (MOS).  It is a nice club where a member or a temporary visitor can listen to presentations by selected orchid growers and look at a large u-shaped show table.  Any member can exhibit plants put in different categories such as the Cattleya, Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium alliances as well as in the species, miniature, various-other-hybrids, and fragrance sections.  To make sure everyone can show something, there are also the novice, homegrown and greenhouse sections.  Although there is some aspect of competition, it is all very friendly and the real purpose is for anyone to see different flowering orchids nicely displayed.  For instance, most people have only seen obscure pictures of rare orchid flowers and they will never know how the flowers and the plants really look like until they actually see them in real life.  Some of them might be gigantic plants with beautiful but relatively small flowers whereas others turn out to be very small plants with rewarding cascades of showy flowers perfect for confined spaces at home.

This paragraph was contributed by Arne.

B) A clearer focus on the blue ribbon.

C) Brassavola perinni. This specimen was placed third.

D) Zoom in of our Broughtonia sanguinea 'Karin' AM/AOS

Our Broughtonia sanguinea 'Karin' is currently on loan and will be a part of an exhibition in Washington, DC.

Orchid of the day: Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta

Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodostica

This is our miniature orchid, Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodostica, endemic across equatorial Africa. The color varies from pure white to ivory, cream or pale yellow. We purchased this specimen in August 2014 and it flowered twice in 2015 (see post Feb 1st, 2015 and October 25th, 2015). Once again without fail, it is in bloom this year.

A) August 7th, flowers stems developing.

B) 'Aerial' view of the specimen.

C) By September 17th, almost forty flowers were in bloom.

D) Upclose of the cascading flowers.

E) The profile of an individual flower.

I hope you enjoyed our flowering Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta. It may flower again this year. We hope to take it for judging next time. Wish us luck!