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!