Orchid of the day: Brassavola Little star

Brassavola Little Star

This orchid is a hybrid between the Central and South American species, Brassavola nodosa and Brassavola cordata, a Jamaican native. The white flowers, exude a citrusy fragrance at night. We have a few clones of this orchid and I featured a huge clone on Christmas day 2018. That huge clone got too big and we had to divide it into several small plants which are mounted separately.

The clone featured today was first posted on November 26, 2016.  Arne bought this clone at a store in 2010 and at that time it was in a pot without any flowers. It  took Arne a few years to realize that although the orchid was growing well in the pot, it didn't produce many blooms. He then mounted the orchid on a wooden stick and ever since then, every shoot would produce flowers. We assume that growing the orchid in a pot, limits the ability of the plant to produce many flowers at one time. Arne believes that this creates overcrowding which impedes flower development.

A) Our Brassavola Little Star out in the sun.

B) During the cold months, we keep our orchids in our basement under bright lights and a humidifier.

C) The blossoms up close.

I hope you found this post as interesting as I did. Until next time, have a great week and happy leap day!

Orchid of the day: Rhyncholaelia digbyana

Rhyncholaelia digbyana

Arne's comment about Rhyncholaelia digbyana in the previous post (May 12, 2019) was that it is a reluctant bloomer.  He has apparently changed his opinion during the course of this year. This species does require intense light to bloom but it also seems to require several years to reach maturity.  He bought this orchid in 2014 as a small blooming size plant but although it grew very well and received a lot of light it took five years before it produced its first blooms in 2019. But with the emergence of the very first flowers it seemed to have entered a stage where blooming can be expected more frequently and this time it produced five new growths of which four bloomed. 

A) Two fully opened flowers in mid January.

B) Here, a single flower was opened. At this time, we see the developing flower, as a bud next to it.

C) From below, we see a third bud, away from the top two flowers.

D) I love the frilly lips! These flowers are rather big. Approximately 6-7 inches in diameter! The scent is citrus like and very pleasant. 

I hope you enjoyed my post about this native of the Mesoamericas. The national flower of Honduras since 1969. Until next time, have a splendid week.

Orchid of the day: Oncidium croesus

Oncidium croesus

Oncidium croesus orchid, where Croesus is the rich King of Lydia (500 b.c.), is a species of the genus Oncidium. This species was first described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1857.

This orchid is native to Brazil and came from the coastal mountains near Rio de Janeiro and the nearby Organ mountains, at elevation of 400 to 600 meters.

A) A close look of the four fully opened flowers.

B) Arne purchased this orchid last year and as usual, he mounted this orchid on a piece of tree cork. He tied the orchid to the piece of cork with fishing lines.

C) The flowers are up to 4.5 cm in diameter with a golden yellow lip and the rest of the flower segments are dark brownish-purple. The dorsal petal is about 1 cm long and ~0.5 cm wide, while the side petals are ~ 1.5 cm long and ~0.5 cm wide. 

Since first purchasing this orchid, March 1st, 2019, we are very happy to see all these flowers blooming. This is our first flower cascade, and happily, they are all still fully opened open today.  Until my next post, have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Angraecum sesquipedale

Angraecum sesquipedale

Angraecum sesquipedale has been in our home for 13 years. The plant is two feet wide and almost as tall if the pot is excluded. Many of the lower leaves have fallen off, which is normal for this species. Keikis may grow from the lower part and that would make it look lush again.

A) The first snap shot of the developing flowers. Only one flower opening here.

B) The second photo showing the first flower almost fully opening while the other two buds remained closed.

C) The first flower fully opened in this photo.

D) Somewhere, somehow, we missed taking photos of the second and third flowers opening 'gradually'. Anyway, here all three flowers are completely opened! What a beautiful sight.