Orchid of the day: Leptotes bicolor

Leptotes bicolor

Our Leptotes bicolor is flowering again! The last time I posted was March 16th, 2014 and I thought it was glorious then but today we have more than 55 flowers including several buds still waiting to open. We are hoping to bring this specimen for judging next Saturday in Washington DC but the flowers tend to wilt by two weeks. We have this orchid is our basement for now, hoping that the cooler temperature can delay wilting and preserve the flowers for another week. Please enjoy the photos taken over time.

A) March 1st. This time the orchid produced 11 new shoots and each shoot produced a cluster of flowers buds. 

B) View from above.

C) Side view of the clusters of developing flowers from the shoots.

D) By March 13th, flowers were developing.

E) Side profile of the young flower buds.

F) We have the orchid hanging either by our window or in the orchidarium. Notice how the flowers are gently hanging downwards.

G) March 22nd. A combination of opened flowers and buds. These opened flowers have a longevity of 2 weeks before wilting.

H) Beautiful cascading flowers.

I) Today March 29th, almost all of the buds are opened and emitting a weak fragrant.

K) Leptotes bicolor from March 2014.

J) March 29th, 2015. Impressive specimen.

The photo to the left (J) is what we observed today. The right (K) was when this orchid bloomed in March last year. I thought last year this orchid was magnificent but when you put the two pictures side by side, clearly this orchid is doing really well this year. If it can retain all the flowers until next Saturday, April 4th, we may have a chance in DC for something! Fingers cross.

If anyone is interested in trying this orchid, here are some simple rules. This orchid needs to be watered 2 to 3 times a week and should be mounted. Leptotes bicolor, a native of Brazil,  also loves a lot of light. 

Orchid of the day: Coelogyne nitida

Coelogyne nitida

Coelogyne nitida is a cool-growing species originating in the Himalayas of India and Southeast Asia, e.g. Nepal, Bhutan, upper Burma, Northeastern India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Laos. This orchid requires a resting period in winter, with very little watering and these conditions may aid flowering.

A) Coelogyne nitida from 2010

In my earlier post from February 4, 2014, I featured the orchid in the above picture (A). We have since then divided it and one half has started to bloom. The flowers from this plant is being featured in this post.

B) A few weeks after the orchid was divide in April 2014. One flower stem developed at that time with two blooms.

C) March 13th, 2015. The divided plant flourished and this year developed two healthy looking flower stems.

D) Flower buds up close.

E) Another close up from above.

F) By March 22nd, all six flowers developed.

G) The beautiful pair of yellow-orange dots, also known as the eyes, are prominently featured on the upper portion of the lip of each flower.

H) All six flowers in bloom today.

That's all I have for this post. I hope the flowers will last for awhile. I love the beautiful yellow dots on each of the flowers. 

Orchid of the day: Stelis quadrifida or Pleurothallis ghiesbreghtiana

Our mystery orchid

I wanted to share this orchid with you. This is how the story begins. Arne bought Dendrobium jenkensii  which is attached to a tree fern/twig in 2007. At the top of this fern/twig, he noticed a small plant which he thought was just an extra plant, not an orchid. Over the years, the plant grew and occasionally produced yellowish flowers. This year there are multiple flower stems and a multitude of yellowish-green flowers. There were so many flowers and upon further inspection, we agreed that this is some kind of miniature orchid. Our Dendrobium jenkensii hasn't flowered yet but we were determined to find out what this orchid is.

A) What is the orchid on top?

I can spend forever looking at images of orchids in the internet but I'm glad that I joined an international orchid forum. The folks are really helpful and positive. 

B) We hang the entire plant-combo in our study window sill and it has been a cold winter indeed. Arne thinks that the cold could have induced the flowering more than ever.

C) Up close photo of the flowers. Miniature orchids, and very delicate. The flowers are small, about 1/4 of an inch across.

Based on the dialogue we had from the Orchid Forum, we found out that this orchid is a Pleurothallis ghiesbreghtiana or the accepted name is now Stelis quadrifida. This orchid is a hot to cool growing orchid and found in central America as well as in Jamaica. It can be grown in a pot or in our case, mounted with year round moisture and good air circulation.

D) The flowers looking beautiful in the bright sunlight. 

Another suggestion was that this orchid is a Pleurothallis grobyi, which is also found in central America but the leaves are smaller than ours. For now, we agree that this is Stelis quadrifida, and we are sticking to that!

Maryland Orchid Exhibition 2015

I am sharing some photos from our visit to the Maryland Orchid Society Exhibition at the Maryland State Fair, in Timonium. It has been such a cold winter and on Saturday March 7th, the weather changed to the better! This was my first trip to the fair and I have to say the exhibition was eye catching and I had fun.

Exhibition of prize winning orchids from growers of the Maryland Orchid Society

Orchid enthusiasts buying and discussing with experts.

Arne bought three orchids this time, Rhynchostylis gigantea, Paphiopedilum druryi and Aerangis mystacidii. It will be sometime before I can post about them. But stay tuned!

This orchid really caught my eye. It reminded me of a beautiful batik design. I didn't get the name but we guess it is an Oncidium alliance hybrid.

An assortment of orchids to pick and choose from.

A beautiful collection of orchids to end this post.

To David Marsalis Carter (DMC). You will be missed by so many.

Orchid of the day: Cattlianthe Trick or Treat (previously known as Laeliocattleya (Lc) Trick or Treat)

Cattlianthe Trick or Treat

When I started putting this post together, I was told the name of this orchid is Laeliocattleya (Lc) Trick or Treat. Then Arne started researching and found out the name has changed! So the new name for this complex hybrid is Cattlianthe Trick or Treat. When he bought this orchid, he was told it wasn't going to be too big but of course over the years, the orchid grew and grew. He has had this orchid for at least 4 years now. Today we measured and we found that the height of this orchid including the 4 inch pot is 20 inches. 

A) Jan. 23rd 2015

B) Jan. 31st 2015

C) Feb. 12th 2015.

Below is a paragraph Arne put together to explain why and what the name change is all about. 

I don’t really like very complex hybrids so I bought my Laeliocattleya Trick or Treat at the Maryland orchid because it didn’t look like a hybrid and it its orange color was very intense. That was four years ago.  Since then it is not a Laeliocattleya anymore.  One of its grandparents, Cattleya aurantiaca, belonged to the group of bifoliate Cattleyas that are now all clustered into the genera Guarianthe.  Two other grandparents were Laelia cinnabarina and Laelia crispate, orange and yellow, respectively, which are now considered Cattleyas.

This all ends up with an orchid hybrid that involves the two genera Cattleya and Guarianthe and the final name ends up being Cattlianthe Trick or Treat.  No one should believe that this is the final name.  I will continue calling it Laeliocattleya because I’m sure the Royal Horticultural Society in England will come up with different names for the parents soon. -by Arne.

D) Jan. 23rd, the four blooms developing.

E) Two blooms fully opened on Jan. 30th.

F) Up close of the brightly colored blooms

G) A side profile.

H) By Feb. 12, all four flowers are opened.

I) The flowers are all still in bloom March 1st 2015.

That's my post for this weekend. As usual, more to come! We do have a few just bursting to bloom! Let's pray the cold Winter ends soon and Spring will be on her way soon!

Orchid of the day: Angraecum sesquipedale

Angraecum sesquipedale

I posted about our Angraecum sesquipedale last year (January 27th 2014) and I do recommend for those interested to refer to my earlier post for some background information. Briefly though, this orchid originates from Madagascar and needs a special moth (Xanthopan morganii) to pollinate it as you can see the long extended spur on each of the two flowers. 

A) December 14th 2014, we noticed a prominent flower stem growing out of the leaves.

Initially we expected two flower stems to grow out of the leaves but only one flower stem became fully developed. Angraecum sesquipedale orchids are monopodial orchids, meaning they grow upwards from a single point and they tend to produce a lot of aerial roots.

B) A different angle of the the flower stem with two developing flower buds.

C) By January 14th 2015, the spurs from the two flowers are clearly protruding out. 

D) Up close of the developing flowers. Interesting looking, aren't they?

E) The spurs began to straightened out by January 31st.

F) They remind me of swans at this point.

G) February 18th, 2015. Both flowers are completely open. The one to the right opened at least one week earlier and due to the severe cold weather we have been having and less humidity in the house, you can see that the two petal tips are browning a little.

H) The width of the flower from right to left is ~ 6.5 inches while the spurs are ~ 1 feet in length.

This amazing looking orchid is a wonder to me. I love the fact that they still exist in the wild andthat they need a highly specialize means of pollinating, i.e. that one particular moth species. The environment is precious and we share the world with so many amazing living beings. Okay, getting off my soapbox now. Hope you had a good read. 

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

Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta

Arne wrote the paragraph below as an introduction to this fascinating orchid. When it arrived, it really didn't look like much but once the pendulous inflorescence appeared, this miniature orchid from Africa proved to be a jewel among our collection of orchids.

In the same way as humans are the most developed and therefore also the youngest of all mammals, orchids are the most specialized and youngest additions to the world of plants.  The most well-known specialized orchid species is Angraecum sequipedale in Madagascar that has a spur that is about a foot in length that only one particular moth, Xanthopan morganii praedicta, can pollinate.  We have that one and it will be presented in this blog in a week or so (it was featured almost exactly one year ago in this blog).  Another African orchid related to Angraecum that I always wanted to grow is Aerangis luteo-alba var rhodosticta.  It is almost the only orchid in the tropical part of Africa that is not purely white.  It has yellowish white flowers (luteo-alba) with a bright orange-red column (rhodosticta).  It is supposedly notoriously difficult to culture (I still don’t know why) so I hesitated to get one.  Nevertheless, here it is in all its beauty after 7 months in my care. 

-by Arne.

A) October 26th, 2014. A healthy looking orchid which Arne transferred from the plastic pot it came in to the current cork bark.

B) By Dec 14th, four distinct flower stems were in the advance stages of development.

C) A clearer shot of the four flower stems.

D) About one month later, January 18th, about 51 flower buds were developing at this time.

E) The four flower stems at a different angle.

F)  Upon closer examination, you can see the spurs developing on each individual flower.

G) January 25th, I decided to have Arne hold the Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta up to give a sense of proportion.

H) The flowers are produced in two rows on a single plane.

I) By January 31st, almost all flowers are opened. But as it turns out, there are 56 flowers this time around.

J) Up close; the flowers open very flat. The color of our orchids are more towards pale yellow with the bright orange or vermillion hue in the center.

I hope you found this post entertaining. The transformation of this orchid from the moment it arrived to what it is today is quite amazing. Until next time then, have a good week.