Orchid of the day: Aerangis fastuosa

Aerangis fastuosa

Our Aerangis fastuosa is blooming today. These very crisp white flowers emit a mild fragrance during the day but becomes more intense in the evening. Probably to attract night moths for pollination in nature. This orchid is native to Madagascar and I've featured this beauty in my earlier posts.

A) Flower buds observed earlier this month.

B) Six buds developing on March 4th.

C) Five flowers in bloom by March 16.

D) Today, March 25, all six flowers are fully opened.

E) All flowers opened and emitting a pleasant mild fragrance.

F) A close up to conclude this post.

According to Arne this orchid is an easy grower. It can be cultured like a Phalaenopsis but does require more light. That concludes my post for today.

I hope you will have a great week!

Orchid of the day: Coelogyne nitida

Coelogyne nitida

The genus Coelogyne from Southeast Asia contains both warm and cool growing species.  Coel. nitida belongs to the cool growing group but it is quite forgiving of warmer temperatures, especially during summer.  Coel. nitida wants copious amounts of water from spring to fall but the medium should never get soggy.  The balance is quite tricky and Arne finds it best to plant it in 50 % sphagnum moss with large chunks of bark and coconut husk, which break up the sphagnum moss and allow air to the roots. 

The plant is funny in that next year’s flower spike develops already with the new growth in spring and summer. The flower stems just stand like spears in the center of the growths until next season.  When the plant becomes dormant in November/December, no water is given until about February when suddenly the 'pre-made' flower stems quickly swell up and the buds break out into flowers.

A) Flowers growing almost 'linearly' on March 4th.

B) Beautiful bright orange dots on the lip of each flowers.

C) Out in the sun, briefly today. A total of thirteen flowers this season.

D) Another close up of the bright orange and yellow hue on the lips.

E) This orchid was divided a few years ago. It is now in its fifth year.

I hope you enjoyed looking at this beautiful orchid. Still blooming and has a mild fragrance in the middle of the day. Until my next post, have a great week!

Orchid of the day: Tolumnia Tequila Sunrise

Tolumnia Tequila Sunrise

We bought this orchid in 2014 and it came in a pot. It didn't take long before Arne transplanted it to cork and it has thrived since then. Today more new flowers are in bloom. 

A) January 12, 2018. 

B) A close up of the flowers.

C) The entire plant doing well on the cork.

Above are photos of the same plant. Above left is from 2014 , when still in the pot, and to the right is two years (2016) after being transplanted to the cork.

Until my next post, have a good week!

Orchid of the day: Rhyncostylis gigantea

Rhyncostylis gigantea

Rhynchostylis gigantea is a Vanda-like species from Southeast Asia which recently became unusually popular for a pure species.  One reason for its popularity is the many colour varieties that exist.  To that comes very long-lasting flowers with pleasant fragrance and its bloom season which happens to be right smack in the cold months of January-February.

Rhy. gigantea is an extremely slow-growing orchid.  We acquired this plant in 2015, having two small leaves and since then it has finally become large enough to bloom for the first time this year.  Other than that it is an easy plant to care for as long as it can grow in moderate light with not too cold temperatures year round.

As it loves to have its roots exposed to air, Arne grows this plant in a cedar basket with almost no substrate; the roots just climb the wood.  It enjoys growing outdoors in the hot and humid Baltimore summer. 

A) December 10th, 2017.

We have had this orchid since 2015 and finally we see a flower stem developing.

B) A close up of the developing inflorescent.
Difficult to predict the outcome at this stage on December 10th.

C) The entire orchid by January 12, 2018.
Clear development of the flower buds was observed.

D) We can estimated about eighteen to twenty flowers here.

E) By February 6th, most of the flowers had opened.

F) Zooming into the flower cluster. What beautiful colours!

G) White with speckles of purple.
Or vice versa, depending on how you wish to see it!

H) Our Ryncostylis gigantea. Smells like sweet candy!

I hope you enjoy my post today.

Another orchid that we will look forward to the beautiful flowers each year.

Until my next post, as usual have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Angraecum sesquipedale

Angraecum sesquipedale

Once again our Madagascan beauty bloomed and produced three beautiful flowers which emit a mild fragrance in the evenings. I love Angraecum sesquipedale because this exotic orchid produces very unique flowers with long spurs. As I have mentioned many times, in nature, only one particular moth can pollinate this orchid. The moth is called Xanthopan morganii with the specialized proboscis. I described this in detail in my earlier post January 27, 2014.

A) By December 10, three flower buds had developed. 

B) Flower buds up close. 

C) This photo was taken on January 12. Two of the three flowers had opened.

D) Three days later all flowers were fully opened. 

Today all three flowers are still in bloom. We have noticed over time, that the flowers are rather sensitive to dry winter conditions in the house. This resulted in the browning of the tips of each petals. This is visible from my earlier posts (2015, 2016 and 2017). A solution maybe to purchase a humidifier for the orchids in the basement. We'll let you know if this will work. 

Once again I hope you enjoyed my post for the day. I will conclude with a photo from 2014, where Anthony posed with our Angraecum sesquipedale. 

Have a great week everyone!

Orchid of the day: Prosthechea vitellina, formerly Encyclia vitellina

Prosthechea vitellina (formerly Encyclia vitellina)

I posted about this orchid last year, February 12, 2017. It is now named Prosthechea (previously Encyclia) vitellina. This orchid hails from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, where it grows as an epiphyte at high elevations.  High elevations means cold to cool conditions, something most orchid growers cannot offer unless they have an air-conditioned greenhouse.  Unlike most cold growers, Psh vitellina is fortunately rather forgiving when it comes to temperature and can adapt to somewhat warmer than ideal conditions.  What Arne has seen, however, is that warmer temperatures seem to be reflected in the pseudobulbs which grow into an oblong rather than round shape when the temperature is warmer than ideal.  The quality or shape of the flowers is not affected by somewhat elevated growing temperature.

Based on our own experience, Psh vitellina does not need any dry winter rest as suggested in most cultural notes.  Arne has his Psh vitellina in a rather small clay pot with bark/sphagnum mix. From the time growth starts in spring until the flower stems begin to appear in August, Arne gives the orchid water regularly.  Watering is marginally reduced during the rest of the year, which is essentially one single blooming season. 

A) By December 6, 2017, two flower stems had developed with four flowers on one.

B) The flower stem to the left, appeared larger and there are approximately eight flower buds.

C) The flower buds up close.

D) By January 12, 2018, we can see at least fifteen flowers on the left flower stem and four on the right stem. A total of about nineteen flowers.

E) Beautifully intense colour of each bloom.

F) Another pretty picture.

G) Intense bright orange beauty, to conclude today's post.

As of today, we have nineteen flowers but the numbers may increase. It is difficult to guess until all the flowers are opened! I hope this post has been a fun read.

Until my next post, do have a good week everyone.

Orchid of the day: Dendrochilum uncatum var. uncatum

Dendrochilum uncatum var. uncatum

This orchid came our way last year and has been flowering since early November until now. This species is native to Taiwan and the Philippines. The height of this orchid is about 15 cm or ~ 6 inches. The flowers are about 1 cm and are bright yellow green with dark green shiny leaves.

There are two varieties of Dendrochilum uncatum; first is this one, Dendrochilum uncatum var. uncatum, where the hooked arms are attached at the middle of the column. Second is the Dendrochilum uncatum var. longispicatum, where the arms are attached on the bottom column.

In the wild, this orchid would grow on rocks and trees at elevations of 1,000 to 2,300 m. The common name of this orchid is "The Hooked-Shaped Dendrochilum", referring to the inward bent to the arms on the column.

A) A close up of the flowers.

B) By December 6, almost all of the flowers on ten inflorescences, were blooming.

C) Here is another photo taken on December 10.

D) A closer look at the individual flowers.

E) The entire specimen to conclude my post for January 1st, 2018.

Happy 2018 to everyone!