Orchid of the day: Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom Carmela

Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom 'Carmela'

Our Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom 'Carmela' or it is now officially called Vanda Cherry Blossom 'Carmela', is in full bloom today. It has nine flower spikes and at least one hundred and sixty flowers. Here is the link to my May 26, 2014 post, which shows how small this orchid was. This orchid has a keiki, which is a 'baby' plant that has generated from the stem the mother plant, hence the term, keiki. This hybrid, is a cross between Neofinetia falcata x Ascocentrum ampullaceum, do not have a scent.

A) April 14th, developing flower buds.

B) View from above.

C) My dear Anthony, posing quietly next to our orchid.

D) By May 4th, all the flowers are in full bloom.

E) A profile view of our orchid in the sun.

F) A view from above of our orchid.

G) Zooming into each individual flower.

This is my post for this weekend. I hope these photos brought you some pleasure.

Until my next post, have a great week!

Orchid of the day: Dendrobium jenkensii

Dendrobium jenkensii

Our Dendrobium jenkensii has been in our care for ten years now. This orchid is native to the cooler and elevated region of Eastern Himalaya which includes the Hainan region in China, Burma and Assam in India.

You should checkout my post from April 13th, 2014, which shows how small this orchid was. Since then it has been doing well due to Arne's care and devotion. We are fortunate to have thirty five flowers this Spring.

A) Flower buds were already developing by April 14th.

B) What a contrast compared to how it looked four years ago.

C) Today, April 29th, almost all of the flowers were fully opened. Due to the unpredictable Spring weather this year, we still house our D. jenkensii in our basement in the orchidarium.

This orchid did really well once we separated it from the hitch hiker orchid, Stelis quadrifida, see my post from May 25, 2015.

D) Zooming into an individual bloom. These flowers are relatively fragile compared to our other orchids, and would only last for about one week after fully blooming.

E) A view from above. They do look like ladies with ballgowns and wearing full reamed hats!

Well this is my post for this weekend.

I hope these beautiful flowers brightened your day a little.

Until next time, have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Paphiopedilum delenatii 'Karin Schon' AM/AOS

Paphiopediulm delenatii 'Karin Schon' AM/AOS

This orchid was awarded the Award of Merit (AM) from the American Orchid Society (AOS) on March 10th 2016. This slipper orchid is a native of the cooler regions in Vietnam, named after the French orchid enthusiast, Delenat. We named this orchid after my mother-in-law, Karin.

A) The orchid on April 14, with a total of four flowers. There was not too much sun when taking this photo.

B) By March 4th, we noticed the two flower stems stretching upwards with two flower buds developing on each of them.

C) March 18th, the buds were slowly opening to unfold the blooms within.

D) The sun was cooperative that day, April 1st, and we can clearly see the beautiful colour contrast of the lip and the petals of each flower.

E) A view from above showing the pitcher-like lip of this slipper orchid.

F) I really love the beautiful mosaic-like patterns on the leaves of this plant.

G) A final image of the flowers up close.

A short and sweet post for this weekend.

I hope you enjoyed the photos today.

Until my next post, have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Leptotes pohlitinocoi

Leptotes pohlitinocoi

This orchid is a Brazilian native, known as a twig epiphyte. I posted about our Leptotes pohlitinocoi twice before, once in April 2016 and again in March 2017.  Today we have nine flowers and these flowers can last between two to three weeks only.

A) Today, April 1st.

B) Flower buds appearing on March 4th.

C) This orchid came attached to a rather thin stick, which Arne then removed and mounted on this piece of cork.

D) This orchid is a slow grower in comparison to our Leptotes bicolor.

E) Some of the flowers were blooming on March 18th.

F) A view from a side profile.

G) Anthony giving you a sense of proportion.

H) March 27th. A photo in our orchidarium.

I) Beautiful photo with natural sunlight outdoors.

J) The flowers have different shades of purple. 

K) A zoom of an individual flower. In detail, the sepals have the whiter shade while the lip has the darkest hue of purple. The other two petals have dark purple towards the end of their tips.

L) A final photo of our Leptotes pohlitinocoi today. Some of the flowers are beginning to show signs of wilting.

Well, that's my post for today.

I wish you all a great week until next time.

Happy Easter!

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!