Orchid of the day: Aerides houlletiana

Aerides houlletiana

Here is our orchid from South East Asia, Aerides houlletiana, which emits a lemon grass-like fragrance. I really love this orchid as it reminds me of the wild orchids back in Malaysia. Arne purchased this orchid at the Maryland Orchid Exhibition in March 2014. Since then, it has grown gradually into a healthy specimen. This year we have twenty four flowers.

A) Signs of future flowers, June 11th, 2017.

It always surprises me to see how the roots are all up in the air! In (A), the flower buds were developing in one single stem. The close up of the inflorescence is seemed in (B). I posted about our A. houlletiana in details, June 29, 2014 and then again on July 4, 2016.

B) Close up of the flower buds.

C) June 25th,  Aerides houlletiana out in the sun.

D) Flowers opening by July 4th.

E) All flowers in bloom by July 11th.

F) The blooms up close.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at our beautiful vandaceous air-loving orchid, Aerides houlletiana. Until my next post, have a good week everyone!

Orchid of the day: Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket

Rhynchovola Jimminey Cricket

A) July 22, in full bloom.

Rhynchovola (Rcv.) Jimminey Cricket is a primary cross between Brassavola nodosa and Rhyncholaelia digbyana.  It used to be called Brassavola Jimminey Cricket as both parents used to be considered Brassavolas.  The digbyana parent contributes its very frilly lip and large flower size but the species itself only produces one large flower per growth and is also a very shy bloomer.  Brassavola nodosa increases its tendency to bloom as well as the flower count.  The hybrid has a nice but quite modest scent which a bit surprising since both parents are strongly scented.

B) June 25, 2017.

Arne acquired this orchid in 2013 and he  felt that this orchid is quite an easy orchid to grow. But it should be mounted as it has grown terrifically since then and this year it carries seven flowers that are six inches wide (15 cm).  The funny thing is that the flowers seem to be very sensitive to movements while they are opening.  If the plant is tilted, for instance while it is being watered, the flowers will end up more or less deformed.  So it has to be carried around perfectly vertical until the flowers are fully developed.  The ‘lazy-looking’ flowers are nevertheless always impressive.

C) July 4th, 2017.

D) The flowers were opening at this point.

E) July 16, 2017. More flowers in bloom.

F) Five flowers on July 16.

G) We have seven beautiful flowers today.

These flowers emit a mild fragrant, especially in the evenings. Which I find hard to describe but pleasant enough. Well, that's all from me today. Until my next post, have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Tolumnia popoki 'Mitzi'

Tolumnia popoki 'Mitzi'

Our eight years old Tolumnia popoki 'Mitzi' or "Oncidium Dancing Lady" came in bloom in early June this year. We had twelve flowers this time around and like many orchids, the flowers stayed in full bloom for about one month. 

This year, we noticed that the deep purple colour had a tendency to fade rather quickly compared to previous years. We think it could be due to the warm temperature this Summer, and this seems to affect this orchid indoors as well.

A) June 11th. 

B) Top view. At this time 4 buds were not fully unopened.

C) Always amazes me to see how orchids can produce such beautiful flowers simply by hanging on a bark, with the root system completely exposed to the air!

D) A final close up of our "Oncidium Dancing Lady" specimen. A real beauty.

Until my next post, have a great week everyone!

Orchid of the day: Vanda testacea

Vanda testacea

A new orchid in our collection, Vanda testacea, with flowers about 1.5 cm. Found in Sri Lanka, throughout India and up to the Himalayas. Here is a paragraph that Arne put together about this orchid.

"Vanda testacea has among the smallest flowers of all Vandas.  It is widespread from Sri Lanka through the south of India up to the Himalayas in the north and is also found in Bhutan and China.  It has very well-shaped yellow flowers with a more or less blue/purple lip.  We have two clones, one is slightly older and seems to be a weaker grower, its flowers are very brightly yellow although the lip is lacking the sharp contrasting blue color.  The younger clone is line bread from selected parents which is manifested in its vigorous growth and in the flowers having the contrasting blue lip.  V. testacea needs very bright light to grow well – full morning sun until noon works perfectly well.  It is normally considered a temperate growing Vanda but I find it very tolerant of our hot Baltimore summers.  Maybe that is not so strange considering its geographic spread in South East Asia." By Arne.

A) June 25th, 2017. Buds appearing.

B) An individual flower up close.

C) Flowers in full bloom outdoors by July 4th.

D) July 4th, next to our orchidarium.

E) Enjoying the warm Baltimore summer today, July 9th.

Until my next post, have a good week everyone!

Orchid of the day: Prosthechea mariae (formerly Encyclia mariae)

Prosthechea mariae

A) Zooming in a beautiful flower

I first posted about our Prosthechea mariae on February 2, 2014. At that time, this specimen only produced one flower stem with three flowers. Over the years, we have two then three flower stems. Today we have three flower stems, and for the first time, we have ten beautiful flowers.

B) With many orchids blooming at around the same time, I missed taking earlier photos of the flower buds. But here is our specimen on June 4th. Clearly we had ten flowers developing this year.

C) Another view of our P. mariae. Three buds, in the upper left, were still unopened at this time.

This orchid, a native of Mexico, was discovered in 1937 and in our care, we notice that it is quite sensitive to heat. So we keep it indoors during the hot and humid Baltimore summers. Prosthechea mariae has greenish yellow flowers with a very prominent white lip with green veins at the base. We look forward to having more flowers in the future.

D) By June 11, all flowers were in full bloom.

E) Another 'close up' of our specimen. A very beautiful flower.

F) Enjoying a relatively mild Baltimore summer, very briefly, of course.

G) This orchid was actual a 'rescue'. Arne saw it hanging in a local gardening shop. It has been doing very well since. Here's a link to my post from July 2014. 

I hope you enjoyed my post today. Look for our Prosthechea vitellina, another Prosthechea in our collection. Have a great week.

Orchid of the day: Cattleya mossiae var. semi-alba

Cattleya mossiae var. semi-alba

Our  six year old Cattleya mossiae var. semi-alba has produced three flowers for the first time. There is a very pleasant rose scented fragrance. This orchid is native to Venezuela. I have written more about this orchid in my post from June 2, 2014. Click here.

A) Three beautiful flowers on May 29th, 2017. I must point out the flower is ~7.5 inches from top to bottom and 6.0 inches wide. Bigger than the palm of my hands, for sure!

B) Enjoying the 90^oF of today, in Baltimore. 

C) Another  close up.

D) A final photo from 2014 with Anthony.

Until my next post, have a good week everyone!

Orchid of the day: Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul Bariah'

Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul Bariah'

We received an Award of Merit (AM) for this clone by the American Orchid Society (AOS) on June 7th, 2014. This clone is unusual in that it has six flowers per inflorescence in comparison to the average four. It also has quite extended petals that measure more than 5 inches (>15 cm) and the overall flower has a spread of more than 7 inches (>18 cm).  The inflorescence is about 28 inches (71 cm). Above is a zoom in photo of one of the six flowers.

A) This picture was taken on April 29th, 2017. The leaves are healthy and luscious green. 

B) Here all of the six developing flowers are visible.

C) Beautiful dark purplish stripes at the back of each unopened flower.

D) As the flower opens, we can see the dangling petals and the green lip.

E) Frontal view of the opened flower.

F) The petals swaying in the wind.

G) Anthony getting in the photo shoot, as usual.

H) The entire specimen in full bloom.

I) Our Paphiopedilum philippinense 'Khairul Bariah' with Anthony on Memorial Day.

I hope you enjoyed the photos from my post today. This is one of my favourite orchid and each year, the flowers look more and more impressive. Have a good week everyone, until my next post!