My Selph-ishness

 

b. 'Selph's Mahogany' blooms in early spring. A very fine erect rhizomatous begonia with a lot of character (pic from a few years back.. but I still have some Selph on the terrace-- looking forward to its flowering).

 and a little off topic..

Getting close to the Winter Solstice, happy holidays! (Fairchild Botanic Garden)

In your garden

 Papillionanthe teres var aureolablum securely weighted in. A cutting of vanda 'Miss Joachim' dropped down the interior against a hardwood branch, good for food and moisture. The placement's southerly exposure gives this sun-lover at least 8 bright hours of the winter sun. Nice schomburgkia has found a perfect home (hopefully)  on palm. The label on this handsome boy is illegible. The bloom will point us in the right direction.

 I've ordered 2 Vanda Noriko Sumida and 1 Vanda Denisoniana  both in empty 3.5" baskets, this order coming from Tropical Orchid Farms in Maui, HI-- and the Fort Lauderdale orchid show is yet to come (beginning of 2014). See below for pics nicked off the web.

V. Denisoniana  

V. (semi-terete) Noriko Sumida


 

Late November rains?? what up wid dat??

Pouring afternoon rains were a good excuse to get wet and sweep dirt and leaves off the terrace. It was a late afternoon deluge and it was getting cooler, oh no! fungus, black spot, I can't see any good coming out of it. Having said that, it had been a beautiful, sunny day earlier, so everyone had gotten some shine. The Dutchman's pipe is spitting out a few blossoms. The pattern would make a royal fabric.

 



Aristolochia elegans

Dr. Motes



v. tessellate 'wink' 

Purchased 'wink' at the Motes Orchid tent at AOS meeting at Fairchild. Almost all of the vandas offered were cut and hanging down like this. The larger have learnt to bend back up toward the sun. They had some very impressive orchids.

The gorgeous combination of greys and various shades of purple and blue was irresistable combination-- also a Motes offering. 


Ascda John de Blasé x V tessellata





Wired out

 

This genus is named after its butterfly shaped flowers.

Three teres alba wired to chicken wire. The pot is weighted with lava rock, some rock in column as well. A bag of orchid bark interspersed in rock and on top, to hold in a little moisture. The pot is unglazed terra cotta. There are some roots covered by bark and rock. Hopefully this won't cause any problems due to weight. Will it allow the roots (in the rock) to breath? In any case, this is a sturdy contraption. Column could be clipped to pot as well if the teres should make it top heavy / wind prone.

Ordered more terete, Joachim, for the other side of terrace-- or maybe to tie up with these alba?

AOS Fall Members Meeting and Orchid Sale at Fairchild (the best botanic garden in the world).

Our hero with a newly captured renanthera storiei

On  display; renenthera  storiei
Plants are best grown hanged in baskets and on mounted and require full sunlight and intermediate to warm temperatures. If hunged the roots must be watered frequently. Plants should be grown in media that is well drained such as tree fern fibers (for small plants),several pieces of coarse fir bark, or sphagnum moss. If they are grown in pots there must be excellent drainage.

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Asparagales

Family:Orchidaceae

Subfamily: Epidendroideae

Tribe: Vandeae

SubTribe: Aeridinae

Genus: Renanthera

Species: Ren. storiei

 

The objects of my desire  (vanda teres alba syn Papilionanthe Teres alba)

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Asparagales

Family:Orchidaceae

Subfamily: Epidendroideae

Tribe: Vandeae

SubTribe: Aeridinae

Genus: Renanthera

Species: Ren. storiei

Dear Catherine

I'm ashamed that I haven't written sooner. I wish we could take you on a tour of  the gorgeous nurseries we have in South Floriday. Tomorrow is the fall meeting of the American Society at Fairchild Botanic Garden. There will be an orchid show and sale with some of the best orchid vendors in the country;
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/Events/?date=11-2013&eventID=860http://www.fairchildgarden.org/Events/?date=11-2013&eventID=860

In particular I want to explore terete leaved orchids or Papilionanthe teres. They demand full sun, humidity, rain. They can be fairly floriferous given this tropical cocktail. And, they are odd looking, which has special appeal to me. I'll post pics.

http://orchids.wikia.com/wiki/Papilionanthe_teres

My rhynchostylis bangkok sunset is blooming, pretty thing with a elegant scent.



Much love, your cousin John.

Fairchild Botanic Garden hosts AOS fall member's meeting-- plant sale then roast pork in little Havana

I'll be looking especially for terete vandas.  There is a very tempting Vanda Miss Joachim up for grabs on Ebay.. 14.95 buy it now-- shipping from Homestead. I'm sure the plants at the show will beat anything I'll see on ebay. 2 days to go.  I'll have to sit on my hands. Not sure if I'll make it till then

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanda

Mokara Sayan 3 plants mulched in .. (?) from Mickey's Orchids, SW 23rd Ft  Lauderderdale

 

The key to successfully cultivating epiphytic Vanda species are consistent growth conditions. The plants are singularly intolerant of fluctuating environmental conditions or watering regime in cultivation, and results in the plants dropping lower leaves and having a haggard, straggling appearance and going into decline. The epiphytic Vanda species are not plants for beginning orchid enthusiasts and usually require a controlled growing environment to achieve some measure of success in cultivation (please donate money to Wikipedia).

Aerides lawrenciea freed from the bondage of a block of tree fern

Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Tribe:	Vandeae
Subtribe:	Aeridinae
Genus:	Vanda

Untitled

 

Rhynchorides Bangkok Sunset is a hybrid between Rhynchorides Thai Noi (Rhynchostylis coelestis X Aerides flabellata) and Aerides houlletiana

Bulbophyllum laxiflorum

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Asparagales

Family:Orchidaceae

Subfamily: Epidendroideae

Tribe: Podochilaeae

SubTribe: Bulbophyllinae

Genus: Bulbophyllum

Species: Bulb. laxiflorum

Found in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Java and the Philippines in riverine, lowland hill and lower montane forests at elevations of 100 to 1800 meters as a miniature sized, hot to warm growing, unifoliate epiphyte with .2 to .8" [.5 to 2 cm] between each cylindrical pseudobulbs and a single apical, leathery, elliptic, acute at the apex, petiolate base leaf that blooms on an erect, basal, 2 7/8" or more [7 cm or more] long, several to many [20] flowered inflorescence with fragrant flowers held in an umbel, at, or near leaf height that can occur at most any time of the year.



and it's on my dinner table! evidently a slap of benign neglect is warranted.

Cattleya Lost Tag #2407 Orchid

My ebay-- impulse buying  while watching Doc Martin

Image not available Photos not available for this variation It seems I've overwatered trichoglottis, some of the leaves have a shrivel to them. However, it may have been the neem I sprayed midday (they were all shaded). So much to learn, I see the spectre of a broken heart of the inexperienced orchidist..

 Coming soon....Orchid (Bulbophyllum laxiflorum )#3 sweetly fragrant

 

.

All work and no play makes my ass tired

Trichoglottis brachiata fore, Ascocenda adisak blue growing pretty tall in the background (note keiki appearing just above roots lower right). For some reason, the habit of the trichoglottis holds great appeal, comparable to my affinity for upright rhizotamous begonias

It's been dry and sunny of late. I've staggered my watering (by can), feeding with drinks. Fish emulsion tea  for a lucky few. Still using the Maxi-crop on the orchids.