Show and Tell

From Cindy Jepsen:

I have a glass greenhouse in Tempe, Arizona with the west wall against the house.  It has 80% sunscreen on the southside and a louvered roof covering the top that I can open and close based on light needs.  My temperatures range between 50°-110° and my humidity stays around 65% by using a humidifier.  I feed my orchids every week using RO water alternating between MSU fertilizer, SUPERthrive and Seaweed extract. 

Angraecum sesquipedale

I received this beautiful orchid in January 2018 with four blooms on it.  I repotted it into a wooden basket with bark and moss and hung it about 6 feet from the floor in my greenhouse.  In that location it received good lighting and air movement.  As the summer heat approached, I moved it down to the floor in the northeast corner of my greenhouse just under my mounted orchids where it receives regular runoff watering.  I may leave it here permanently as it is doing very well. 

Lepanthes calodictyon

This orchid came from Ecuagenera Orchids in Ecquador.  I’ve only had this orchid for a couple of months but it has been in constant bloom since it arrived.  I have it in a terrarium in my living room.  The terrarium is a glass, 5-gallon bottle with a closed top.  I have small rocks in the bottom which were sterilized and I keep about 1” RO water in the bottom.  I have a small fan in the terrarium and I open the lid once weekly for several hours to provide more air movement.  I water this orchid once every two weeks with MSU fertilizer.  The temperature remains around 75° and the humidity remains steady at 80%

Maxillaria uncata

I bought this orchid at Andy’s Orchids last October.  It’s mounted on a piece of wood and hangs in my greenhouse, low in the northeast corner.  The light level and airflow are both low but the humidity is high because I water it every day.  It’s been in bloom constantly for the past 4 months.

Phragmipedim manzurii

This orchid came from Ecuagenera Orchids in Ecquador.  I’ve only had this orchid for a couple of months but it has bloomed twice and has another bud waiting to open.  I repotted it in medium sized bark with a little sphagnum moss mixed in.  Since it was a bit traumatized during the transport, I kept it on the floor and watered it daily for several weeks.  I have since moved it up on an east facing shelf to provide more light and airflow.  As the summer temperatures arrive, I will probably move it to a more protected area in the greenhouse.

Pleurothallis grobyi type

I bought this orchid at Andy’s Orchids last October.  It’s mounted on a board and hangs in my greenhouse, low in the northeast corner.  The light level and airflow are both low but the humidity is high because I water it every day.  It’s been in bloom constantly for the past 4 months.  It’s easy to miss these blooms as they are smaller than my smallest fingernail.

From Scott McGregor:

European (and an Australian) terrestrials are starting to put on a show.

Anacamptis morio x longicornu

A new genus for me-- Anacamptis morio x longicornu opened up a few flowers.  When you look at the pics online, you assume these are much bigger than they really are.

Ophrys tenthredinifera

Ophrys bombyliflora

Diuris orientis

The Australian in the group (the "Donkey Orchid")

Ophrys lutea

You can see in the photo of the whole plant on the left that the leaves are already showing signs of approaching dormancy

Lots of other orchids in bloom...

Cattleya (Sophronitis) coccinea

Gotta love these 4N clones for size and color intensity.  Hard to take a good pic though as most consumer cameras are programmed to amp up the red color and so they saturate the pixels with color intensity! Have a few buds yet to open.

Dendrochilum wenzelii 'Red Sails'

Dendrochilum tennelum

This is the kind of plant to torture AOS judges.  I’m estimating about 300 spikes with 35-40 tiny flowers per spike.  Count ‘em!

Mediocalcar pygmae

A good-sized ball

Schoenorchis juncifolia

From Roberta Fox:

A few of my terrestrials are also starting to bloom...

Ophrys ariadne

One of the "bee orchids" - and this one is particularly fuzzy.

Ophrys tenthredinifera

Diuris orientis

And the rest...also grown outdoors, unless othewise noted

Ada (Brassia) aurantiaca

This just gets better each year. 12 spikes with open flowers, and 2 or 3 more on the way.

Restrepia sanguinea

Unlike some of my other Restrepias, this one blooms only once a year, over a period of a couple of months. (Some others are almost perpetually in bloom) It makes up for it with flowers that are at least 2 inches from top to bottom, and the dark red of the photo is pretty accuarate.

Trichopilia fragrans

The genus can be a bit tricky, preferring a rather narrow temperature range. This one, however, seems quite robust. I got it about two years ago, bare root. I have it in a tall Japanese-style Cymbidium pot, to accommodate long roots.

Dendrochilum pulcherrimum

Plant is in a 4-inch basket, stays small.

Dendrochilum coccineum

This one is rather uncommon, relatively recently described. A native of the Philippines, clearly from high elevation since it does fine outside. Flowers are quite large for a Dendrochilum.

Osmoglossum pulchellum

This is running a bit late, usually starting to bloom by late January. It has 4 spikes fully open, but about 10 more in various stages of development. Flowers are quite long-lasting, so this will be in bloom for at least 2 months, very likely more. It is very fragrant. The original mount disintegrated (I found the plant on the ground about two years ago, when the hanger broke loose) so I removed the crumbled part and tied the rest to another log so roots were not disturbed. Over time they will attach to their new home.

Maxilliaria bradyorum

This is a "climber", on a long tree=fern mount. The flowers emerge between the growths. Flowers are about 2 inches across.

Maxillaria polysticta

It is growing in sphagnum in a terracotta pot, which tends to help cool the roots.

Baptistonia echinata

Grows in the greenhouse. It produces long spikes of bumblebee-like flowers.

Bulbophyllum lindleyanum

Grows in the greenhouse. It produced this spike from leafless pseudobulbs. The flower is only about 1/4 inch across, but the photo shows that is VERY hairy and cute.

Cattley lueddemanniana f. coerulea

Grows in greenhouse, one of the warmer-growing Catts. At the opposite end of the "size" spectrum, flowers are about 7 inches across.

Paphiopedilum haynaldianum

Like most of the multifloral Paphs, this one does want the warmth of the greenhouse.