November 16, 2016

C. longipes

Last plant to post and then I can start doing updates! This is also a plant that I received from my orchid society friend. I'm glad he was willing to part with a division, as I'm really desperate for more rupicolous type Laelias. This plant is commonly known as Laelia lucasiana, but it is now Cattleya longipes.

Coel. fimbriata

   And the last two plants to be documented. This is a division of Coel. fimbriata that was gifted to me from a different member of my orchid society. The mother plant was mounted, and it had new leads and blooms everywhere. Because this plant has such long rhizomes and wiry roots, I potted my piece in a shallow pot and filled it with and airy mixture. The division I received came with a flower and a bud.

My Phalaenopsis cross!

   And for something a little different, here are my Phalaenopsis seedlings! This is a cross that I pollinated between two Phals I had I think back in 2013. A member of my orchid society flasked it for me, and a long time later I got back the flask. Thankfully I didn't open it for a long time, because if I had opened it the previous time I was growing orchids, I would have lost every single seedling from this cross. Given that this is an unregistered cross between two relatively unknown parents, I'm pretty sure these are the only seedlings of this kind in the world, meaning I'll be able to register it once one has bloomed. I plan on naming it after my grandmother, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to present her with the certificate and an in-bloom plant, as she is on in her years. I bought a little plastic greenhouse that came with a Sunblaster T5, and I guess cause it upped the humidity these seedlings have really taken off.

C. sincorana

   Last plant from the show. On a last minute whim, I decided to ask my friend to pick up a rupicolous type Laelia for me. She managed to pick up a C. sincorana, so I'm hoping it likes its new home and blooms for me soon. Each new p'bulb has been getting slightly larger than the last, so I'm hoping the next one is the one that blooms.

Epi. Panama Ruby

   As I've been planning on doing some breeding within the Laeliinae, not only have I been searching for quality plants, but also plants with unique merit. I'm always looking to create the unusual, so of course I turn my eye to the lesser used Epidendrum and Encyclia. As far as I can tell, this plant has four canes at varying stages of development. I've seen online that the one parent, Epi. medusae grows it's canes to lengths of about 16", whereas Epi. porpax grows canes about 3" long. So we'll see how long mature canes get. It came with it's root ball wrapped in sphagnum, and upon mounting, I realised that there was a small separate piece in with the larger plant.

Onc. Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance'

   I mainly wanted this plant to breed with, and it seems like I underestimated how large it was going to be. Unfortunately all of the flowers that were open blasted while this was in the mail, as it was cool when it went. However the flowers did still have some of their fragrance. It has a new lead already in development behind the leading p'bulb, so I'm sure I'll get some new flowers soon enough.

November 15, 2016

Tolu. Jairak Flyer 'Corona'

   My second Tolumnia arrived with a very withered flower, but knowing that these plants have a propensity for sending out branches from the inflorescence, I cut the tip to the next bract. It has sent out a branch and a new inflorescence all together, but that can be saved for an update post.