More Summer Orchids

The summer-blooming orchids are blooming. Let's start with Dendrobium lawesii. This species comes in all sorts of colors from yellow and orange to white and pink to red, so when I picked up mine, I had no idea what color bloom I'd end up with. It turns out that I have this lovely magenta-red bloom.

This plant is free-blooming, not necessarily summer-blooming, but this is the first bloom for me! Like all Dens, this one comes from the South Pacific and grows warm to cool in low elevations. I keep mine on the warm side, because, well, it's currently 90-something degrees F out, and I don't have an AC. There's a fan going on it, but fans are a must for orchids, because it keeps away the mold and other pathogens.

Now, heading to the North Pacific, my Neofinetia falcata are starting their blooms. These plants are from Japan, where the Latin name is replaced by the Japanese name of furan, which means Wind Orchid. These orchids have an amazing history in Japan that goes back hundreds of years to the samurai.

There are all sorts of cultivations of this plant. I have one blooming right now. It's Neofinetia falcata Oonami seikai. It currently has nine flowers on two spikes. Those flowers have a mild perfume. This Neo also has five fans with three more just starting out. I'm going to have to divide this plant next winter. Let me know if you want a division!

And a bonus hibiscus bloom:

 I rescued this plant from Lowes last summer for four bucks. It's currently four feet tall, has beautiful blooms, and has survived three rounds of spider mite infestations.