More orchids

I moved over the weekend, and my plants are settling in just fine. They're out on a deck and a three-season porch.

Here's what's going on with my orchids:

My Dendrobium lawesii  continues to bloom beautifully.

Next, I have a noid Zygopetalum in bloom. It smells very, very floral!

Also, my Coelogyne ochracea is a spring-blooming plant. But it is very confused and putting out two spikes now.

I'm not sure if my Bulbophyllum echinolabium is putting out a new growth or a spike. It's always a great guessing game with Bulbos. I'm going to say it's a growth, but I wouldn't mind a spike!

Cats and plants

I have two cats. One of them is the chillest cat you could imagine. The other finds trouble even when she's not looking for it. I brought them with me to house sit for my parents while they visited my brother down south. I also brought my Sobralia callosa with me. I know it's strange to bring a plant with me to house sit, but this plant was in bud and the bloom only lasts for one day. It only blooms once a year, too. I knew, just knew, that it would bloom when I was away.

Instead, I ended up with the troublemaker knocking it over and breaking off the bloom.

I'm so angry with her, but I'm also angry with myself. Of course, she would have done something, why didn't I just hide the plant away from her? At least she didn't chew on the leaves.

Hopefully, the plant will try to bloom again.

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.

African Violets

I've been growing African violets for almost ten years now. In fact, I still have my first African violet. None of my violets have names, so they're all noids, but I still enjoy them, and they bloom for me often. They like to dry out in order to bloom, and they like to be in an east-facing window.

This was my first African violet. I've had this plant for ten years, and it's just starting its bloom cycle again.

This next violet was a rescue, and it's very pretty.

I've had this violet for three years. Excuse the cat hairs on everything.

This one I've had for four years. It's difficult to capture the true blue of this violet. It's more violet than blue.

My cape primrose "Ink Blot" is also blooming, and it's putting on a grand show. It currently has twelve flowers! (Again, excuse the cat hair.)

Summer Orchids

The summer-blooming orchids are starting! Some orchids have light and temperature requirements to bloom, and others have no such restrictions and will bloom whenever they feel the conditions are right.

Restrepia brachypus: This is a mini species. The flower is an inch and a half long, and so are the leaves. I keep this guy in a terrarium and always wet. Grown in sphagnum moss.

This plant was a division from a friend, and this is the first time it's bloomed for me. They bloom whenever: the time of year doesn't matter.

Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom 'Carmela': This hybrid is compact and adorable. It needs lots of light and can bloom any time of the year.

Maxillaria tenuifolia:This species is also called the Coconut Orchid. It smells like coconut sunblock. They're supposed to be easy growers, but I haven't had much luck with them. I think I finally figured out what these guys like. They bloom in the early summer.

Lastly there is Epilaelia Little Nuggets "Mendenhall". Although, there have been a few name changes, and I'm not really sure if that's its name anymore. It's just so cute, with small flowers, about an inch wide. And the name "Little Nuggets" makes me giggle.

Also in bloom: Cape Primrose "Inkblot," my AVs, and my everbloomers.

Orchids in Bloom

I currently have four orchids in bloom. I have two more in bud. Most orchids take a long time to bloom. One of mine started spiking in November, and it finally bloomed now!

Dendrobiums are so easy to take care of. Many of them, such as the hard cane Dens, do not need to be watered during the winter. At all. I gave a Dendrobium kingianum to a friend with a brown thumb, and it's still alive! 

I currently have a Dendrobium unicum in bloom. It's a small plant, about eight inches high. I love its orange. This plant started spiking in early March.

Side and front view of Den unicum.

The next orchid is the one that started spiking in November! It's Gastrochilus bellinus. This is a very small plant. Each flower is about the size of a fingernail. They hang down, under the leaves. This picture was taken looking up at the plant, which is mounted on a small piece of wood.

This next orchid is a real mini. It's in a pot that's one inch in diameter. This is Lepanthopsis astrophora "Stalky." Each flower is about five millimeters tall and maybe three millimeters wide. It's that tiny. I think this is one of my favorite orchids in my collection. It had about seven stalks with dozens of flowers each.

My last orchid is one that I bought at Lowes. This is a hybrid, as opposed to the species above. It's Brassolaelia "Yellow Bird." I'm not sure about its exact parentage, but there is obviously some Brassavola and some Laelia. However, I think mine might be a bit mislabeled, because I've never seen a Yellow Bird with spots on the sepals.

Orchids in spike are Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom "Carmela" and Restrepia striata. A hybrid and a species respectively.

Everbloomers

Most people buy plants because at some point, people expect the plants to flower. I currently have thirteen plants in bloom: four orchids, three African Violets, two carnivores, a Cape Primrose, a lemon, and my two ever bloomers. (I'll post pictures once the storm's past.)

There are some houseplants that are always in bloom. I have two of them. I have a pink Crown of Thorns and a red Anthurium. They're both noids - as in no identification tag. I've had both for a long time, and they've been in bloom the whole time. The Crown of Thorns has been in my place for two years. It has twenty pink flowers almost constantly. Each flower is double.

The Anthurium currently has five flowers and has been in bloom for three years. It's putting out pups left and right and center.

Both plants like a lot of sun and a lot of water.