Bnts. Richard Mueller x Laelia aurea

Do you ever wish that orchids were easier to grow?  Well, Bnts. Richard Mueller x Laelia aurea, pictured below in bloom, is very easy to grow and quite floriforeous.  This cross can bloom almost any time of the year.  Mine is in bloom right now, at the first of December, in Miami, Florida.  It has also bloomed this past year twice before this December bloom.  It bloomed in early spring and also toward the end of the summer. 

This orchid is not unusual, nor does it have great form or even a very remarkable color; but, nevertheless, it is attractive.  Its best quality is it is EASY to grow and EASY to bloom.  I have this orchid outdoors all year round in Miami.  Last winter, the temperature dropped to 34 F and this plant did not suffer at all.  It was outdoors all summer long when the humidity reached nearly 100% and the temp topped out over 100 F.  It survived this great variation without even the smallest problem.  While I doubt that it could survive temperatures below freezing or in an extremely dry environment or in a high shade environment, it still thrives in quite variable conditions.

How do I grow it?  This plant is growing mounted on a round piece of rough cut cedar and it is hung in the horizontal position.  I screwed four eyes into the cedar and hung it with a wire basket hanger.  I have been told in the past that one should NOT hang orchids on mounts in the horizontal position.  Well, if someone tells me that I shouldn't do something and I cannot see any reason for the prohibition, then I will probably try it anyway.  Especially, when the possible consequences are minor.  This plant probably costs around $10 as a seedling and maybe not much more even full grown.  A small price to pay for orchid education.  Back to the mount.  The orchid just loves it on this cedar mount.  In just three months after mounting, the roots had spread all over the surface of the mount and even now continues to fill in all the area on the surface.

I grow this plant in about 50% shade, water daily in the driest and hottest part of the year, and use a weak solution of fertilizer about once a week.  I have never had any pest or fungus problems with this plant.

Do you have an orchid that is easy to grow?  Leave me a comment about your plant and how you care for it!

Have fun and good growing.

Rlc. Yen Corona 'Green Genie'

I woke up this morning and this new bloom greeted me in my garden.  It is a Cattleya hybrid that has quite a few different species in its background.  C. bicolor is one of the species that makes up this beautiful flower.  I suspect that the green sepals are coming from C. bicolor.  These photographs have been taken with various types of light and various backgrounds.  I am a totally amateur photographer, but I enjoy it and enjoy trying out various methods for taking a photo of the same subject.  Which photo do YOU like best?

Ascocenda Princess Mikasa 'Indigo'

This orchid is a cross between Vanda coerulea and Ascocenda Royal Sapphire.  The pictures below are from two plants that I bought a year go as seedlings.  They are still only about 7 inches tall.  Based upon this early first bloom, these plants promise to be very floriferous.  The color is a brillant, electric blue.  Since these blooms are the first for these plants, the flower spikes are SHORT, and they do not have very many flowers.  However, as these plants get larger, they promise to have many more blooms and longer flower spikes.

This orchid seems to enjoy the South Florida environment.  It seems to be tolerant of a fairly wide range of temperatures.  It is generally recommended that this orchid grow in cool to intermediate temperatures.  This would mean that night temperatures should be between 50 and 60 F.  South Florida may get some of these kind of nights during the winter but most of the time the night time temperatures are going to be much warmer.  These plants went through the hottest part of the summer without any problem.  Some recommend that these plants receive full sun.  However, here in South Florida, I have been giving them only about 50% of full sun, and they seem to be doing fine.

In addition to having a brillant color and being an early bloomer, the flowers are very well shaped.  They are very flat with no gaps between the petals and sepals.  If you live in South Florida, I would highly recommend getting one of these orchids for the color alone. 

They are BEAUTIFUL.

Guaricattonia Starrlyn 'Kate'

I bought this orchid as a seedling two or three years ago.  I think it needs a little more light to bloom well.  It also probably prefers a little cooler weather than we have here in Miami, FL.  In spite of these two problems, the plant has bloomed for me. 

Guaricattonia Starrlyn 'Kate' is a hybrid that is a small plant with small flowers.  This makes it an easy plant to have for a backyard grower.  It does not take up much room and it is easy to move around.  When this one bloomed I moved it into my family room.  I normally hangs in a basket under my peach tree or under my Cattleya Pergola.  This plant takes fairly standard Cattleya culture with maybe a little higher light.  For someone growing it in South Florida, make sure that it drys out quickly.  If you have no cover from the rain, you may want to put it into a wooden basket with little or NO media.  During dry, hot spells you may need to water more often with this set up but you will save the plant from certain death by root rot.

Guaricatonia Starrlyn 'Kate' is a cross between Cattleytonia Capri and Guaritonia Why Not.  The species that are in this hybrid's background are Broughtonia sanguinea, Guarianthe aurantiaca, Cattleya intermedia, and Cattleya bicolor.

Mokara Moonlight 'Tangerine' at SFOS Speaker's Day AOS Award HCC 78 points

South Florida Orchid Society had its annual speaker's day on October 3, 2010.  This year they had five speakers: Gene Crocker from Carter & Holmes, Dr. Wagner Vendrame from the University of Florida, Eric Christensen, a taxonomist, George Carr, and Peter Lin, a hybridizer of Phals.  There were also plant sales and a raffle.

They also had AOS judging and panel discussions regarding plants that participants brought.  I brought Mokara Moonlight 'Tangerine' which won HCC.  The plant had 39 flowers and three buds well displayed on two upright inflorescences.  The sepals and petals were very light green, heavily overlaid with golden orange.  The lip was a darker orange and the anther caps were brown.  The flowers had a firm substance and the texture was slightly crystalline.

Mokara's are grown just like Vanda's, but they generally like even more sunlight.  Many growers report that they can grow a Mokara in full sun, although I protect mine from noon day sun because the intensity of sunlight in South Florida can reach 10,000 footcandles.  Mine grows in a clay pot set inside a wooden, slatted basket WITHOUT any media.  It is staked with thick, galvinized wire.  With enough sun this plant blooms two or three times throughout the summer months.  It nearly always blooms with two flower spikes with spikes that are very upright even without any staking.

Do you have a question about growing vandaceous orchids in South Florida?  Ask your question with a comment and I will help in any way that I can.

Enjoy and good growing!

Oncidium Gower Ramsey 'Volcano Queen'

I have not had great luck with growing this orchid.  It has been a couple of years since this one has bloomed last.  I think it was not getting quite enough light.  I also think it is a little too HOT in South Florida for this orchid.  While there are some hot growing orchids in its genetic background, there are also some that like intermediate temperatures and at least one that likes cooler temperatures.  The leaves on this orchid are very thin and mine tends to droop and curl up a little.  This is generally a sign of not quite enough water, but with the heat in South Florida it is hard to give it enough water and not rot the roots at the same time.

Despite the problems, it has started to bloom right at the end of September 2010.  It currently has six spikes and could have up to 70 or 80 blooms per spike.  Right now only the first spike has fully opened blooms, although there are some buds on this first spike to open yet.  I am hoping that by mid October all of the blooms will have opened.

Do you have experience with growing this orchid in South Florida?  If so, leave a comment on how you care for it.  Thanks and enjoy.

SFOS Silver Medal and AOS Award of Merit - Ascocenda Banjong Delight 'Prince Harry' AM/AOS



I have owned this plant for four years and this is its first award.  It is hard to get all of the buds to open.  Many times the buds on the top third of the inflorescence will fail.  Not sure why.  Not thrips because I spray for those.  Maybe too dry.  I have made very sure this past year to give it plenty of water, especially in March, April, and the first half of May.  Maybe the gas powered lawnmower was polluting the bloom with its exhaust.  This past year I have banned the gas powered lawnmower from my growing area.  I only use electric powered equipment.  This plant also requires plenty of light and lots of fertilizer.  The color is gorgeous.  The flowers glisten in the sunlight.

While I have won Blue Ribbons before, this is my first AOS award.  The cultivar was named after my cat, Prince Harry.

Seedling from Home Depot

Four years ago I purchased an orchid seedling from Home Depot in a small plastic bag.  I had no idea what I was buying.  It was inexpensive, and I thought it would be a easy way to experiment with growing an orchid.

Four years later, the plant has finally had a bloom.  The orchid is Brassocatanthe Little Marmaid 'Janet' BM/JOGA.  Some people claim that there was a misspelling when the name was registered, and its name should be "Little Mermaid".  That makes more sense; however, from everything that I can tell, it was registered as "Little Marmaid".   It is a cross between Brassanthe Maikai 'Mayumi'  x Cattleya walkeriana.  I have two flowers on one spike.  As the plant gets more mature, I am hoping for up to four flowers one one or more spikes at each bloom.  I am also hoping for flowers that are a little larger, but they will never be very large.  It was expected that the flower would be small.  Probably why it was named "Little Marmaid".

The lip on this particular bloom  is remarkable in that it has a very distinct margin between the creamy yellow center and the lavender color around the edge of the lip.  Now, I have seen pictures of other blooms from this plant that have this distinct margin; however, this bloom has an additional feature that, combined with the distinct margin, makes it remarkable.  Along with this distinct margin, the lip also has distinct waterfall splashes of dark purple on a lighter lavender background.  On other examples of this orchid, sometimes these splashes of purple are lighter and they merge into the yellow center without a distinct margin.  On other examples that have distinct margins, the splashes of purple have been either non-existent or were not very distinct, having a more muddled appearance.  The lip on this bloom really makes the flower stand out.  Hopefully this feature will continue to express itself on future blooms.

                                                           

I grow this orchid completely bare-rooted in a slatted, wooden basket.

Ascocenda Crownfox Butterfly - September 2010

This orchid gets high marks for its clear colors, distinct markings and very flat flowers.  The size of the bloom is near the limit of this hybrid, about 7.5 cm.  8 cm. has been recorded on other cultivars of this hybrid.

This is the first bloom for this plant, even though the plant is quite a good size.  The arrangement of the flowers and the spacing seems to be very poor.  Maybe it is because this is the first bloom.

Blc, Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' - September 8, 2010

My Blc. Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' has one of its blooms nearly open.  The picture is below.  It has no fragrance, but the bloom has the characteristic clear yellow color on its sepals and petals.  The lip has the deep purple color.  The plant has great color.  So far the flower is not completely open, so it is hard to tell about its shape.  Although, it does appear to have a fairly round shape.  It does not seem to have a very large bloom.  The plant has another spike with three buds that have not opened yet.

Dendrobium Aprichart Rainbow - September 2010

This particular hybrid has no awards, so I guess the bloom is unremarkable.  However, given enough light, the orchid is a reliable bloomer and the plant grows quickly.  This plant now has 4 flower spikes but only one has about 3/4 of its buds open.  This orchid is a cross between Den. Theodore Takiguchi x Den. Mermaid.  Den. Theodore Takiguchi has won awards but not Den. Mermaid.

Blc. Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' - Sept 7, 2010

One of the blooms on this orchid is just starting to open this morning.

Chz. Maria Bockmann - Sept 7, 2010

Fully opened September 7, 2010.  No fragrance.  Blooms ready to enjoy for the next couple weeks.

Dendrobium Aprichart Rainbow

I do not grow very many Dendrobiums, mostly because I do not have a place to give them exactly the right light and care.  However, I purchased this one at the orchid show at Fairchild Tropical Gardens three years ago.  The plant has become quite large and blooms regularly for me.  Below is a picture of its best bloom yet.  However, it promises to get better since it has two more spike with buds and two other spikes with only half of their buds open.  This picture below only shows that flowers that have opened.  Enjoy!

Blc Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' Buds Completely Out Of Their Sheaths

On a previous post, I had a photo of a bud on this plant JUST starting to break out of its sheath.  The buds have now come completely out of their sheaths.  This plant has two flower spikes.  One spike has one bud and the other three buds.

Cahuzacara Maria Bockmann

Fairly new hybrid registered in 2008.  The picture below shows the bloom JUST now opening.  The flower is not mature and will open wider and may develop deeper color.  It has a sort of yellow/greenish color to the sepals and petals.  The petals are slightly peloric.  This plant is in a nice bamboo basket of a size that will allow this plant to grow two, three or more years undisturbed.  In four to seven days the blooms will be fully open.  Since this is the first time it has bloomed for me, I am not sure how long the bloom lasts.

Would you like to have it?  It is your for $50.  Leave a comment and you can pick it up in the Westchester area of Miami.

Rlc. Alma Kee 'tipmalee' - New Buds!

Do you grow Cattleyas?  Then you know what a sheath is!  Most Cattleyas have a single sheath; but, there are a few that will have a double sheath, one inside the other.

Do you always get buds in your sheaths?  Probably not.  Sometimes the plant fails to bud even though it grew a sheath.  But if you have a sheath that seems empty do not despair.  It may be that it is not time for the buds yet.  There are some Cattleyas that will grow a new pseudobulb with a sheath and the buds will appear in the sheath as soon as the pseudobulb is mature.  There are some Cattleyas that the flower buds even appear while the pseudobulb is still actively growing.

However, there are other Cattleyas that, after the pseudobulb is mature, will REST before a bud will appear in the sheath.  C. mossiae and C. mendelii can take a rest of up to six months.

So if the sheath is empty, not all hope is lost.  Your Cattleya may be resting.

Below is a photo of buds that are just starting to break out of the sheath.  The plant is Rlc. Alma Kee 'tipmalee'

Ascocendas with Buds

Photos of orchids nearly always show the orchid bloom in full splendor.  What does a vandaceous orchid look like when it is in the process of blooming?

I have two pictures below.  One is of Asocenda Banjong's Delight.  It has a brillant orange color.  It is about half open now.  The open blossoms are at the bottom of the flower spike.  Starting about half-way up the spike, one can see the buds all the way up to the top.

The other photo is of Asocenda Crownfox Butterfly.  I have had this plant over a year, but this is its very first bloom.  The plant is large, and it really seems like it should have bloomed before now.  However, when I bought it, the plant had VERY dark green leaves.  Prior to my ownership, it may have not been given enough light in order to bloom.  I have been gradually moving it to a brighter spot.  The new leaves are now looking a lighter green and this month it started to bloom.  This is a photo of the spike before any of the buds open.  I am anxious to see what this bloom is going to look like.  I have a general idea, but flowers can vary in appearance from one plant to another even when the plants are the same hybrid.

Cowhorn Orchid, Beehive Orchid, Cigar Orchid

Cowhorn, Beehive, and Cigar are the most familiar common names for Cyrtopodium Punctatum.  In South Florida, this orchid is suffering because the particular bee that pollinates this orchid is being killed by car exhaust.  It seems like one sees fewer and fewer of these orchids in the wild here in Miami-Dade.

Do you have one in your collection?  How do you care for it?

I have one fairly large Cowhorn Orchid that has bloomed for me the past two years.  These orchids have a reputation for being hard to bloom.  So a few days ago, someone gave me a Cowhorn Orchid because they were in the process of killing it (not intentionally).  I did not think that it was going to live until next spring when it would be best to repot it, so I have tried to rescue it by repotting now.  It came to me in a clay pot.  This was a good choice for a pot; however, in the pot was sand, dirt, and decomposing mulch.  I would not recommend any of this material for potting a Cowhorn Orchid.  Unfortunately, because of this mix, one of the bulbs on the orchid is rotting and so are quite a few of the roots.  So what to do?

1.  Remove from old pot and get a clean, clay pot.
2.  Mix fine charcoal (about 1/3) with relatively small lava rocks (2/3).
3.  Add time release fertilizer and time release magnesium sulfate to the mix.
4.  Put about 1/3 of the mix in the bottom of the pot.
5.  Center the orchid in the pot.
6.  Fill around the orchid with the balance of the mix.

While this is not the ideal time to repot this orchid, I felt like it was my only option.

As you may know, there are many different techniques for successfully growing orchids.  What kind of mix do you use for Cowhorns?

How Long Does An Orchid Live? A Semi Terete Vanda Example!

I have had the question "How long does an orchid live?" asked of me several times.  I really do not know the answer.  However, some people have told me that theoretically an orchid could live forever.  I am not sure if this is actually true.  However, an orchid will continually grow new parts as other parts of the plant die.  So they are self-propagating.  The following orchid I have owned for 13 years.  Testimony to the hardiness of some orchids, this one for sure, is that when I bought it, I knew nothing about caring for an orchid.  So, unintentionally, I have tried to kill it many times in the first 7 or 8 years that I owned it.  However, it has always managed to come back.  Now that I know how to care for it, I have gradually nursed it back to better health.  This year it bloomed better than it has in several years.  I took these pictures this morning.

I purchased this orchid on a whim from a small shop in South Miami.  It had no label, so I do not even know exactly what hybrid it is.  All that I know is that it is a Semi-terete Vanda.  It likes relatively high light and can even tolerate direct sun if it is allowed to get used to it gradually.  Like all Vandas, it likes lots of water, to dry quickly, and plenty of fertilizer.  This particular orchid is a little stalky right now.  In the past it was not watered as much as it would like, so it has lost some leaves.  However, the stem is starting to grow roots higher up toward the leaves and eventually when enough roots have grow higher up, I will be able to cut the stem and make the plant look more normal.

Vandas in the Garden

Did you keep your Vandas warm this past winter?  Did you water them well, particularly this spring when the air was dry?  Did you fertilize you Vandas?  Did you give your Vandas plenty of light, particularly early morning and afternoon sun?  If so, Vandas will reward you with plenty of blooms during the summer months.

Update on Ascocenda Su-Fun Beauty 'Orange Belle' AM/AOS

In my last post I had photos of the very FIRST blooms on a very small Ascocenda.  I was wondering if it was unusual to have an orchid like this to bloom when it was so young.

Well I sent the pictures to the vendor from which I bought the plant.  They said that this particular hybid was the MOST floriferous orchid that they sell and that it was not unusual for this plant to bloom when it was young.  They said that when grown well this orchid can bloom 4 - 6 times per year.

If you like to grow vandaceous orchids, I would definitely recommend that you get one of these orchids.  The color is stunning and it blooms like crazy.

I bought the plant at R.F. Orchids in Homestead, Florida.  They said that as of today they have a limited supply on hand.  They sell these orchids online and they are listed on their website under "vandaceous mericlones"  While they are not on the website, they have some smaller ones for sale also.  Of course, if you live in South Florida, why not visit R.F. Orchids in Homestead.  Their grounds are beautiful and they have very neat, well kept greenhouses.  Their orchids are beautiful.  Just beware, it is hard to buy just one!

Ascocenda Su-Fun Beauty 'Orange Belle' AM/AOS - First Bloom for this Plant

This bloom is the VERY FIRST bloom from this seedling.  I purchased the plant last summer as a bare-root seedling.  I would guess that Ascocendas this small have bloomed before, but it is the first time I have seen it happen.  The plant is only about 4 inches tall.  The most amazing part of this bloom is the tremendous orange color.  If this is any hint of things to come, imagine the blooms that this plant will have when it gets fully mature.  It will probably take two or three years before it becomes a mature plant.

Encyclia Mary Motes - Full Bloom - Almost

I previously posted an up close photo of an individual bloom on this Encyclia Mary Motes.  The plant is nearly in full bloom now.  Out of 140 plus buds, around 120 are now open.  The blooms are on 4 long spikes coming out of a very small plant.  It is hard to get all of the blooms in the photo and to still see the blooms very well, but this photo gives one some idea of the size and expanse of the bloom.  This orchid has a very light, pleasant, honey fragrance -- especially early in the morning right after the sun comes up.

FRAGRANT - Maxillaria Tenuifolia - The Coconut Orchid (Pina Colada)

Do you like FRAGRANT orchids.  Then this orchid is for you!  My plant is still small and does not seem to be growing very fast.  But as last year, it has managed one small bloom again this year.  The nickname for this orchid is The Coconut Orchid because it smells like toasted coconut.  Personally, I call it the Pina Colada Orchid!

The growth habit of this orchid is not overly attractive.  The plant itself has this straggly, uncontrolled appearance.  I have it mounted on a tree-fern plaque, but I think it needs a little more moisture.  What has been your experience with this orchid is South Florida?

Lc. Hsin Buu Lady 'YT'

This orchid produces outstanding blooms.  This is the FIRST bloom from this plant.  It presents its flower on a very upright stem and has a very clear, saturated color.  This plant only has the one blossom with one bud, but as the plant matures, this plant has been known to have 3 to 5 blooms on each stem.  If you can get your hands on this plant, buy it.

So far it has been easy to grow.  I have had it about a year and it is mounted on a raft that is topped with a tree fern fiber plaque.

Encyclia Mary Motes (Encyclia alata x Encyclia plicata)

I purchased this plant two years ago.  It was in a clay pot with lava rock as its media.  I did not pay much for it because the plant was small and it looked sick.  I continued to try to grow the plant in the pot in which I bought it.  It kept looking worse and worse.  So I took it out of the pot, trimmed off all of the dead roots, soaked it in Physan and then mounted it on a piece of tree fern plaque inside of a wooden basket.  It was slow to get started, but new roots started to appear and during the first spring that I owned it, it had grown four new bulbs. 

This spring flower spikes grew from each of the four new bulbs.  The spikes are long (they vary between 2 1/2 feet to 4 1/2 feet long).  The spikes have only these two blooms open right now which opened within the last day or two, but the plant has 143 buds.

I have been very curious as to what the blooms look like.  I looked the plant up on Orchidwiz.  It has information about the plant, but NO picture.  I have also searched the web and have not been able to find a picture.  Now I was REALLY curious.  Most encyclias do not have spectacular blooms or colors.  As encyclias go, this is an attractive blossom.  My curiousity is finally satisfied.

The SIZE of Vandaceous Orchids

One of the downsides of caring for vandaceous orchids is that they can get quite large.  In the past, the photos that I have posted here have focused on the flowers.  The two pictures below show not only the flowers, but the entire plant.   From these photos, one can get a better sense of the size of these plants.

The first picture below is Mokara Moonlight 'Tangerine'.  It has two flower spikes in bloom which is not unusual for this orchid.  It also has another spike starting to develop which you cannot see in this photo.  This plant is 44 inches from the bottom of the container to the top of the flowers.

The second picture is of Ascocenda Motes Burning Sands.  This plant is 36 inches high with three flower spikes in bloom.  One of the blooms is coming from a keiki that is growing from the base of the plant.