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.

(Blc Lucky Man x C Netrasiri Beauty) 'Quest' AM/AOS

I have not been able to find this cross in OrchidWiz, even though the tag that came with the plant indicates that it is a cultivar that has been awarded.  Does anyone know why that would be?

I bought this plant in bloom about four years ago.  It has bloomed for me every year, but in the past it has always bloomed only once (usually in January) and it has always had one bloom from the bulb.  This season it has bloomed now for a third time with this latest bloom being a double blossom from the same bulb.  I think that fact that I have given the plant MORE light has helped the blooming.

The plant is getting very close to being specimen size.  It is currently in a 12 inch wooden basket with NO media.  It has gotten too large for my Cattleya Pergola, so it hangs under my peach tree.

When I bought this plant, I was just starting out with Cattleyas.  It is amazing I did not kill it.  At first, it was in a clay pot with a media mix of expanded clay pebbles, charcoal, and coconut husks.  While this is a popular mix, it was a disaster for a Cattleya that grows outdoors in South Florida.  If I did NOT water the plant all summer long, I could just barely keep it alive in spite of the roots trying to rot away.  When I finally moved the plant to a wooden basket with NO media, it took off.  I mounted the orchid on a wooden raft and set the raft down inside the basket.  The roots have now firmly attached themselves to the entire basket.  I think the plant has two or three more years in this basket.  At that time it will either have to be split into pieces or I will have to set this basket inside a bigger one.  What would you do?

Cattleya Love Castle

This cattleya is a complex hybrid with approximately 8 differenct species in its background.  These pictures were taken just after a rain.  It is hanging in a wooden basket underneath my peach tree in Miami, Florida.  This hybrid takes relatively high indirect light and does best with intermediate temperatures.  It is a little warm in South Florida for it, but as you can see it did bloom after a long winter rest.  The plant is a compact grower with small blooms.  This plant is still very small.  As the plant gets bigger, it will have multiple blooms at the same time.