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.