I wasn't sure where to post this. If it's the wrong section, please move it (thanks in advance). I've posted this on other forums, so if it's a repeat for you, I apologize.
In the past year to year or two, I've made numerous changes to my overall growing habits. These include, but are not limited to the following:
1. I've reduced the size of my plant collection. It's made a big difference, because now I can spend more time caring for individual plants.
2. I've entirely converted my lights to T8s from T12s. Eventually I'll move to LEDs, but for now fluorescents are really working for me.
3. I've significantly reduced my fertilization rates. I haven't gone full k-lite, but I supplement much less.
4. I've incorporated various seaweed extract products into my feeding regime. This has made a huge impact on the number of roots and the overall health of my plants.
5. I've kept the majority of my plants indoors year round, rather than setting the bulk of them outdoors in the summer. The plants don't get the sudden growth spurts anymore, but I get more consistent growth and I don't have to deal with anywhere near as many pests (snails, pill bugs, roaches, etc).
As a result, since the fall, I've been experiencing a bumper crop. Currently, I have more plants in bloom, bud and spike than I've ever had at once. My growing space is literally an oasis of blooms. This isn't even an exhaustive list, but I'd like to share a quickly compiled list of plants in bloom, bud, and spike. Then I'll share pics. In no particular order....
// ORCHIDS
Brassia arachnoidea - Somewhat mini brassia
Dendrobium Micro Chip - Mini dendrobium, lovely fragrance in the morning.
Paph fowliei x Donna Brown - Purchased from Deerwood last year during one of the fall sales.
Paph Crouching Tiger - Using an album phil. One of my absolute, all time favorite paph hybrids. I adore this plant.
Paph Deena Nicole - First time blooming in over 10 years of ownership.
Phrag Sunset Glow 'Clone 1'
Phrag Sunset Glos 'Big A'
Phrag Fliquet
Phrag. Super Grande
Phrag Eric Young (flavum besseae)
Phrag schlimii - Beautiful fragrance.
Phal Cassandra - Fragrant. I love it.
Phal NOID (white)
Phal NOID (white w/ purple lip)
Phal NOID big leaf
Phal NOID mini 1
Phal NOID mini 2
Phal NOID harlequin
Phal NOID yellow (standard)
Phal NOID mini yellow
Phal stuartiana
Miltonia NOID (spectabilis hybrid)
Miltonia Robsan's Blush - One of the most fragrant orchids in my collection. From Lennette (sp?) before they went out of business.
// NON ORCHIDS
Aloe harlana
Aloe sp? mini
Neoregelia NOID orange (multiple divisions coloring up)
Tillandsia cyanea
In addition, I have a handful of plants (both orchid and non-orchid) that I strongly suspect will be blooming and spiking soon enough. The slippers tend to have mature growths with swollen bases that indicate the plant is preparing to spike. Bromeliads tend to start coloring up when they are preparing to bloom. It's really motivating to see so much promising potential.
And now for the photos....
The first set of photos is of my primary growing area. This is my bedroom. I have a couple of stands set-up with the majority of my plants.
Tillandsia cyanea. This is the largest "paddle" this plant has ever produced. The fragrance is a perfect match for cloves. Very strong.
Dendrobium Microchip. Small plant. I like it a lot. Covered in blooms. Fragrant in the morning and early afternoon. Scent is sweet. Reminds me of newly hatched birds (weird description, but if you know what I'm talking about, this describes the scent perfectly). Phal Cassandra is to the left, with just a couple of the dozen plus buds open.
Phrag schlimii. Rose perfume scented. My favorite orchid fragrance.
Phrag Sunset Glow (Eric Young 4n x Mem. Dick Clemments)
Paph Deena Nicole. This is a paph I bought in bloom, but one that hasn't bloomed since 2002. Not sure why.
Phal NOID. The only phal I've bought for myself. I bought it because its a yellow phal with blooms that are the same size as a standard white phal. Yellow is my favorite color, that's why I bought it. It's not particularly fragrant, unlike most yellow phals I've encountered.
Phrag Sunset Glow. This my favorite clone that I own. It has the largest flowers, my favorite shape and the most intense color of the clones I own. I call this clone 'Big A', in reference to my mom's nickname.
Paph Crouching Tiger. Purchased last year. I LOVE it. The spike has 6 flowers. The flowers are big with long petals and most importantly, they have lovely yellow pouches. The plant is vigrous. It was in bloom last summer as well.
Phrag Eric Young. This is a cross using flavum besseae. I sold and gave away most of these, but kept this particular plant because it was the most vigorous grower, bloomed most easily and overall had the best flower quality.
Anyway, I've been super busy lately, and haven't been posting as much, but I definitely want to give kudos to all the forum users. I peek at the latest posts almost daily and have to say, I love how active this place is. So, I wanted to share and add my own plants.
Bumper Crop
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