Project 2016: Cattleya walkeriana

[No-Pro-mwa]

I will certainly buy the humidity problem. I do try and I have 2 humidifiers going one in the kitchen and one in the living room. It can be so dry in the winter here. We are having rain now so things are good at the moment. Other wise I will just have to cut them out of there.

[Leafmite]

The walkerianas are back inside, along with the rest of the orchids. It is just too cold at night for too many days. I decided it just wasn't worth stressing the plants.

[Lady Meera]

It's finally here. Pretty nice looking plant from Hausermann's. I had to remove most of the center roots but there was a lot of nice newer roots around the outside. There are two new bulbs forming, one more mature than the other. Fingers crossed!

[estación seca]

A picture is worth 44 words.

[Lady Meera]

Picture is up! Sorry, I just can't seem to get the hang of posting photos here from my tablet... they're always crooked

[estación seca]

Nice big plant. Photos seem to go up sideways from phones or tablets almost all the time.

[Optimist]

Well I got my walkeriana, it is from a small ebay seller lala.orchids and yes, I got it because it was cheap (15$ as opposed to the 35$ I have been seeing.) It is a monofoliate. due to the reading I have been doing I know that a version of the species in Minas Gereis, Brazil is monofoliate. This is a semi Albal Walkeriana X with a species Walkeriana so it is all walkeriana despite its monofoliate leaves. It has a nice plump new leaf set forming, and the others are slightly ridged or shall I say "wrinkled" possibly from underwatering, however it has a nice thick white set of growing roots so I am happy that the wrinkles on the leaves are not terribly bad. (I will post pictures too but am having difficulties getting decently sharp pictures with the tablet I am taking pictures with.)

Fun, fun, fun. So there's a bit of a story about the delivery. I hate to speak ill of my brother, but he has Aspergers and a bit of other problems and you can only give him a few instructions at a time. He comes home from work, and I had to work all day. Ihad taken an all-day job (I free-lance) because it was supposed to be here Next Friday, not on Monday. I said if he came home for lunch and saw it in the pail box, could he put it inside the house? He forgot the house part and decided to pick it out of the mailbox and put it in his car then he left it in the car (nearing 90 outside in New Mexico). He called me about 2pm, saying he had it in his car and asked me to water his plants when I got home.

The more I thought about it. Orchid in a hot car for hours baking, really went through my head over and over. As soon as I got out of work I tried to call him but he turned his phone off, and so I booked it to his workplace, and actually had to get him to come out and unlock his car, all the while babbling (forgive me) about an international orchid competition, and a rare Brazilian orchid. Okay Hyperbole, but it sounded good! (Every orchid I have here except phals is a rare orchid).

Anyway, brought it home in air conditioning, and gave it a good drink in the "pond." It looks fine. I am sitting here afterwards chuckling to myself, and having an after work ice- cold adult beverage.

I had to drag all my orchids in for the week, it is really cold (like 41F) in the morning suddenly. A cold snap. My little intermedia is having a tiny bud forming and the Lawre-mossiae cross I have.

The end of this exciting tome!
Aloha!

---------- Post added at 05:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------

Sadly spell check doesn't work on this site either. Pail box. :|

[estación seca]

Shipping box contents take quite a while to equilibrate with outside temperatures, fortunately, if the box is well-packed and sealed.

[Optimist]

It was okay. I am prone to catastrophic thinking. The package came at noon. He called me at 2:00 pm. By the time I got there it was after 3:30 Pm. Long enough fer my imagination to run away with me. That was a long time in a hot car. (did I say he parked under a tree? That is the only thing that saved it).

[wintergirl]

I'm glad everyone's plants are arriving in good shape. I know how hot a car can get in New Mexico, my mother used to live there. Glad you got it in time.

---------- Post added at 09:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 PM ----------

Hey everyone I got an email back from Fred Clark, he says
" It looks like there has been some root loss. C. walkeriana needs to be a bit dryer in the winter months to preserve root health. It really does better mounted on a cork is way the roots dry out quickly. They are also sensitive about repotting at the wrong time. only re pot when new roots are starting."