Made a blooming period calendar for my collection

[My Green Pets]

Howdy, I have been inspired by recent conversations about mindfully collecting orchids in order to have something in bloom every month of the year.

Curious about what my current collection would look like, I made a chart on a spreadsheet using data and photos I have collected over the past few years to highlight the blooming periods of my plants.

It has been very cool to see how many plants are fairly regular in their bloom times.

It also became painfully apparent that one of my collection's more floriferous times of year is in late November, when I am often away for a week visiting family for Thanksgiving. Nothing like waiting all year to see my short-lived Bulbophyllums bloom, only to leave just before the flowers open, and come back to the dried remains. I will be planning accordingly in the future!

Attaching a screenshot.

[Ray]

Now that you have done that work, they will soon rebel.

[Paphluvr]

Nice idea. What do the different colors on the graph signify?

[DeaC]

And now that the tent is their new home you can compare past blooms and growth from previous yrs and maybe include that in the data. This dinosaur just records things by hand on the paperwork that came with the plant. Works for me!

[estación seca]

You're going to convince your family to move Thanksgiving?

[DirtyCoconuts]

nice-
i am always amazed at what happens when you can get actual data and what it does to my anecdotal observation ??!?!

this is really cool to me, an outdoor grower, bc i have no idea about mine other than general like, 'when it gets cool' or 'once it is really wet', and so i have assumed it would be worthless but this is quite informative and makes me want to start tracking

[Leafmite]

If you invite your entire family to have Thanksgiving there so you can enjoy and show off your orchids, I am guessing that will successfully move the bloom date.

I had orchids that bloomed at the exact same time every year for about ten years, faithfully. I joined an orchid society and their show was right in the middle of the blooming time for both. That year, they both bloomed a month later than usual. Even after all these years, I have not once had anything in bloom for the show season (I would never buy an orchid that was in bloom and enter it).

[Keysguy]

Green Pets- to Leafmite's point, what do you do when they throw you a curveball? Do you plan to have some sort of plan how you'll acknowledge a bloom out of the norm?
Sometimes there is value in doing that.
By example; 3 of my Aerides species started blooming this year in early Oct. Every year prior was mid Jan. The record might eventually lead you (or me) to understand "why?".

[estación seca]

Because they feel like it.

[My Green Pets]

Originally Posted by Keysguy

Green Pets- to Leafmite's point, what do you do when they throw you a curveball? Do you plan to have some sort of plan how you'll acknowledge a bloom out of the norm?
Sometimes there is value in doing that.
By example; 3 of my Aerides species started blooming this year in early Oct. Every year prior was mid Jan. The record might eventually lead you (or me) to understand "why?".

I wanted a visualization of when the plants in my collection bloom. Every year, I will add new data to the chart. Maybe after enough time passes, several plants will have the entire year colored in. Bulbo echinolabium has already done this. But perhaps as you suggest, darkening the color when a bloom period repeats or overlaps will add more useful information to the chart.

Originally Posted by Leafmite

If you invite your entire family to have Thanksgiving there so you can enjoy and show off your orchids, I am guessing that will successfully move the bloom date.

HA! You are completely right. But at least this year, it looks like I am going to miss my Lovely Elizabeth at her peak, and that has me pretty bummed. It's her first bloom in 3 years and the most spikes it's ever made.

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

nice-
i am always amazed at what happens when you can get actual data and what it does to my anecdotal observation ??!?!

this is really cool to me, an outdoor grower, bc i have no idea about mine other than general like, 'when it gets cool' or 'once it is really wet', and so i have assumed it would be worthless but this is quite informative and makes me want to start tracking

DC if you take a photo the day a plant blooms and another photo the day those flowers start to fade, I think you'd have a powerful database of info about your collection.

Originally Posted by estación seca

You're going to convince your family to move Thanksgiving?

I will be hosting from now on I guess!

Originally Posted by DeaC

And now that the tent is their new home you can compare past blooms and growth from previous yrs and maybe include that in the data. This dinosaur just records things by hand on the paperwork that came with the plant. Works for me!

Dea this is the first time in years things are blooming 'when they're supposed to' which I am attributing to the stable conditions in the tent as well as the careful photoperiod adjustments I am making. But there will always be exceptions.

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

Nice idea. What do the different colors on the graph signify?

The colors were chosen arbitrarily, more or less reflecting the colors of the flowers.

Originally Posted by Ray

Now that you have done that work, they will soon rebel.

And on the chart it will go!