Orchids, orchids, Orchids

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by wintergirl

Don't be a headless sparrow post an orchid picture and join the fun!

Slc. Seagulls Apricot



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[Pattywack]

Stonedragonfarms that is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

[No-Pro-mwa]

OK, I'm all for changing things to fun. I had to go bowl yesterday so I wasn't here. I'm going to brag and say I bowled a 196, ya. I'm not that good of a bowler but I try.

Any who nice pics everyone. Lets see what I have. First time flowering for me.

[Orchid Whisperer]

This plant used to belong to my late Mother-in-law. I've never learned the genus or species name.



I started caring for it a few years ago when she developed memory problems and couldn't care for it. We used to put it in her room each time it bloomed, now it is blooming for us.

[Dollythehun]

Oh, Tindo will be envious! That is Schlumbergera. 12 hours dark and 12 hours light. They should bloom for you twice a year. Mine were magnificent and I meant to take a picture but, as you all know, I am digitally challenged (pictures, not fingers).

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Oh, Tindo will be envious! That is Schlumbergera. 12 hours dark and 12 hours light. They should bloom for you twice a year. Mine were magnificent and I meant to take a picture but, as you all know, I am digitally challenged (pictures, not fingers).

Decades ago, my Mother had a "Christmas cactus" (similar sort of thing, leaves slightly different). At the end of summer she would stick it in the darkest and coldest room of the house and completely stop watering it (can't remember how long, seemed like 2 months). Then she would put it in the window and water it with household ammonia added to the water. It always bloomed and was always glorious on Christmas.

[Dollythehun]

Man, I'd bloom too to get all that to stop 😅😆😄😃
Seriously, we used to just keep them on a cool basement window sill. I had my mother's which was the size of a bushel basket...until our cat jumped smack in the middle of the plant stand. Thank God no one called the ASPCA on me. However, I did have to start over with "cuttings."

[Orchid Whisperer]

Looking up how-to instructions, mom was not too far off what I see recommended, she just did it a little differently. The autumn withholding of water and cooler temperatures is consistent. The household ammonia (maybe a half teaspoon per pint?) - well, the old-fashioned kind with no additives is essentially just adding nitrogen.

The rest? Well, it was a long time ago.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

This plant used to belong to my late Mother-in-law. I've never learned the genus or species name.

Schlumbergera, Cactaceae. An old name is Zygocactus, and you may still find information under this name. It could also be a hybrid.

It is a small genus of epiphytic plants from the cooler Atlantic forest in southern Brazil. Many are now extinct in habitat. The flat things are stem segments. It has no leaves. There are tiny spines at the notches in the stem segments, proving it is a cactus.

They need very loose moisture-retaining soil, changed every few years so it doesn't become sour or rotten. They never should dry out, and they need moderate summer temperatures. They grow like weeds during the summer if properly fertilized.

They are triggered to bloom by one of two things: Long nights with uninterrupted darkness, or 6 weeks of night temperatures below 55 degrees F / 13C. Turning a light on for one or two minutes once during the night, or a light shining through the window from outside in the fall or winter, is enough to keep them from blooming.

Single-joint cuttings will root in fresh water, changed frequently. Many modern hybrids are patented and it is illegal to propagate them vegetatively.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I use to have a couple of these, no wonder I finally killed mine I always let them dry before watering. I did have a huge one that I wish I still had. It was called Kris Kringle, I have never seen that color again.