Some current & recent blooms - Orchid Board

SundayGardener · #1 07-11-2019, 11:56 PM

Here is a collection of blooms from the last 6 months and current. More to come when I have time...ugh, the orientation is off too. Anyway, first is a rather unique seedling that I started this spring, not really an orchid. There's a cattleya from Sunset Valley Orchids with its label that is in bloom right now. This is really exciting because it had a bud last fall, which turned black and never opened. I'm really happy to see an actual bloom this time! Then there's a paph which has an id but I don't have it on hand, will edit later...a NOID pink neo, and finally a NOID phal which blooms and blooms and blooms and has several basal keikis.

EDIT: The paph is Paph Acmodontum (which my mind keeps wants to turn in accommodation). The other paph I want to post is Paph Previson Fred SVO x Paph Macabre Mother Mary--it finished blooming a few months ago but now has new buds!

DeaC · #2 07-12-2019, 11:47 AM

That "unique seedling" is magnificent and compliments the rest of your collection. Nice work!

Swimmingorchids · #3 07-12-2019, 12:31 PM

I see your cat is enjoying the grow area. Is it heated? I'm more interested in the setup you've used to grow that flower.
What kind of light are you using? Plants look great

SundayGardener · #4 07-12-2019, 02:21 PM

The Cattleya Meow Song is indeed a feline of distinction. She maneuvered herself onto a 2-story grow rack that I purchased for starting seeds about 2 decades ago. It is good and sturdy, but the lighting is actually not ideal for full trays of seedlings, as the 2 fluorescent bulbs are very centered, and do not provide adequate light to the outer edges.

It is not heated, but the whole contraption was set up in the basement close to the boiler. This particular specimen of cat is a cool grower and not attracted to heat. She has climbing tendencies and is a sprawler. She also managed to get on top of the light fixtures themselves.

Surprisingly, she ended up at the humane society and that is where we picked her up. I don't know that she is purebred but she is very much ragdoll, seal point.

I'm not sure anymore where I got the grow stand. I don't think I got it locally, I'm pretty sure it was around the time that I graduated from a dial up to DSL and discovered a whole new world of commerce. I know gardeners.com sells grown stands with LEDs ($$$). If I had known better at the time, I would have looked for a 4-bulb fixture for better light distribution.

The paph is last September's Chicago Orchid show, so I don't get credit for that bloom and it has a long name that I looked at this morning and can't remember! But I have another cool Sunset Valley orchid that bloomed earlier this year yet to be posted. And I have a cat bouquet to post as well.

Dollythehun · #5 07-12-2019, 07:45 PM

Well, that ragdoll is a fine specimen for sure! Thank you for sharing.

SundayGardener · #6 07-15-2019, 11:11 PM

Here are some blooms from earlier in the year. Lc Cornelia "Floralia" x Lc Mini Purple "Blue Pacific which was lightly scented, and Paph President Fred 'SVO' x Paph Macabra "Mother Mary" (this is a favorite of mine and is now poised to bloom again). In the original post, the Dialaelia is Snowflake "Northland." Also the world's favorite cat and her partners in catitude...

SundayGardener · #7 07-15-2019, 11:15 PM

Last of the cat pictures...the "peacemaker" was brought home to diffuse hostilities between the first cat on the scene, and her fluffy majesty, and this ploy actually worked.

They are all excellent cats in that for the most part, they leave the orchids completely alone! (so far) (knocking wood). We are really more dog people, but work too many hours to keep a dog right now...why I thought orchids would be a good idea, I don't know

Dollythehun · #8 07-16-2019, 07:48 AM

Trying to diffuse tensions in that way doesn't always work. We got Dolly at the vets suggestion to liven up our older pair. She hated them and everything else. She's was a terror until they all died. She lets Nathan live with her. I'd like to bring in another companion for Nathan, as he's lonely. But, I'm afraid of incurring Dolly's wrath. You got lucky.

SundayGardener · #9 07-16-2019, 11:58 AM

Well, it took a few tries. We got the calico (long story, she picked me, then got adopted by someone else who quickly returned her for being too rambunctious and then I swooped in and got her). Being fairly new to cats, we were idiots and thought she was lonely. Meanwhile she was fully enjoying having an entire domain all to herself. The ragdoll mix showed up and was irresistible. and she gets along with everyone. The calico was not pleased and turned out to be a huge bully. We tried another cat as an intervention and that didn't work. Then we got the Peacemaker as a kitten. Initially this was not a popular development but we had done all our research about how to introduce cats and in the end they had a blast chasing him around and teaching him the ropes. Yes, we got lucky but I also talked to a lot of people and did a lot of internet reading about feline bully behavior. I've gotten better at de-escalating and arranging things so that there is no reason for anyone to get hostile unless they are just being jerks.

Going back to the light fixture...those are just plain fluorescent light bulbs, in 2-bulb fixtures that can be removed from the shelving unit. When installed, they can be moved vertically up and down to the desired height. The unit itself can be taken apart.