Winter is here, greenhouse is up, long johns are de rigueur, and things are starting to bloom. Lots more coming soon. I have several Cattleya walkerianas that are spiking now so I am expecting an explosion of overwhelming fragrance over the next few months
First is my Sophronitis (Cattleya) cernua purchased from H&R summer of ‘17. I mounted this little guy in the spring when it became too hard to handle in a pot. It didn’t send out any growths till July and buds appeared right before the new pseudobulb matured. I’ve been keeping it fairly bright throughout the year with daily water in the summer and every other day or two in the winter.
The always lovely Cycnodes Wine Delight ‘Jem’. All of my fall blooming catasetums are running behind this year. This is the first of my late bloomers to make an appearance
Dendrobium lamellatum. I was thrilled when this bloomed for the first time a few months ago with 5 flowers. Apparently that was a practice run. In early November it popped out about 30 flowers. The blooms are tiny, don’t open up fully, and only last for a few days but it’s still a very cool looking plant and it re-blooms off of old canes. You can see my Brassavola nodosa still blooming in the last pic. It’s never bloomed this late before and there are 3 more buds getting ready to open. It must be confused
Epidendrum porpax. BUGS! That’s what these little cuties look like to me. This thing is loaded with long lasting, blink and you’ll miss em, bug buds that have been opening over the past month. It seems lo like it a bit on the shady side with high humidity
Maxtho. Bryon Rinke from Sunset Valley. This zygo type hybrid is amazing. Went through months of 100 degree heat this summer with nary a single spot or streak on its leaves. I just kept it Orchiata bark, grew it with my Latouria type Dens and watered it frequently. Oh, and it smells like roses and daffodils
Bulbophyllum Daisy Chain. Free flowering summer through fall and definitely the easiest of my bulbos to bloom
Ceratostylis rubra, probably my most glittery flowers and a total pain to photograph. This is new this year and I’ve been keeping it hanging under my Cattleyas that are in baskets.
And finally, some new arrivals from Andy’s! The Holcoglossum wangii has been on my wish list for some time and, lucky for me, it was sent in bud. I love it. The throat is so much more vibrant than I was expecting. The other two in the last pic are not in spike but they are too adorable not to share. Left is Macroclinium junctum and right, Schoenorchis tixieri