Laelia anceps
 

Flowering in midwinter. Plants need continuous reduced regular watering to unfold its flowers - otherwise the sepals stick together. There should be more flowers per stem, but I am content with 2 or 3 flowers here. Keeping a cool winter rest is not a problem, but I cannot compensate for the lack of sunlight. The sun refused to shine most of the time within the last 3 months. One glance on a friendly afternoon outside my greenhouse will surely show that i don't live in the South of Mexico.

Very nice color. Mines been in spike for quite a while, hopefully it will bloom soon.

Bill

Beautiful blooms!!! I share your pain with the the winter weather! It has been quite overcast this year, so I have not gotten any blooms from half of my (fabulous) winter-blooming plants... quite a disappointment! Oh well, there is always next year! Good luck with the snow!!!!

Beautiful color!

Interesting, when I visited my uncle at christmas time his huge anceps had dozens of flowers on it but it's the height of a very hot summer here. Wonder why they are flowering at the same time but opposite seasons...

Great looking bloom!

Nice one.

Kim

Beautiful!

Beautiful!

I just bought one a few months ago. I look forward to my seedling's first bloom someday and hope it will be as lovely!

A beautiful anceps! Well done. I suppose your greenhouse is a wonderful retreat during winter's cold days. I'm always so impressed when people grow warm loving species in cool climates. That's passion!

Wonderful bloom and the snow photo is a nice contrast.

If anyone needs specifics on their orchid and what it needs to bloom, contact Gold Country Orchids in California. I sat through a talk he gave and was astounded by his depth of knowlege about how to get orchids to bloom.

I second this. Alan Koch's recent talk here in Texas was mind boggling-ly good. Easily the best I've ever seen and I've been growing orchids in Canada, AZ, HI and TX for nearly 20 years!

Thanks Steve. I couldn't remember his name. I sat spellbound listening to him speak. The depth of his knowlege about the little things most of us don't know was incredible. pH, calcium uptake, phosphorus uptake. Light at certain times, temps, humidity at certain times. He would start, "did you know....", and then just go on about the little known facts of getting this or that orchid to bloom. And with lots of pictures for us dummies. Email him if any of you are having problems with a certain orchid.

It amazes me to hear that Laelia anceps is flowering at the same time in the southern hemispere. Somebody must have told the plant that it has the reputation of a Christmas bloomer.
In fact it flowers in Mexico in the mid of the dry season, and so it does appearantly in Australia.
I have grown up with a greenhouse, it was my favorite hideaway. But everybody who comes to visit me in wintertime is surprised about the contrast between inside and outside.
And yes, there are many more things to learn about specific needs and (more important) general needs of epiphytic plants. Learning never ceases.
And I think its not successful to programme a computer with climate diagramms or a fertilizing schedule.
I go into the greenhouse several times a day and closely observe the weather forecast.