Summer courtyard ‘19 (img heavy)
 

Some things that have been blooming since April. I know it’s not technically summer but it’s been in the 90’s F here with sticky high humidity so I’m going to call it as such


Schoenorchis tixieri. I have recently become quite obsessed with this genus. It’s easy to see why. Grown very bright and likes to be a bit on the dry side. I move it under the balcony if we have several continuous days of rain
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Schoenorchis gemmata. Another fantastic Schoenorchis and this one is just starting to bloom. It has completely different foliage, a pendant growth habit, branching flower spikes and a beautiful floral fragrance. It’s flowers are even smaller and just as adorable as the S. trixieri. I keep it in fairly bright light (not as much as the tixieri) watered daily but, like the other Schoenorchis, it definitely likes to be on the dry side. I make sure it has very good air movement

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Dimerandra stenopetala. A sequential bloomer that I think is just about done for this year. I’ve only had it since April but I’ve been keeping with my Cattleyas and it’s been spitting out new buds and 8 new growths ever since. Didn’t seem to miss a beat when I repotted it.
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Dendrobium unicum. This delightfully odd scented, wonderfully vibrant Den gave me 5 spikes this year and is working on 6 new growths. Gave it a winter rest, looked dead as a door nail, and came back. It’s like the resurrection fern of orchids
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Dendrobium atroviolaceum. Last spike for this year and it’s starting to fade. I love how long lasting the flowers are of the Latouria type Dens. Grown bright, warm, always damp but in an airy mix, and no rest
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Maxillaria variabilis. This had 4 other blooms on it but I didn’t even know it was in spike until a few spent flowers fell on my head. This is a cute little species so I would like to get some of the other color forms such as the yellow or gold. Grew it bright, well watered and I kept it in intermediate to cool temps over the winter. Also has a nice fragrance
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Ascocentrum garayi. I can’t bloom a standard Vanda to save my life. Apparently I do better with the smaller ones. This little guy has 2 growths and 3 spikes.

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Prosthechea chacoensis. I’m not sure if this is actually a chacoensis or not but it’s pretty, it’s vigorous, and I like it. I thought that the chacoensis only had 2-3 flowers and had slightly gray tinged foliage. Mine is blooming with 4 flowers on its first bloom and has bright green foliage. The number of leaves for the species are correct so if any has any input let me know.

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Prosthechea radiata. Got this one in a trade recently because I wanted to compare it to the chacoensis (the second pic shows the two side by side, Psh. radiata is in my hand). The flowers are slightly different and they certainly grow different. I like the fragrance of the radiata better, too.

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Prosthechea cochleata. Always reliable and never fussy, it’s one of my favorites just to have and not worry about. I gave it medium to low light and kept it warm to intermediate over the winter (hot in the summer) and it’s doing just as well as it did the previous year when I let it get down into to the 30’s F in my dark outdoor laundry room. Or the year before that when it was given medium to high light and lived inside for the winter. It’s one of those orchids that just WANTS to do well

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Maxillaria tenuifolia. I had a much better bloom on it this year with 18 flowers open at once, last year was only 2 or 3 at a time. Not a great blooming, but better. And it’s enough to perfume the whole courtyard. It has doubled in size since I repotted it last July so I really can’t complain.

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Angrecum distichum. I’ve now had this for a year and a half and it’s finally settled into my environment. This season it’s only giving me a single flower every other week but I noticed 6 new ‘arms’ growing, so I am very happy with that.

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Paph Hung Sheng Bay. FIRST PAPH REBLOOM! I’m pretty stoked that I haven’t killed any of my paphs since I started growing them a year ago. This is my first rebloom but the fan did not grow as large as the previous one. Maybe it needs more light? Pretty long lasting flower though

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Gastrochilus retrocalla (Haraella retrocalla). This has been such a great little plant. As long as it is slightly damp at all times it seems to be happy whether it’s living on my bathroom windowsill or outdoors in the heat. It has been in bloom or spike since November. There are actually a total of spikes 3 on there right now that I am going to cut off so I can let it concentrate on some vegetative growth
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Long post but thanks for looking :)

Heres a few more for June. Our heat index has been in the 100’s F lately and night time is only slightly less miserable with the stifling humidity and usually stagnant air. I just brought out the fan for my grow space.


Laelia alaorii var. orlata. First bloom seedling. There is a second bud developing so I moved it to my cooler bathroom to see if I can bring out the intensity of the purple on the lip with slightly cooler temps. Normally this stays outside and isn’t bothered by the super high temps as long as it get watered every day. This thing is very vigorous and always growing. I am growing it in Orchiata and sponge rock in a clay pot and is getting normal Cattleya type light

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Acanthophippium mantinianum. This is a terrestrial native to the Philippines. Keep it warm and it will keep its leaves year round. Keep it shaded too. I accidentally left this in the sun for less than 90 minutes one evening and it completely destroyed all of the leaves and 3 pseudobulbs. :roll: The roots are cool on this species. They are about as thick as my thumb and super woody. Smells like the perfume my Grandma wore in the 80’s
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Promenaea xanthina. This would probably appreciate cooler night temps than I can give but it’s been doing ok as long as I keep it a bit shadier and give it plenty of air movement while the temps are soaring. Normally I keep it pretty bright light, it stays outside most of the year, and is well hydrated. It’s groing in a basket lined with sphagnum and filled with the power sized orchiata bark.
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Brassavola nodosa. First blooms of the summer. Not sure about the typical blooming season for this but it usually begins blooming the first day of summer till the end of August and then again in the winter. I hate the fragrance but everyone else seems to love it.
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How would you describe the fragrance of your P. radiata? It seems to be one of those plants where either plants, opinions, or or both vary widely. Mine is very nice as well, smelling to my nose like a really good root beer, strong on the vanilla. But I've heard the fragrance compared to cat urine by some!

Mine is kind of like a very sweet root beer too, and a bit of vanilla as well now that you mention it. My husband thinks it smells like Egyptian Musk.

I swear there has to be something unique to the Prosthecheas scent that make them so polarizing. I know scent is subjective but every Prosthechea I have smells different to different people. I brought my Psh. fragrans into work one time because no one believed orchids were fragrant and I thought it smelled heavenly, like one of my light Chanel perfumes. It almost got tossed in the trash because two people thought my cat had peed on it. Someone else thought it smelled like bubblegum. Even the chacoensis, I think, smells like a hot barn in the morning and root beer in the afternoon, two of my friends think it smells like roses all day, another person compared it to urine...

SaraJean, what are you using to get the excellent close-ups of the micro-mini flowers? I have a few, and I'm struggling to get good pics. I just ordered a macro lens for my iPhone.

Forgot to say - they're all beautiful! Excellent work!

Thanks :)

And I am just using my iPhone with a cheap clip on Xenvo macro lens. I’ve had decent results if I stabilize both the orchid and the phone with using the timer/delay function to take the pics.