Pics & a brag
 

Greetings fellow orchid enthusiasts!

I recently had the privilage of entering my first real orchid show with other members of my orchid society (Sandpiper). We entered the Longwood Gardens International Orchid Show with the Pinelands Orchid Society as the Affiliated Southern New Jersey Societies.

All Sandpiper members did well in the show. I sent four plants and wound up with four ribbons, 2 first and 2 second. All but one of the plants are in my album Randy's Pics.

1st Bulbophyllum platyrachis
2nd Bulbophyllum purpureorachis
2nd Dendrobuim Wonder Nishi

All these are in the album.

Also 1st was Iwan. Apple Blossom but I didn't get a picture of it prior to sending it to the show and when I got it back the flowers were done.

Although I didn't make it to the show to jump up and down when I saw my ribbons I did get a nice jolt when I went to Waldors to pick up my plants. I was talking to a woman about the beauty of their display area while a staff member was retreiving my plants. He came out with my Bulbo platyrachis (which is a large plant, loaded with rachis) with the blue ribbon on the end and her eyes got really large and her mouth fell open. That was a big boost for me.

Check out my album.

Blessings,
Randy

Congrats! And I really enjoy the pics of your B. platyrachis. It looks like a miniature from the pics, sorry if I'm wrong. What temps and lighting do they like. I'm beginning a small collections of miniatures and hope to have a display of mounted orchids some day soon.

Congratulations on your wins - that must be really wonderful, especially to have enough plants in flower at the same time to enter into a show!

Bulbo. platyrachis
 

Hi Tindomul1of9,

Thanks for your kind words. No, it's no miniature, only a small picture! The entire plant with mount is over 4' x 5' and with all the rachis sticking out it's even bigger. The flowers are tiny is all.

As for conditions during summer it gets watered daily but during winter it's in a humid environment (60-100%) but only gets watered once a week. There's a nice fat sphag pad on the piece of root although a lot of the newer pseudobulbs are growing off into the air. I do tie some of them down so they'll eventually grow all around the entire piece. Right now the plant only covers about 2/3 of the wood. When I do tie down some new pb's I add more sphag. I think it's pretty happy.

You do have to be careful with what you mount however. Not everything will live on one watering per week no matter how humid it is in the winter and other things will die if you water it at all in the winter, or at least not flower. I have a greenhouse so it helps quite a bit. It doesn't have the humidity and watering controls my old greenhouse did, but it costs a lot less to heat because it's attached to the house.

I wouldn't try to have so many mounted plants in a house where it gets really dry during the winter.

Randy

Oscarman
 

Thanks! It really was a rush. When I picked them up from Waldors Orchids there was a non local woman there and we started a conversation about how nice their show area was while I was waiting for my plants. It was really cool when they brought out the Bulbo platyrachis which is pretty big all in all, with the blue ribbon hanging on the end and her eyes got really big and her mouth fell open.
:blushing: :biggrin: :nod: :banana:

Well I was hoping it was a mini so I could stick it in a vivarium which acts in effect as a mini green house. Thats where I am keeping my only two stick mounted orchids.

I do have one that is a mini or at least fairly small, that is like that. The pb's are only about 1" and the leaves are about 1/2". It finally flowered this year, just recently in fact. The rachis aren't fully mature but they don't seem like they'll be more than 5" long. I'll have to remember to get you the species name over the weekend. I got it from Carolina Orchids.

Are you in the USA? Maybe, if it's not too difficult I could send you a rooted cutting?

Randy

Good news! We just found ut that Longwood will host the International Orchid Show again next year! End of March!

I saw your plants in person and they were beautiful! As part of the Judging coordination team (with Walt and Arthur), I was worried about not having enough good plant material in May in SE PA. Well - the plant material was great and your awards are just examples!
Congratulations again! Hope to see Sandpiper next year at the show! Perhaps they will host their own exhibit????

Very cool that they are going to have the show again next year. End of March will give us lots of different plants. Maybe my Den. spectabile will be ready at that time! We weren't sure how many plants we would come up with so we agreed to do the combined exhibit with Pinelands. We did come up with a pretty good group though didn't we?

Randy

Photos of NJ Exhibit at Longwood
 

The New Jersey Joint Society Exhibit at Longwood was lovely! I do have a picture of it and would be happy to post it -as well as others from the show if people are interested....Let me know - currently I am on a different computer than the photos but could get them....