Blooms, buds and growth

[Junebug]

Everyone in the shade house has grown well this season and I couldn't be more pleased. Currently the spikers and bloomers are mostly dendrobiums and they're all noids. A few cattleyas are in bud, sheath, and double sheath and with any luck it shouldn't be long before my Prosthechea cochleata and Catasetum begin spiking.

My Stanhopea Ronsard bloomed from 2 spikes a few weeks ago and she's now producing her third spike. Her freckled blooms had an intense coconut/vanilla fragrance and lasted about 5 days before fading.

My large but stubborn Blc. Bryce Canyon 'Spendiferous' x C. jemnamii 'Jungle Princess' finally got on the blooming band wagon. This particular cattleya does not perform well and burns in typical cattleya lighting conditions. She usually produces only one or two blooms a year in January. Two years ago there was one bloom during summer. This year she produced 8 buds this year after I lowered the level of her sun exposure. A bug destroyed her first 4 buds and damaged another 2, but the last two buds managed to bloom without incident. Her flowers are pretty pale and homely when they first open but they develop color and emit an intoxicating fragrance by day 3.

Enjoy.