The Orchid(and cat) Alley.
 

I have so many bloom this season and more are on the way! Today mark my full 2nd year into the orchid hobby. I went through such a journey in just one year, it was my first time joining an orchid society(or any society at all,) driving more than 50 miles just to see a plant shows/nurseries, selling plants, building a green house, making new friends, burning a lot of money, and lastly finding this forum! It's all started from rescuing some trashcan Phals that unknowingly trapped me in a whole new obsession. I don't think I've improved that much, but I've learned from my mistake, and I'm not afraid of making new ones and refine as my love for this hobby live on. So here are the results of my fruits of labor so far and thank you for supporting me for the past two years!

I dont want to flood the catalog with my threads so I think it's better that I'd just update within this mother thread from now on.

edit: some of the imgur links are videos

current growing space. (Soon there will be another alley with far more green house utilities)
https://imgur.com/r5j3hbN.jpeg

[Aussie Den mass bloom]
https://imgur.com/P8Vfsh7.jpeg
https://imgur.com/IEjpACb.jpeg

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

[lemboglossum cervantesii]
I've cared for this one to its bloom, now I'm just waiting for the real test in summer.
https://imgur.com/8wLA1JM.jpeg
Imgur: The magic of the Internet


[No ID rescue Cym]
https://imgur.com/GBi6YsR.jpeg

[Dendrobium Bellatulum]
sadly I caught the bloom too late, this is its second to last day from falling.
https://imgur.com/NDmdQZ1.jpeg
https://imgur.com/vmF4msz.jpeg

[Mini Blue star Hybrid]
Lost the tag but, it's one of SVO's mini blue star hybrid. First pict is this year bloom second was last year.
https://imgur.com/iMOP3kZ.jpeg
https://imgur.com/kre76f8.jpeg

[Ctna. Why Not]
https://imgur.com/WTLFVtw.jpeg
https://imgur.com/FgotPZz.jpeg
https://imgur.com/DNMpntu.jpeg

[Encyclia cochleata]
https://imgur.com/4FdEUPs.jpeg
https://imgur.com/3uJeYOH.jpeg

[Hawaiian cattleyas]
No ID Dad's cattleyas bought from a Hawaiian vendor.
https://imgur.com/3HKUVPl.jpeg
https://imgur.com/jrxe1Te.jpeg
https://imgur.com/BwOFziz.jpeg

[Yamamoto Dendrobium]
My Mom's last New Year dendrobium hybrid.
https://imgur.com/mTajO18.jpeg
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

I'd say for two years time, the orchid bug bit you hard! :rofl: A beautiful collection of plants. And it appears Cat really enjoys the smell of its favorite. :biggrin:

That lemboglossum cervantesii (never heard of it) is exquisite.

amazing progress for 2 years!!!

great set up

It's an infection, I've been resisting and trying to slow down lately.

I have to put a spending notification on my bank now because of that lol.

Wonderful display, thank you!

Do I see a sundew and a pitcher plant on the wall?

Aucuba (gold dust plant) prefers deep shade. They become stressed with too much light. You could use that sunny spot for something else.

The weather this month has been absolutely terrible. Not single shred of sunlight in the past 2 weeks right when my orchids decided to have a growth spurt.

https://imgur.com/muVsPwS.jpeg
Hawaiin fragant

https://imgur.com/XaByf9z.jpeg
https://imgur.com/bPfIorV.jpeg
two sar. I won from the Orchid society lottery.

no worry, the pict was taken during the cold season and the sunlight alignment has changed now.

You did very well at the society raffle! It's a great way to build a collection.

My orchids love the May gray/June gloom. It is overcast, but brighter than you realize. And the light is very even - no hot spots. Cool but not cold, and somewhat high humidity . Enjoy while you can, once it turns hot and bright you will need to be vigilant to not toast plants. Now is perfect!

I set up was made to shield against those harsh light haha. but now I have to take them down again because it's too shady.
It's like we're in a BBC Victorian British Drama setting this whole month!

I went to Orchid Disneyland today at SVO!
https://imgur.com/8ceLpWq.jpeg
https://imgur.com/md6qGNx.jpeg
https://imgur.com/biNWNcG.jpeg
https://imgur.com/z9maUoD.jpeg
https://imgur.com/ECcfiDb.jpeg
https://imgur.com/yLfHB0e.jpeg
https://imgur.com/FtACQL4.jpeg
https://imgur.com/B3fZG1k.jpeg


And my Haul.
https://imgur.com/ifR4nkN.jpeg
I'm trying out with a Walkeriana, Aolorii, Renathea, and a new Vanda that suit this climate.

The kids that were in charge with the cashier forgot to discount me and I ended up paying the full price unbeknownst to me while was in a hurry. :dumb:

Looks like you had a GOOD time!

WOW!!!! You are doing so well and your stories are inspirational. It’s great to see the vast number of genera you are able to grow. Pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 PM ----------

P.S. love the kitty!!!!!

Miltoniopsis superbloom inbound!
I count about 8 spikes!

https://imgur.com/dYmpVSV.jpeg

New hybrid from SVO bloomed (L. pumila v. alba 'Mt. Snow Storm White' x L. alaorii v. alba 'Snowflake')
Aye it's pink, I didnt win the alba lottery, but it still look cute!
Even though it look more like a pumila than an alaorii to me, it blooms reliably enough for me to adore it.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet (video)

https://imgur.com/YYIfA1Y.jpeg
https://imgur.com/AlLy3fX.jpeg

Sorry for the off and on absences. I finally have some time to stay up on the net for longer in a day, until I have to go on vacation in couple weeks that is.
Nevertheless, I've been busy with my alley. Lots of new orchid acquicitions, and my first blue ribbon!
https://imgur.com/LcMM2Uu.jpeg
https://imgur.com/gKmQ7TP.jpeg
https://imgur.com/4CYDTFK.jpeg
https://imgur.com/rQoBPU2.jpeg
https://imgur.com/E1g35ti.jpeg
https://imgur.com/qsNGpkm.jpeg
https://imgur.com/ei0fsnO.jpeg
https://imgur.com/MZV6VVO.jpeg

hey now!!! got some hardware to go with all those nice plants! well done

Just an update on my orchid Alley. I think I'm very happy with the way they are now I probably won't change anytime soon or later.
You know what, I think I learned about orchid keeping the most this year. In the past to years I've always doubted myself that "can I even keep going? but I bought so many." I think I finally truly understand why people say to keep it 'easy' at the begining. Because I have not get enough taste of failure and success, and let the obssession run wild. I just grow a lot of plants thinking they will do well for me if I researched them enough. But no it was more about understanding my surrounding and knowing my potential first...

The plant might be suitable for my environment or the green house, but in reality, I was too occupied with nursing the plant rather than enjoying the process. I lost sight of the bigger picture somewhere down the line, keeping worrying about where should I place the plant? how much I should feed them? all these questions gradually chip away my joy. Every I relentlessly trying to push myself to prove that I can "keep these plants." But it was never the point...

But through all these struggle I realized I wasn't just learning about my plants. The amount of time I run around my house to switch the out the orchids, I was becoming more familiar with my home than the whole life I lived in it. All these little things I never knew gradually came to me, I now know when and where the exact angle of the sun beam shine through my window each season, all the little cracks where mushroom would grow, the leaking garden pipe behind the wall that no one in my family but I notice, or how much the passage of time have worned out the name carving that my brother made when we first moved in. It was all because I was trying to figure out the best way to grow orchids...

Anyway it is already a long post, what I mean is that, gardening/orchid has taught me to appreaciate what I have. I still don't know how to grow orchid that much in the past 2 years, however, I certainly have learned how to grow orchid around my home.

https://imgur.com/LSjljai.jpeg