In bloom on 1/10/09

[EdinAZ]

A few in bloom as of 1/10/09, from left to right:

Brassavola nodosa. First picture is the plant, second a bloom. I know this is just one of “the usual suspects” in the orchid world, pretty common in wild, in the greenhouse and in the “house” house, but it’s still a favorite of mine. I grow mine up high in the GH, lots of sun and relatively “dry”. It was in a pot for a couple of years, but seems to like its basket much better. Several spikes hidden in the picture, and it will probably have 50 or so blooms . . . its best performance yet.

Catasetum (I think maybe Clowesia now ?) Rebecca Northen. First the plant, then two bloom pictures. I wish the plant didn’t look so shabby, but the blooms are great. Not very large, but lots of them, and FRAGRANT.

Phaius tankerville (or grandiflora ?). First the spike, then the bloom. This one has had a tough life. I tried it outdoors for 3 years (I know that would work fine in some places, but in the Arizona desert ?). I had seen them growing in Costa Rica in some very “harsh” situations, and wondered if they were tough enough, so I tried. It did live and bloom, but just “wasted away” a bit each year. Finally it was just about dead, and I would have just tossed it, but my wife insisted that I pot it up and put it in the GH. I did, and still neglected it, but after a couple years of struggle it looks like it has taken hold again. Since it has “proved itself”, I suppose I’ll have to pamper it a bit. I do love the blooms, and wish I had room for some other Phaius and some of the Phaiocalanthe hybrids, but . . .

What with the nodosa and Rebecca, the greenhouse smells like the perfume aisle at Macy’s. I have almost zero sense of smell, but it even hits me in the face, especially in the evening.

Ed