New Dendrobiums

Here are my latest additions to my already large collection. I just couldn't resiste these ones I found at Walmart for only CAD4.97 each. They are so pretty too.

I have not got any dendrobiums yet so this will be another experiment as to how they will do in my environment.

Currently, I have only 1 orchid in full blossom though I have at least 10 spiking. It looks like they are all going to blossom all together, possibly in a couple of months. I really must stop buying any more orchids. I don't really have space for any more.

Tips on Phalaenopsis Husbandry

More from Peter Lin:

Daily - Find time to get away from your daily routine to enjoy your phalaenopsis. Appreciate sign of new growth, and watch for warning signs - such as leaves turning yellow or limp. Make sure excessive water is dried from leaves and no standing water inside of the crown.

Weekly - If needed, watering and feeding your phalaenopsis with diluted fertilizer. Pickup the plant, feel the weight to determine if mix is dry and needs to be watered. If clear plastic pot is used, observe if there is still moisture inside of the pot that you can skip watering. When in doubt, it is best to wait another day or two before resume watering.

Bi-weekly - Wipe both surfaces of the leaves with soap water (2 drops of dish washing detergent mix with 1 cup of water). Cleaning leaves help with removing insects on leaves.

Monthly - Wipe both surfaces of the leaves with diluted juice (1 teaspoon orange juice mix with 1 cup of water). This helps removing the buildup of minerals deposit on leaves. The appearance of your plant will improve greatly with shiny leaves.

Bi-monthly - Water potting mix with plain water thoroughly to flush out excessive salts or minerals buildup from weekly application of fertilizer.

Personal supplement to previous two articles on the Phalaenopsis

As promised, here's some of my personal tips and what I have learnt is useful in growing a Phalaenopsis.

How to acquire a healthy plant:
Well, there are a few ways to acquiring a healthy plant. It is always good to buy a plant from a reputable grower. This way, you can always bring it back if you have any problems which you really shouldn't. I would also make sure that the orchid you buy has a tag that describes what kind of phal. it is. From this tag you can do research on it and find out its parentage and if it has been accepted as a genuine breed. This may not be important to everyone. Looking at the plant itself, make sure that the leaves are a healthy green (not too dark nor yellowish green). Make sure that the leaves are free of spots or indents or wrinkles and are succulent looking. Then if you can, check to see if the roots are a healthy green or white. Black roots are not good. I usually like to buy an orchid that I know has just started to open its flowers. You can usually tell this by the number of unopen buds left and I also like to get an orchid that has more than one spike though not necessary. You just get more bang for your buck!

Watering needs:
This is a little tricky since the humidity of growing areas are so different. Also depending of what your orchid has been potted will determine how often you need to water it. Most phals. are grown in moss which can be difficult to gauge how much water the moss is holding. If the orchid is very compactly packed with moss then it would hold alot of water for a long time. This is not usually good for phals. They do not like their roots in constant wet. The orchid is usually good for a year in that moss but again, it all depends on how it has been potted. I would try to stick my finger into the mix and if it is difficult to do so, and you find that the middle is very damp compared to the surface moss, then you might like to repot it with good orchid medium or pull the moss apart a little to make it more spacious for the roots to breath. They like air. If you find that you have over watered your orchid, just leave it to dry out a little before your next watering. A good tip as to when you need to repot a moss mix is when you see that the moss is starting to disintergrate.

Pots:
I have been told that it is best to pot orchids in clear plastic for these reasons. You can see the orchid's root growth and level of dampness which is really important. Also when you come to repot your orchid, it is much easier to loosen an orchid from plastic than from a clay pot since the roots will stick or cling to them. Even those pots with holes. When repotting/ removing the orchid from its pot, you want to minimise the amount of damage to its roots. So if your orchid has roots stuck to a clay pot or growing in and out of holes, you might damage its healthy roots which may cause it to sulk.

That's all I have for this post. I have a few other tip I will share on another day. I am always learning something new about orchids all the time.

Tips to flower the Moth Orchid

More Tips from Peter Lin

Phalaenopsis respond to seasonal change and produce flowers for reproduction. While growers are delighted with long-lasting blooms, it takes approximately 120 days from initiating inflorescence (commonly refers to as flower spike) to opening of the first flower. Spring blooming variety respond to cooler temperature and start blooming process in late Fall to early Winter. If your plant is healthy but has yet to start the blooming process - try one of the following methods.

Maintain a 10 degree temperature drop for two weeks. For example, if your growing area is normally kept at 75F - lower the temperature to 65F for two weeks. In the home, identify a location close to window where the temperature is lower.

Increase light. Phalaenopsis respond to brighter light with growth and in most cases - flower. Light is energy that no amount of fertilizer can replace. Supplement your growing area with grow light in the winter months to give your phalaenopsis extra boost to produce flowers.

Repotting. Mature and healthy phalaenopsis usually respond to fresh potting mix with new growth and production of flowers.

Big Leaf Orchids, the Phalaenopsis

I have been wanting to do an easy write up about this orchid for a while now but there is so many little tips that can help to growing these orchids, flowering them and keeping the blosooms long in bloom. Then I found this article by Peter Lin from Big Leaf Orchids.Com I think it gives a great introduction to anyone wanting to have an orchid like this at home or at work. However, there is one step that Peter Lin does not cover is about how to look for a healthy plant which I will try to give tips on this in my next posting. I will also be giving a little personal experience in growing this orchid that keeps giving. The orchid show here is my largest blossom phalaenopsis. My husband gave her to me for Valentine's day in 2006 and she has not stopped blooming.
Phalaenopsis by Peter Lin
A Beginner's Guide to Grow and to Flower The Moth Orchid

For growers new to phalaenopsis orchid, first task at hand is to acquire a healthy plant. The next step is to understand the requirements to keep the plant alive. Instead of asking how to make the plant flower, ask how to grow the plant better. The flowers will come naturally for well-grown plant as blooming is the only purpose to reproduce. Best growing tip is to think like a phalaenopsis. Phalaenopsis is the most popular houseplant that thrives in your home or office. Wherever you are comfortable - chances are the plant will be too.

TemperatureBest temperature is 75F with acceptable range from 60s at night to upper 80s.

WaterPlants should be kept moist but not wet. For plants grown in plastic container - this means running water through pot for one minute to wet the potting mix thoroughly. Avoid getting water on foliage, especially the center (crown). Do not water again until the potting mix is almost dry out. This wet to dry process can be 3 days to 20 days - depending on growing area. We recommend using clear plastic pot. If you see moisture inside of pot - wait another day before watering. In most cases watering is once every 7 days.

AirKeep a ceiling fan or small personal fan at low speed in your growing area to help circulating air. Phalaenopsis grow better with good air movement.

LightBright but indirect sun light is required to grow and to flower a phalaenopsis. This means keeping your plant close by a window facing east, west, or south. Use sheer curtain, mini-blind to shield the leaves from direct sunlight. Use leaf color as a guide to measure if enough light is obtained by the plant. Leaf color should be medium olive-green. Yellow or dark green usually indicates too much or too little light.

HumidityPhalaenopsis grows best with 60-70 percent humidity. Use a tray filled with pebbles to help with catching run-off water after watering, and to increase humidity. Keep the bottom of plastic pot above water level. This means keeping water level in tray about half the height of pebbles in tray.

FertilizerUse any balanced (i.e. 20-20-20 ratio) fertilizer "weakly, weekly." For example, if the fertilizer is to be applied monthly with the rate of one teaspoon per gallon of water, you can mix a gallon of water using one quarter of teaspoon. Use this diluted solution to water your plant every week - thus achieve feeding weakly every week.

PottingFor best result, repot your phalaenopsis with fresh mix once a year done in late spring after flowering season. Use a clear-plastic pot size slightly larger the the root mass so that the pot does not stay wet. Choose a well-drained yet water-retentive mix such as orchid mix made of fine fir bark, New Zealand sphagnum moss, perlite (sponge rock), and charcoal in ratio of 3:1:1:1.

Miltassia: Spidey- split

I love this orchid. Not only is it unique but it has a wonderful fragrance. I remember noticing this last year only when I caught a whiff of it this year.

In my earlier postings, I mentioned that I split Spidey and really wished I hadn't. I still maintain that position. I think it would have done much better if I had just repotted it instead of splitting it. Still each of them are doing somewhat well.

Here are the two that were split from the main body. Split A and Split B for a lack of better names. Their lips resemble that of a pansy orchid. In addition to these two is the main plant that is now sprouting a new spike and a baby, almost minature plant from this split. I am still tending to it and hoping that it will soon sprout a spike but because its bulbs are only a quarter of the regular size, I am not sure if it will.

Miltassia is a cross of Brassia and Miltonia. Miltonia Lindl., (abbreviation Milt.) is a small genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae).
They are named after Lord Fitzwilliam Milton, an English orchid enthusiast.

These epiphytic orchids occur from Central to Southern Brazil down to Argentina. These orchids have one or two leaves, arising from a pseudobulbs, covered with a foliaceous sheath. The inflorescence consists of waxy, nonspurred flowers. The lip is large and flat and lacks a callus at its base. They possess a footless column with two hard pollinia. The flowers have a delicate, exotic scent.

The species in this genus are sometimes confused with the pansy orchids, but it is the other miltoniopsis orchids that have flowers that closely resemble the pansy. Almost everyone except for the most serious orchid hobbyists use these names interchangeably, which may cause confusion.

Miltonia looks more like oncidiums than the real pansy orchids. The most "pansy-like" a miltonia can get is the species Miltonia spectabilis. Taxonomists are debating whether to put miltonia into the oncidium genus because of the many connections between the two.
Miltoniopsis is the pansy orchid with huge showy flowers. They grow in cooler climates and are more challenging to grow than miltonias.

This genus forms with Miltoniopsis a hybrid genus xMilmiltonia J.M.H.Shaw.

A little distracted

I have not been posting much because I have been somewhat distracted with some other projects I am working on. But today, when I was doing my weekly watering of my orchids and reshuffelling then to best show their blossoms, I found that my large Spidey has grown another spike! I have been pretty down because I noticed that my large Spidey's blossoms were not doing as well as its other 2 sibllings. So I certainly perked up when I found that four inch spike that had been hiding behind one of its leaves.

Other growing distractions

When we moved into this home, we inherrited a bunch of fruit trees. Here's one of them. I'm not sure what kind of apple this is but it sure grows to a huge size. The largest apple that we have picked from this tree weighed 1lb10oz. We were quite amazed. They make great apple pies, apple sauce or anything that makes use of it cooked. I personally do not like having it raw so I tend to make something with it. Each year, we have donated our apples to our church's cafe where they make some the the best and freshest baked goodies in town.

Critter Creek Laboratory

Ever wonder if your orchid has fungus or bacteria or just don't know what's wrong? Well, at the orchid forum I joined, they have been most helpful to point me to this site, Critter Creek Laboratory. Its pretty cool that you can send them a specimen of a leaf or a few leaves to diagnose the problem. I have considered sending them some samples, but since my orchids are not exactly high breeds, I have opted to wait it out. Only 3 of my orchids are looking very sad. Still enough to make me paranoid about what may be happening with all my orchids. So, these past weeks, I have been spraying each one of them just to make sure that there is no more mites in my orchids sites.

How can I stop myself from buying more orchids? It feels like an addiction. I cannot go past a place that has orchids without looking long and hard at them, trying to see if there is one I can rescue from the dumpster for a buck of two. Does anyone have any orchid addiction solutions?

With some of my orchids doing poorly, I have not been inspired to post much on my orchid blog. I feel like a worried mum... but to orchids!!! Can't be healthy.

Look what I found today!

Look what I found at my doctor's office! My trusty cell phone camera to the rescue. I have heard of hydrophonic orchid growing but I had not seen one yet. So when I saw this today I couldn't resist the picture and marvel at the beauty.

It has a little note that says, "No need to water for orchid". Not great English but hey, it conveyed the message. The orchid sat in moss on top of some gel like substance at the bottom. I would love to try my hand at this kind of orchid growing but first I need to get all my orchid babies healthy and happy again. Here's a close up of the potting mix.

Phal. Norman's Jade

I'm so pleased with this little beauty. Her blossoms are just lovely. With two spikes and one last bloom to open, I couldn't help but take a ton of photos pf her.

This time, my phone camera didn't do too bad a job on these orchid photos.

Learning the hard way

Well, I finally realised what it is that has made 3 of my precious orchids sick. Each one of these three got sickly after I repotted them. Having not been exposed to any kind of plant problems with my orchids or indoor plants, I never thought I needed to keep everything sterilized and clean and to never re-use potting mix. A painful lesson but at least now I know. I'm keeping a close eye on all my orchids. I'm so afraid of loosing them all. Its actually quite discouraging. There are definately alot that I would do differently now. There is a great orchid forum that has many members who come together to exchange information about orchids. I have found it most interesting and educational. People from all walks and around the world congregate here. Their site is found on this page under Helpful Sites- Orchid Community. Here's a pic of my green house window, one of the areas I keep my orchids.

A different kind of blossom

A huge red blossom from Chocolate Girl's collection of cacti. I've been looking after her plants while she and LivingSword are away on vacation. These are almost as large as my hand. I think there were about 5 in bloom when I went there on Friday evening. Not sure what I will find when I check on them again on Monday night.

Getting help from the Orchid Doctor!

Dear Orchid Doctor, here's the orchid in question. You have been so helpful with your information on mites and much more. I hope you will be able to help diagnose the problem with this little phal. I have another phal that I just recently repotted that is also showing simillar signs. I am wondering if they could have been exposed to contaminated potting medium. Could this also be a virus? Can this orchid survive and return to good health and bloom again?
This phal has now been repotted with new potting mix and been disinfected and treated with End-All insecticide. I have also been giving her nutriboost to help lessen the stress of repotting. How long do you think it will take before it gives out a spike again? I'm sorry the pics are not the best. They are taken with my 1.3 mega pixel phone camera. Until I get a proper camera, this is all I have for now I'm afraid. Hope you can help.

To ask the Orchid Doctor, check out his website at http://groups.google.com/group/orchid-doctor

Miltassia: Spidey

Here she is all ready to blossom. I found this one at the Richmond Summer Night Market last year. She was a large clump of bulbs with 4 spikes all ready to blossom. Although she was very happy, her blossoms didn't stay as long as my phalaenopsises. I was a little dissapointed but her blossoms were gorgeous. Nothing like I have ever seen before. Of course in the orchid world, it is not unusual.

After she was done, I thought I should split her since she seemed like the pot was too small for her. This was not a good thing to do. I now realise that I should have kept her together and let her put out multiple spikes in one pot. I should have just repotted her. Oh well, too late. I split her into 3 and each of them has put out a new spike and looking happy. However, some of her older bulbs have shrivelled up because of the trauma of splitting them. Of course I didn't know what I was doing then and now I know could have done a better job by making sure their cuts were disinfected. Also giving them a rooting hormone to lessen the stress.

This morning, I was surprised to see that after such a long time waiting for the buds to open, there they were. Three open blossoms. Gorgeous as ever. Made my heart happy for sure. Here's a pic of them.

Valentine, the phalaenopsis that keeps giving

Valentine is now in transition. She still has one extra large bloosom of 4.5 inches span. This is the largest blossom she has produced. Unfortunately she is hanging down and you can't really see her full beauty. Here you can see how she is hanging and more buds are growing from that point as well. Then further down closer to her base, she has another spike emerging from her original spike.

More Blooming Updates

Splotchy is doing very well. If you are considering buying an orchid but not sure which kind, I think its best to get a phalaenopsis just like Splotchy, Valentine, Jade and Leopard Cheetah. This is probably the most commonly available orchid for sale. It is also known as the moth orchid. They come in a variety of colours and blossom patterns as well as sizes. The phalaenopsis is pretty hardy and can keep blossoming over and over again which makes it very rewarding. That is if you give it the moderate light and consistent moisture. Believe me, they are really not difficult to keep. When they do blossom, they can keep their blooms for months. With some of my own phalaenopsises, they have blossomed for a whole year. Pretty amazing.

Painted Orchids

I've been working on this painting for a long time. Its finally gotten to a point where its almost finished but still not quite happy with it. This is a piece done with oils. I have never worked with oils before and have always admired paintings done with oils. So I tried taking an art class at my local "continuing education" school. But I was so disspointed with the teacher. I think with my past experience with painting, I could have done a better job. Anyway, feeling very disgruntled, I just kinda gave up.

Not too long ago, I found out that one of my neighbours also loves to paint. She introduced me to a place called "Tiggy's"http://www.tiggys.ca/ I went for an open house and it wasn't long before I had a try at an "open class" where you can bring in whatever you are working on and Jackie, the owner and teacher would help you with it. This is how this piece above survived. Jackie magically helped me turn this work into something I could now enjoy. Needless to say I was hooked and am now doing another set of 2 pieces for my home. They are abstract with a musical theme. I can't wait to finish them.

Blooming Updates

Tiger Crow is finally in full bloom! What a magnificent sight. She has a total of 14 blossoms on 2 stems. Her blossoms are a bright rich yellow with reddish brown spots. Her bulbs are plump and leaves a healthy green. But as soon as her blossoms are gone, she will have to be repotted since she looks like she is bursting at the seams. Definately a job I will reserve for Christina at the Orchid shop since I do not have much experience repotting this type of orchid.

Now, this one on the right, I haven't found out her scientific name neither have I given her a name to identify her easily. She is also doing well. Each blossom is a deep rich purple red with a some very tiny yellow spots on the edges. Still another 4 buds to open. She sits in a "holey" pot but I was told that they do not necessarily need to be in a holey pot but a clear plastic pot is best since you can easily see what is happening with its roots and when it comes time for repotting, you don't damage it when removing it from the plastic pot. Whereas if the roots of your orchid are in a holey pot, it will grow in and around these holes and stick to them. And when it comes time to repot, you might damage the roots.

My sick babies

I finally managed to get a proper diagnosis for Mrs.Tall (Howard's Dream). I not only brought her but also another 2 who have been struggling to "The Orchid Shop" in Fort Langley. The owner, Christina was very kind to diagnose the problems, give me lots of advise and helped me repot the 2 smaller ones. She repots up to 3 of your orchids for free.I had just repotted Mrs.Tall so Christina didn't want to further stress her. She did spray her with something for mites. She also gave me carefull instructions for continued treatment. So, hopefully, Mrs.Tall will be mite free and healthy again soon.
This next one had been struggling for a long time now. Actually since I bought her. Still Christina said I didn't do too badly since I did manage to clean this one pretty well. Her roots were also still very healthy and she has 2 young new shooots and another one budding from the base of the plant. Odontioda Eric's Parade is her name. I guess I should refer to him instead of her. Anyway, he has scale insects. A problem that can be treated. I am hoping I have perserverance. I know that I am not quite ready to give up on him.
This last one is also sick but there is no evidence of scale though her leaves are getting unhealthy. So she is getting the same treatment as those above. This is my first exposure to insects on house plants.

Rescued another 2!

I just couldn't resist when I saw these two really sad and neglected phalaenopsis orchids on the floor of Rona, close to the exit, almost as if they were ready to be thrown out. They were pretty sad looking. Their blossoms had fallen into their pots and their spikes were yellowing almost rotting. But their leaves were still rich and healthy and I knew that they would be worth saving.

I asked the cashier how much they were and she told me CAD$11 each but she said that she could check if I could have them for a discounted price since they were no longer in blossom. So, when her supervisor offered them for CAD$5 each, I couldn't resist to rush to their rescue and for that great price! And they came with their own terra cotta pots too! It will be interesting to see what blossoms they will produce. The larger one still has part of her spike. Hopefully, she will put out more blossoms from that existing spike. Unfortunately, I had to cut the other one totally off as it was pretty badly yellowed. I will probably repot them when I get a chance. Meanwhile, I have been busy with my other orchids, the sickly ones and the ones that are in blossom. My next post will be updates on what happened to my sick orchids.

Which Camera to Buy?

I've been blogging for almost 3 weeks now and I've been using the camera on my phone to take all the photos that I post. Now, there are some pretty sophisticated phone cameras out there but mine is only a 1.3 mega pixel camera. It doens't do a bad job but it is hard getting enough detail and propper light on the shot. I just can't get it to do what I want since it doesn't have a flash either! So I'm on the prowl for a REAL digital camera. Does any one have a recommendation? Chocolate Girl who is an avid photographer recomended the Canon ELPH series and so far, from what I have read, seems to be a pretty good all in one camera. And then there is the question about where to get the best prices.

Vanilla Orchid

The Vanilla Orchid (family - Orchidaceae) also known as Vanilla Planifolia or Vanilla Fragrans, is a variety of vine endemic to Mexico. The famous navigator Hernan Cortes was the first to discover and bring back the vanilla plant to Europe. Prior to his discovery, the Aztecs used vanilla to flavor a chocolate drink. Vanilla was cultivated domestically for the first time in the middle of the 19th century by Edmond Albius. Albius was a slave who lived on the French island Reunion, near Madagascar. Albius was the first to manually pollinate the vanilla flower. The flower develops into a "bean" which is used as a spice. The "Bourbon", from Reunion Island, is well known as the most intensive and balanced variety of vanilla in the world. Madagascar was the first producer of vanilla.Vanilla is the only orchid that can produce edible fruits. The process of converting vanilla into a spice is very long and complicated; hence, vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Pollination is only possible through manual manipulation. The pods must be blanched before drying.

Dedicated to LivingSword in response to his "Can you eat an orchid?" question. For more information on the Vanilla Orchid check this website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_%28orchid%29

WARNING!

Isn't this a gorgeous looking orchid? Well, I got her from another show and sale at the Van Dusen Gardens. This is what she looked like when I first got her. But! I checked on her today and found that she has been infected by some kind of fungus. Her luscious green leaves are covered by some kind of powder looking substance and are discolouring the leaves. This is new to me so I am going to have to bring her to an orchid specialist or doctor to see what can be done for her. She is probably the biggest orchid plant I have and I am just so disappointed that she is ill. I'm not sure when I will have the time to take her to be looked at but I will keep you posted. Here's a better picture of Howard's Dream aka Mrs. Tall where you can have a better idea of her size.

Here is another picture of Mrs.Tall to show you the infected leaves.

Here they come!

Tiger Crow Golden Girl is starting to blossom. Her blooms are not completely opened but possibly by the end of the day they will be. This is only her first stalk of buds that have opened. Her second stalk is still meditating! What a gorgeous display of colour and design. I was so excited to see her blossoms open.

I have another phalaenopsis that has started to blossom but I don't have a name for her. I don't even know her scientific or real name but here she is. This is her first blossom with her first rebloom. She has a rather reddish purple.

Chain Xen Pearl 'Red Star' Phalaenopsis aka Splotchy

Another one of my orchids has blossomed. I couldn't quite get a good picture of her but perhaps later her petals might relax a little. These new blossoms stem from a previously cut spike. When I first started to keep orchids, I used to cut the finished spikes right at the base of the spike. Little did I know that if I cut it an inch below the first blossom, the spike may put out one or even 2 more shoots from the original spike and rebloom again. Thus shortening the dormant period of the orchid and extending the blooming time of her original spike. I have found this to be most rewarding.

Awaiting a burst of colour

Oh, I have been waiting for a while now for this oncidium to blossom. She has the name Tiger crow, Golden girl. She has 2 stalks full of buds waiting to open. The first time I brought her home, she had only one stalk of buds ready to bloom. Bloom she did but then, I tried stalking her a little differently and broke the stem right off because the blossoms were too heavy. A painful lesson to learn. So this time, I've stalked her well and will not be fussing with her at all if I can help it.

Some of my other orchid babies

This is one of my lovelies that I have not given a name. I got her for free at the BC Home Show. I bought the wooden decorative container that houses some candles and because it was the end of the show, the stall that was selling the containers and candles would have thrown the orchid away since they would not have any use for it any more. I guess you could say I kinda saved this little one from the dumpster.



This yellow one on the right came with a lable of Phalaenopsis Mystic Golden Leopard Cheetah. I bought her from The Real Canadian Super Store! She is one of my early purchases. I didn't want to spend too much money buying orchids that I didn't know how to keep alive. She was on sale for CAD$14.50 and she seemed to be becoknning to me....so I caved and got her. I have also waited along time for her to rebloom and she has done well. All the orchids you see on this site are the ones currently in bloom or blooming.

Only 2 this time

Well, I managed to refrain myself to getting only 2 orchids from the Vancouver Orchid Show and Sale this year. This one on the left with the vibrant red flowers, I think is a mini dendrobium. I am new to this breed. Still very much a newbie at this orchid thing but certainly enchanted by their beauty. What I love about them are their long lasting blossoms.

My hunny and I went to the show with LivingSword and Chocolate Girl. We all love the great show the orchid societies put on. There were some really exotic orchids we had never seen before and Chocolate Girl who is an avid photographer took many georgeous photos at this event. Look out for an update when I post a bunch of them later on.
I am not sure what this one is. In all my excitement, I only got instructions as to the orchid's preferences and not her name! Oh well, I guess I will have to leave it to an expert to tell me more about it. She will give out either little white or pink flowers. I am really hoping for the pink flowers. She was only CAD$10. I also bought one for Chocolate Girl for her 40th birthday present. This will be her first orchid.

Eurostar: Another new blossom

I woke up this morning to find another of my lovelies has a new blossom. This one is a funny one. In this first picture you can see her colouring and petals opened straight out. Later this afternoon when I checked on her again, I found that she has curled her 5 petals all the way back. This is her fourth time blossoming since I bought her. She keeps surprising me with new shoots constantly and directly after she has ended one. I am not sure if this is normal for this species but I have sure enjoyed her blossoms.
This weekend is Vancouver Orchid Society's annual show and sale. My hunny is taking me and I am hoping to limit myself to just buying only one.....but I'm not sure if I will be successful.

The Ghost Orchid

When my hunny called tonight, he told me about this amazing orchid. I have never heard of it before so I looked it up on the internet and this is what it says about it. "The ghost orchid looks like this when it blooms. Few are seen these days in the wild. A few bloom in captivity (in greenhouses dedicated to preserving species threatened in the wild). This image is larger than life, and is being used with permission. Ghost orchids are difficult to grow in captivity and must be grown from seed. Please be sure that, if you are buying ghost orchids, that you are buying from a legal source: the US Fish and Wildlife Commission can help you make that determination." I guess it would be best to make sure you buy from a reliable and legal source.

Ms. Valentine

Ah, Ms Valentine. Yes, some of my orchids have names. This lovely lady got her name because my hunny gave her to me for Valentine's Day 2006 and she has always been in bloom. She has really amazed me. Her big lush and vibrant blossoms keep giving.

The phalaenopsis, I have found is the easiest to keep and rebloom. Thus most rewarding but once you get the orchid bug, its hard to stick to only one...So I have in total, 16 individually potted orchids.

My hunny even bought me a display table so that I can host more orchids. What a sweetie eh? I think I'll keep him!

A New Blossom

It makes me so happy when any one of my orchids start to blossom. After waiting for what seems like an eternity, this little one has finally rebloomed. I bought her for only CAD$7.50 at a florist who didn't quite know how to look after orchids and wanted to get rid of them quickly. It was September 2005 when I brought her home, she only had 3 blossoms left from 7. This little one was resilient and with a little love and good lighting, she kept her 3 blossoms for another 2 months and then each one slowly dropped off.
It was only late winter of 2006 that I started to see a new shoot growing from her core base. I was so excited. I could hardly contain myself. Not long after that, I found another new shoot growing. I was estactic. So this little one has 2 budding shoots with one of them as you see, having blossomed today. I can't wait to see the rest of them grow and blossom!