Sunday, 28 October 2012

Phalaenopsis and Trichoglottis pusilla NEW LAVES

New leaves on some Phalaenopsis species, Trichoglottis pusilla and an odd Miniature Phalaenopsis with unusual silvery and spotty leaves like that of err P. stuartiana or umm P. ... one of the others, LOL.

Of the new leaves are: Phalaenopsis violacea, zebrina, heiroglyphica and sumtrana while I am till watching the bellina?!

I think as well as two violacea seedlings and another Dendrobium victoriae-reginae in the Spring I will have to order another, or two, bellina as well!

Phalaenopsis sumatrana

Phalaenopsis zebrina


Trichoglottis pusilla

Phalaenopsis violacea


That miniature hybrid I referred to with the dark green, silvery and spotty leaves which was precisely WHY I bought it!



Bulbophyllum and Root Attachment

Look MA?! No wires?! LOL.

Well that is how it will be very soon, once the other batch of roots get a similar strong grip at the other end of this bog-wood.

I have managed to gradually work out the conditions this one loves and now there appears to be no stopping it?!

In warmer weather while mounted I will drench 3 to 5 times a day but with at least an hour, better two, between drenches. In colder weather once or twice a day several hours apart.






PHALAENOPSIS SPIKES & a KEIKI 28th October 2012

Here are those Phalaenopsis spikes again.

First the dual spike Pelloric Phalaenopsis...



 Here I believe my tiny Schoenorchis fragrans, like a very tine Phalaenopis with 1cm leaves, is producing a keiki.This would explain the sudden shrivelling and dying of two lower leaves where it was putting all its energy into the feat. So I have laid it over the mister aquarium so it stays pretty humid!

 This spike coming along...

The dual spiked Pelloric Phalaenopsis, the other spike on opposing side but will show itself in a few days time.

This is my Bulbophyllum echinolabium and possibly beginnings of a spike but leaning towards another bulb and leaf.

Podangis dactlyoceras NEW PLANTS or KEIKIS

Forgot to check images before POSTING, lol.

Busy day here a few visitors that were unexpected and yet the one I DID expect did not arrive. Ce la vie.

Anyway KEIKI is an Hawaiian word for baby and if these were Bromeliads or Air Plants of Tillandsia (also Bromeliads) these would be called Pups.

This Podangis did produce a number of new leaves and I am really unfamiliar with this type and noticed it was doing something ... new. I initially thought it was about to flower again and that they were spikes but I thought they were too thick so I waited to see what was being produced.

It is producing two, could be three and hope it was, extra young plants which is pretty damn cool as when these have several fan like plants in different angles their shape looks much better plus they can produce a great deal of flowers. Roll on Spring 2013!

So with the arrival of Carnivorous plants forcing the Nikon into action I took these shots of it so everyone can see.

Incidentally Carnivorous Plants are good to have around Orchids for pest control and they like pure water or rain water too! be careful though as I am waiting to see what happens with the Sundews as I do not have a great deal of luck with them indoors.

Outside in my garden, however, is another matter entirely and they flower profusely and produce millions of seeds!









NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!

Today I was sparked into forcing my Nikon into action!

Well another area of plants I love but have not started up a blog for them yet, along with Acer palmatums )or Japanese Maple Trees which I have two dozen all different), are Carnivorous Plants, also known as Insectivorous Plants.

But today a brother knocked on my door while I was performing, abeit slowly, some household chores and presented me with four species of them. Saracenia and Drosera (binata and aliciae).














Two are Trumpet Plants of the sarracaenia

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

PHALAENOPSIS HEALTH AND SPIKES

I spotted several things today on inspection of my Moth Orchids otherwise known as Phalaenopsis.

As mentioned previously I have a largish number of hybrids and slightly less of species though the latter are only seedlings right now they should flower next year.

The following are 7 photos of 4 Phalaenopsis and I have taken the pictures in such a way that I can show any growers out there TWO things to watch out for.

Firstly, and the most important, is how I tell the HEALTH and water nutrient storage that each of my Phalaenopsis holds internally. I say internally as they do not have pseudobulbs like other Orchids they have something that almost resembles one and it is this that I focus upon.

In the picture below you will notice the base of the leaf and the plant and that it is side on. If it looks swollen as it does in the photo then this has had ample water and nutrients, a point I will come back to in a moment. You might note from the photos the leaves look firm and shiny too. Well an under nourished and under watered Phalaenopsis will have a much thinner base (remember to look sideways on at it) and the leaves will look dull and even slightly wrinkled. They will also feel floppy if you hold the tips gently and raise up and down a little.

So shiny leaves and plump bases.


You may note a small triangular protuberance just above the root on the left side of the base, THIS is a flower spike. When they first appear they look pointed, green and flat, as opposed to a new root which is fat and rounded with only the tip green.

Here you can see the base looks plump. Now this one is either white with big purple blotches looking as if sprayed on dye. Or the flowers are yellow but with the same big purple blotches. I lost track of which one is which?!

I think as the plants surface as looking 'tight' and lush. Once you get used to that look you will know when the plant is not getting enough water. Obviously this is less of a worry on cooler winter days. Oddly it is on the onset of these cooler days that Phalaenopsis spark of producing flower spikes, hence I took these shots this morning!

A new ROOT and a SPIKE. Be very COOL to get back to knowing which one is which colour again?! LOL.




A different Phalaenopsis that has not flowered for two years or more. Spike is the top most protuberance in photo and the root bottom most pushing up against dried section of plant leaf.



One that, surprisingly, flowered this year and around 6 months ago, Pelloric flowered type, that is now also surprisingly sending out not one but TWO flower spikes! Cream with purple blotches are the colour of the flowers on this one.



Flowers on this are a deep win red edged with cream.

This is a strange hybrid with very big, long and wide, leaves that look twice the size of all the usual sized ones?! You will note at the base of the bottom most leaf nearest the camera that there is the beginnings of a spike! This one has also not flowered for two to three years.


Now I pointed out that three of the above four Orchids have not flowered for awhile! This is because though I kept them alive easily enough I knew that up until this year I was not giving them enough of what they needed. But I knew this last year, see one of my other BLOGS as to why. Well this year I decided I was going to get all my Orchids to flower and focus on giving them the right water, humidity, light levels and the two separate feeds in the right quantities (grow and bloom feed).

I had not expected them to start spiking for another four weeks! So this is good. As one has two spikes on it and is the furthest along as far as development of the spikes in concerned it will be interesting to see in a few days if any of the others produce more than one spike.

Also of note is that these are all planted in quite large bark chips. This way I can water once or twice a day and they wont harm them with over watering. Just remember the roots need to BREATHE, literally s they wont take sitting too long in water.

But this also varies.

Also the bark breaks down by the time its been there two years and becomes like compost, so chuck that away and use new chips, trust me on that one!!

Be interesting to see if my two miniature Phalaenopsis hybrids start to spike.

There are several others, again I cannot remember the colours or even which plant produces which flowers, that is how long ago since they flowered last.

Rest assured on two things first off I rarely buy anything that has a plain flower and secondly PINK is almost non existent amongst my Orchids save for a tiny miniature hybrid that has spotted leaves. This was because you could have any colour you liked ... as long as it was PINK?! GROAN!! LOL.

Tomorrow morning I will water them well again and then after an hour I will check for any more spikes and the other hybrids especially!

Will take photos and post in stages now they are beginning to spike. My Podangis dactyloceras is also going a bit nuts and that may well be spiking too and possibly branching out with a new plant. take pictures of that in stages too.


Monday, 22 October 2012

Sunday, 21 October 2012

JEWEL ORCHIDS of LUDISIA

Two new additions to my Orchid collection that popped up quite unexpected in the unlikeliest of places.

I did have a Jewel Orchid of the Ludisia family amongst my first Orchids but let it dry out too much and it eventually died, not realising the need to be moist, NOT SOGGY, all the time.

They are the Ludisia discolor species of Jewel Orchids and as you can see have dead impressive foliar colour and patterns. One is called Red Velvet and the other Jade Velvet.

I actually spotted these in Lidl's store and they were up for silly cheap prices. According to the large plastic label there were ten or twelve varieties but half were gone and I grabbed these two at £3.49 each.

The following day I went to my LOCAL Lidls to look for the others but when I reached the store all I could find was a single leaf or a Red Velvet variety on an empty plant tray?! There has been one with a broad white central stripe and I was hoping to find that one, still a couple more stores to cycle to in the coming days.

If you find them they are in Coconut Fibre and you should use something compact and even houseplant compost would be fine. They have a low light requirement, despite where I placed them, and have shallow roots so use shallow pots to plant them in. You can also fill the pots with a mixture of Sphagnum Moss or just cover the pot in it as I intend to do.

All the Jewel Orchid families like high humidity but with Ludisia you can get away with this, they would thrive in a glass terrarium. Remember if you find and buy Jewel Orchids of the other families of Macodes and Anectochilus that you WILL have to provide a high humidity level and that a glass terrarium or large tray with water in is an absolute MUST!

They creep sideways and not upwards so make a good plant if you want an Orchid that spreads ad will eventually grow over the side of its pot in an almost hanging plant fashion!

Flowers are white in this group but I have seen ones that are yellow in other families.