C. labiata ‘September Mist’
This is a plant I bought in sheath from a local grower who had it cloned. It was growing in bark and had spent its life up to that point in Hawaii. It had a new growth starting and I thought it looked like just the plant for me. The ride home in the car was not kind to the little plant, and it was very unstable in the pot by the time I arrived. I tried to let it ride for a few days but in the end it got a re-pot. I fear the re-pot may have stopped the sheath from blooming. The new growth looks good, but I am not sure she will bloom for me this year.
C. labiata ‘Oberlin x self’
I picked this plant up at my orchid society auction. It had a sheath that looked like it might have the gusto to bloom, but sadly it has not done well in my growing area. I am not really sure where it came from, but I suspect like most of the plants at the auction it was Hawaii. The sheath is starting to look a little rough, but I have not given up on it. That said I see no buds in there. The new growth it is putting up looks good and I will repot the plant when it sends out new roots. As a rule, I tend not to grow in plastic pot and tend to like my plants potted with less growing room than this one has.
Hey Eric,
ReplyDeleteJust found out about your blog from Backbulb - happy blogging! Blogger sure makes it easy. Looks like you have some nice Catts. I'll be checking your blog out regularly. Thanks for the kind words on Cattleyaphilia!
Thanks Dave,
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of your blog. It’s fun to see how other people grow and manage their plants, especially accost the country.
you mention that you never grow in plastic pots as a general rule. What is your reasoning? I'ld love to know.
ReplyDeleteHey Justin, thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteThe main reason I prefer clay pots is for their weight. The shelves in my growing area are on the narrow side and they go up the length of the wall. I find plastic pots want to tip over when I am watering and that tends to make a mess of my growing area. Also, when plants are in bloom I bring them into the more high traffic areas of the house and the heavier pot tends to be more resistant to catastrophic failure induced by our evil cat, or just the accidental bump from a visitor.
The summers in my area are hot and very humid, and I grow outside that time of year. I find plastic pots keep the media moist longer than in clay, and to keep my life simple I like them to all get watered at the same time.
Cheers,
E-
Sounds very reasonable.
ReplyDeleteI personally keep all of my plants in plastic pots if I can. I'm too nervous about the roots to not be able to check on them frequently. Maybe as I get more confident (and as my plants get larger) I'll start putting mine in clay pots as well.