NOID Phal’s

NOID Phal’s

Despite the fact that I don’t particularly care for phalaenopsis, I seem to have a bunch of them. There was a time when I would see a nice one out a store and pick it up, but I have not paid for one in years. All the same, they seem to multiply. People will bring me a sad, half dead plant and ask if I can try to heal it for them. I have learned that this is a euphemism ‘take it off my hands’. Even when they are healthy and in bloom, it is difficult to get the former owner to reclaim them. And so they the live with me. There are several in bloom now. They are nice looking and the look good around house, but the truth is I just don’t have a deep love for them…. And sadly, I would guess there will be more around the growing as I am just not able to say no to a free plant……

C. mossiae semi alba

C. mossiae semi alba

One of my favorite parts of spring is the blooming of my C. mossiae semi alba. I bought this plant out of bloom a few years ago from the fine folks at Chadwick and Son Orchids. When I bought it, I was hungry for plants, and adding things to my collection at a frantic pace. But in this instance it worked out well.

I find mossiae to be an easy plant to grow, as long as you understand its culture.  My mossiae does not finish its new growth until late fall when it then sends out new roots from the growth. I have found this is the time to repot it and still get a nice bloom in the spring.

C. aurantiaca

C. aurantiaca

This is a first bloom seedling for me and I am very happy with it. It came from Al’s Orchid Greenhouse, an orchid shop that I have only been to once but really enjoyed. They had a ton of stock and a very diverse selection.

C. aurantiaca has wonderful color and nice little flowers. Mature plants have bloom spikes with 12 or more flowers and make nice specimen plants. They are available in a wide range of color, but by far orange seems to be the most common.  The species tends to have a flower form that does not open fully compared with many other cattleya. But this plant seems to have a nice open flower and a nice lip. I hope that as the plant matures the flower will do even better.

For me cattleya are an addiction, and seeing this plant in bloom makes me want to acquire the other color forms. C. aurantiaca has some very nice yellow, red and even alba forms. These color forms are often for sale as seedling plants on ebay, but I never trust that they will have they flower type I am looking for in my collection. These days as space is a premium in the growing area, I am seeking quality in my plants as apposed to quantity, and I am forced to restrain myself. But it is always fun to window shop….

C. lueddemanniana

C. lueddemanniana

Sad to say my work has kept me away from the blog for to long. But on the plus side my plants have been having a good spring. In particular my C. lueddemanniana has done very well. It put on quite a show. It gave me 13 huge flowers all in bloom at the same time. I have a particular love for this plant because it was the first species cattleya that I had in the collection. Thus far it has never let me down. I have found that C. lueddemanniana loves sun, the more I give it in the summer, the better the bloom will be in the spring. When the plants are in the shade tent over the summer, this plant is in a position that get full, unfiltered morning sun and then only 30% shade in the afternoon. I have found that as long as the plant stays cool, it will take all the sun you can give it. My only complaint with C. lueddemanniana is that, the bloom is short lived. Mine stays in bloom maybe 14 days then fades away again for another year. I have added several seedling crosses of C. lueddemanniana from Sunset Valley Orchids recently. I look forward to seeing what they have to offer as they grow.