There's an open house weekend coming up in Santa Barbara for Nov 5-7.  Check out the links below for more information.

Santa Barbara Orchid Estate
Cal-Orchids

Still Around

It's been a while, but I am still around.  I have been busy and keeping up with this blog has been difficult.

I have done other work in the intervening time and put together some YouTube videos of orchid pictures that have taken for the past few years.  Here is a link to the videos:

My Favorite Orchids Slideshow (youtube)
Orchids from the New World Slideshow (youtube)
Orchids from the Old World Slideshow (youtube)
Cymbidium Orchids Slideshow (Youtube)
Cattleya Alliance Orchids Slideshow (youtube)

Blooming now (2009-11-19)

The orchid in the photo is Cattleya trianae 'alba JEM'.  I'm not too certain about the varietal name, but the flower is not actually an alba form.  I would guess it to be a very light coerulea (blue) form that fades to white.  I tried to find a reference to it on the internet, but no luck.  This orchid has been growing outdoors happily and seems to tolerate our winters.  The plant is specimen size, so I hope to see a much larger bloom the next time it blooms.

Fully open: Laelia anceps alba 'Bull's'

I wanted to post a more fully open picture of Laelia anceps alba 'Bull's'.  It is actually somewhat larger than when it first opened (photo in a previous post).  The flower is much more flat now.

Other orchids blooming now (2009-11-14)

I have other orchids that are blooming now, but I didn't post photos of them because the flowers were inferior due to various reasons (plant condition, weather, and pests).  Hopefully, these will bloom better next year so that I can take some decent photos.  The list below are those that are flowering:

Sophronitis coccinea var aurea (blooming for 3 weeks)
Slc Charming Jewel 'Little Gem' (blooming for 3 weeks)
Cymbidium erythrostylum (blooming for 4 weeks)

Blooming now (2009-11-13)

Happy Friday the 13th.  It's late autumn and many of my Laelias and Cattleyas are getting ready to flower.  In fact, several of my Laelia anceps are blooming now and the well known Christmas Cattleya, C. percivaliana, is already blooming a month early.

This is another plant of Laelia anceps 'Irwin's' that I have.  I don't know why, but the flowers on this particular division is larger and rounder than the flowers from my other plant, which I posted a picture last week.  You can compare the two photos to see the differences.  I'm not sure if they are in fact the same clones.  I will have to put a note on their labels to see how they bloom next year.

This is a photo of Laelia anceps alba 'Bull's'.  This orchid is pure white with just the touch of yellow in the throat of the lip.  With a varietal name like 'Bull's', I expected the flowers to be fuller and larger.  As you can see, the flowers are just beginning to open, so the blooms may get a littler larger as they open completely.

Here is another Laelia hybrid called Laelia Lookalike, which is a cross between L. anceps and L. gouldiana.  The color of this orchid is a rich magenta and it bloomed with five flowers on a wiry stem.  If you look at this orchid casually, you might think that it was a L. gouldiana.

This is the Christmas Cattleya or Cattleya percivaliana 'Summit' FCC/AOS, and I have seen it bloom much later in the season.  I was surprised to see it flowering now.  There is only this single flower on this growth and there is another bud getting ready to bloom on another growth on the other side of this plant.  Usually, there will be more than one flower per spike, but not this year.

Blooming now (2009-11-12)

Vanda orchids are generally known for growing in warm conditions.  There are Vanda species, like V. coerulea and V. tessellata, that can be grown in cooler conditions.  But I don't normally think that Vanda hybrids can tolerate cool conditions.  Well, the orchid in the picture is Vanda Robert's Delight, which I have had for several years.  I admit that it is not in the best growing condition, but it does bloom for me off and on as it has now.  I believe that my extra care for these orchids this summer may be paying off.  I have some plans for this winter so that these more tender orchids are better protected during our coldest days.

Upcoming events

I know it's still only November, but I'm already looking forward to the upcoming orchid shows and sales.  Here are some of the events that I know of now with some details associated with the events.  I will update the list as more information becomes available.

28-29 November 2009
Santa Barbara Orchid Society Show and Sale
2599 Puesta Del Sol Road
Santa Barbara, CA
email: randumland@cox.net or 805-962-6004

5-6 December 2009
Casa De Las Orquideas Annual Open House
Cymbidiums for the New Millenium
170 Nardo Avenue
Solano Beach, CA

12-14 February 2010
Oceans of Orchids Show and Sale
Westminster Mall
Orange County, CA

26-28 February 2010
Pacific Orchid Exposition
Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion
San Francisco, CA

12-14 March 2010
Santa Barbara International Orchid Show
Earl Warren Showgrounds
Highway 101 and Las Positas Road
Santa Barbara, CA

26-28 March 2010
San Diego Orchid Show
(details unavailable)

23-25 April 2010
Orchids at The Flower Fields
5704 Paseo Del Norte
Calabasas, CA

My haul

I drove to Santa Barbara today for the Santa Barbara open house sales at the Orchid Estate and Cal-Orchids.  The drive was quite pleasant and the weather was perfect.  There were quite a few orchids in bloom at both places, especially Laelia anceps and some Cattleya labiata orchids.  I went thinking that I would pick up a couple Laelia anceps varieties, but ended up getting entirely different orchids.  Here are photos of my haul.

I've been wanting to get this hybrid for a little while, and I was pleasantly surprised that there was one for sale at the Orchid Estate.  This is Sophrolaelia Orpetii, which is a cross between Laelia pumila and Sophronitis coccinea.  As you can see, the flower is a little bit battered, but you can get an idea of what it will be like if grown well.

This is another Laelia pumila that I now own.  This particular variety has very light petals with a rich magenta lip.  This is another cool growing orchid which I have had success in growing in my backyard.  The flowers on this orchid are pretty beaten, but I can deal with this until next year.

I don't have very many Oncidium orchids, but this one caught my eye.  Unfortunately this one did not have a name tag.  Cal-Orchids gave a great deal for this one.

 

This is Masdevallia Highland Fling 'Orange Burst' HCC/AOS.  The grower at Cal-Orchid said that this is more warm growing than other Masdevallia orchids.  Hopefully, it will do fine left outdoors.

This is an Odontoglossum hybrid which didn't have a name.  I often forget to verify that an orchid has a proper tag with the name on it.  Oh well, this is quite attractive, even without a name.

Blooming now (2009-11-06)

Laelia anceps is quite tolerant of a wide range of conditions from cold to hot temperatures.  Also, this is an orchid that blooms pretty reliably each year.  This particular variety, 'Irwin's', grows vigorously and seems to branch freely with each new growth sending up a flower spike.  This plant had four spikes with twelve flowers in total.

 

This hybrid is Sophrolaeliocattleya (SLC) Ateshperest 'Flaming Delight' AM/AOS, which bloomed about a week ago.  I didn't even know that this was about to flower.  The flowers could be better formed than this (since I have seen it bloom better), but at least it bloomed.  Hopefully it will flower better next time after I repot it.

Blooming now (2009-11-02)

This orchid is Laeliocattleya Molly Tyler 'Black River'.  I first saw this orchid a few years ago at the Southland Orchid Show and wanted one for some time before I finally found one for sale.  There are at least three cultivars of this hybrid that are commonly grown.  This one is 'Black River', which was awarded AM/AOS (Award of Merit by the American Orchid Society).  The other two cultivars both received FCC/AOS (First Class Certificate) with one named 'Rivermont' and the other without a varietal name (simply FCC/AOS).  The flowers are similar but I think there are some differences in the shape of the tepals, and the colors may be slightly different.  I think I've had this plant for almost two years, so I will definitely take credit for its blooming.  It bloomed with five flowers on a very strong stem.  This orchid over-wintered outdoors last year, but the leaves are not looking as well as I would like.  My challenge this year will be to grow it so the leaves look better.

Blooming now (2009-10-31)

Happy Halloween. This orchid, Cattleya Arctic Star 'Snow Queen', bloomed almost a week ago, but I'm just now blogging about it. This orchid is flowering strongly and there are five flowers on the single spike. There were a total of six buds, but one of them blasted off before fully forming. The flowers opened slightly flushed with pink, which has faded now that it's been open for a week. This is another good Cattleya-type orchid for outdoor growing.