My haul

I realized almost too late that this past weekend was the Fascination of Orchids show and sales held at the South Coast Plaza Village. Unfortunately, I only had a very short time to stop by to browse the vendor tables. I wish I had time to see the orchids on display in the show. Hopefully, I will have an opportunity at the next event. Anyhow, I was able to pick up couple of orchids that I really liked, though they were a bit pricey. The orchids that I got were two plants of Laelia pumila, which are cool growing dwarf species that grow between five to seven inches. The flowers are generally large for the size of the plant and there are usually one to two flowers per spike. One of the orchids has very large flowers for this species, spanning over four inches across. The other orchid has smaller flowers (about three inches across), but the habit seems to be that it blooms with two flowers, hopefully consistently. The photos below show the orchids, with the first one being the large-flowered plant and the second one being the one that blooms with two flowers.

Blooming now (2009-09-25)

This is Miltonia spectabilis var. Moreliana or a hybrid of one. I lost the tag on this plant so I'm not positive about its identity. However, the growth habit seems typical of the species. I recently potted this plant into perlite (I know, it had a flower bud), but it seems to be doing pretty well. The flower did seem to suffer and didn't quite open as full as it should have.


This species is Laelia perrinii. I just bloomed within the last few days. Unfortunately, this plant usually blooms with either one or two flowers per each new growth even though descriptions indicate more flowers. There are two new growths on this plant each with a single flower. The shape of this flower is distinctly different from other Cattleya-type orchids.


I bought this orchid as Ascocentrum miniatum. However, the plant size seems too large in comparison to plant descriptions that I have read for this species. According to descriptions, this is supposed to be a miniature orchid. Still, I'm happy to see it blooming.


This poorly flowered orchid is Cattleya aclandiae x leopoldii. This plant is in need of repotting and it may have flowered better with better care. There were more flower buds, but most of them fell off. The photo below shows the same orchid three years ago when it flowered robustly.

Blooming now (2009-09-18)

Here is another "blue-flowered" Cattleya that I have. This hybrid is Cattleya Granier's Charm 'Heavenly Blue' AM/AOS, the result of the cross between Cattleya Minerva and species Cattleya warscewiczii. I have not yet flowered this plant as well as I would like to, but I'll keep trying. Last year, there were two flowers compared to this year with three flowers. I believe there can be as many as five or six flowers per spike, so I'll keep trying. For the size of the plant, the flowers are quite large, which measures over four inches. It's possible that the plant can get taller. I have been growing this plant outdoors exposed to the cold, but knowing that there is C. warscewiczii in the breeding, I'll try to keep it little more protected. Hopefully, temperature tolerance from C. loddigesii (grand-parent) has been passed down to this hybrid.

Blooming now (2009-09-12)

I have several plants of this hybrid, Laeliocattleya Wrigleyi. This is the typical form with purple flowers (I posted the flower from my other one on August 28th). In my previous post from September 5, there is a photo of the "blue" form, which actually is more lavender than blue. This hybrid resembles the Laelia anceps parent more in both flower shape and growing habit than the Cattleya bowringiana parent. What it did receive from C. bowringiana is the floriferousness (is this a word?) with each spike throwing off five to six flowers. Also, the pseudobulbs seem to grow closer to each other like C. bowringiana than L. anceps, which tends to have a slightly more rambling habit. This hybrid does well in our climate.

Blooming now (2009-09-09)

Here is another plant of Cattleya Clark Herman 'Chicago' which was growing in the back yard. This one flowered a little better than the other one that was growing on the side of the house. Normally, there are four flowers per spike and each flower can measure almost six inches across.


This is Stanhopea wardii 'Twin Falls' which was awarded CCM by AOS. I didn't realize that I had two plants of this orchid until now. This orchid is a prolific bloomer.


This is Cattleya Minerva coerulea, which is the "blue" form of the hybrid cross between Cattleya bowringiana and Cattleya loddigesii. This is a very nice looking orchid and blooms reliably, with up to six flowers per stem.

Blooming now (2009-09-05)

This is a hybrid of Dendrobium bracteosum x laevifolium. The flowers on this last over a month. My only complaint is that the pink color is not that bright.


This is Cattleya Clark Herman 'Chicago'. This flower isn't in the best shape, but at least it's blooming. I have another one of these that is getting ready to bloom in another part of the yard.


This is Laeliocattleya Novissima. This is another hybrid with Laelia anceps, with the other parent being Cattleya gaskelliana. This is a robust hybrid and blooms on each new growth. These flowers are very susceptible to slugs and other insects.


This is Laeliocattleya Wrigleyi 'Blue Lagoon'. It just opened this week and there are five flowers on it. This hybrid is a cross between Laelia anceps and Cattleya bowringiana and grows really well in our climate. This is another very reliable bloomer.


This is a Miltonia hybrid for which I don't have the exact name. If anyone knows the name of this particular clone, please let me know. I'm growing this is a basket and it is doing quite well. I've had this for two years and it's bloomed extravagently each year.


This is Laeliocattleya Elegans sanguinea, which is another prolific bloomer. The flowers last relatively long (about three weeks).


This is Dendrobium amabile, which already bloomed earlier this year (spring time). Apperently, this species can bloom in the fall again. The only down side to this orchid is that the flowers do not last longer than a week.