Post-Move Update: Orchids Lost, Orchids Gained

Orchids in their new home

I finally got my internet connection set up, nearly two weeks after moving into my new place. You know that that means: back to blogging! Because I’ve been away from the computer for awhile, this is gonna be a pretty epic post.

My orchids all did well on moving day, which was two weeks ago as of tomorrow. I packed the plants in several boxes but left the tops open; my boyfriend and I moved them ourselves in a U-Haul van along with his saltwater fish and corals, which he placed temporarily in giant buckets of water. This cargo was too precious to allow our movers to handle.

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Orchid of the Week: Iwanagara Appleblossom

This week’s orchid is one that is part of my own collection: Iwanagara Appleblossom, which I bought at Lowe’s a couple weeks ago (mine is not in bloom). According to judywhite’s book Bloom-Again Orchids, this hybrid is a man-made cross of SIX different genera (three of which I’ve never even heard of!): Cattleya x Caularthron x Guarianthe x Laelia x Rhyncholaelia x Sophronitis. It’s amazing that orchid growers were able to create such a thing of beauty:

Iwanagara appleblossom
Photo credit: Xmpraedicta, Flickr

The blooms are fragrant and can be super strong, especially in the morning. In the home, this orchid can be grown in a similar environment as cattleyas.

Iwanagara appleblossom blooms
Photo credit: Nurelias, Flickr

I was super excited to find this orchid at Lowe’s and I just HAD to have it! Unfortunately my plant may be a bit of a project, as it only had a few decent roots by the time I finished cutting away the rotten ones when I first brought it home. I am keeping my hopes up for this one – looks like it will be incredibly rewarding if I can nurse it back to health and get it to bloom!

Orchid of the Week: Cypripedium reginae

In honor of Independence Day, this week I chose an orchid native to the United States: Cypripedium reginae. This orchid is very similar in appearance to lady slipper orchids like Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums – and it’s so American that it’s the state flower of Minnesota. Look how beautiful this Cypripedium reginae is, with its velvety pink, pouchy sack (my inner 12 year-old is giggling right now):

Cypripedium reginae
Photo credit: NC Orchid, Flickr

This terrestrial lady slipper orchid grows wild in the U.S., mostly in the upper Midwest and the Northeast. The Cypripedium reginae thrives in damp, shady environments like bogs and swamps.  Flickr member pverdonk found some gorgeous specimens growing wild by the side of a highway in Michigan:

Cypripedium reginae
Photo credit: pverdonk, Flickr

If you ever happen to see wild orchids like the Cypripedium, it’s important to note that it is illegal to pick them or dig the plant up. I know I’d be tempted to take a wild orchid home if I came across one, but this flower and others are protected by state laws. So in the name of conservation (and, of course, abiding the law), make sure you simply take a picture; it’ll last longer anyway. 🙂

P.S. I have spotty internet service in my new apartment at the moment, so once I have internet all set up for good next week I’ll do a proper update on my orchids!

Orchid of the Week: Disa cardinalis

This week I’ve chosen an orchid native to South Africa, in honor of the World Cup currently taking place there. The orchid is the Disa cardinalis, and it’s a bright, cheerful beauty:

Disa cardinalis orchid
Image credit: orchid.unibas.ch

It’s pretty clear where the “cardinalis” part of this orchid’s name comes from, with its cardinal red petals. The blooms look like Little Red Riding Hood, am I right?!

Photo credit: Radnhild & Neil Crawford, Flickr

I’m pretty busy this week with my upcoming move (from one Brooklyn neighborhood to another!) so I don’t have much to say about this week’s orchid. I promise I’ll do better after my move in a couple weeks!

Orchid Books on eBay

Awhile back I developed a little obsession with hunting eBay for good deals on orchid books. I was able to find great deals on some helpful books to add to my small collection! Here’s what I ended up with:

300 Orchids: Species, Hybrids & Varities in Cultivation by Jane Boosey

This fat little orchid bible retails for $29.95 but my winning bid was $3.99. Total including shipping was $7.13. So I saved $22.82 on this one!

Growing Orchids: A Cultural Handbook Prepared by the AOS, 1993 Revised Edition

My winning bid was $0.99, and total cost including shipping was $3.49.

Orchids by Thomas J. Sheehan

My winning bid was another whopping $0.99! Total cost including shipping: $4.15. I can’t even find this book online, so I think it may be out of print (though the publication date is 2001, so it’s not all that old). It was published in association with the Smithsonian Institution and the American Orchid Society.

11 of 12 volumes of Orchids Magazine from 1996, American Orchid Society

My winning bid was $4.99; total cost including shipping: $10.71.

All in all, I spent $25.48 on three orchid books and 11 magazines. If you divide the cost, that’s $1.82 per publication! Not too shabby, eh? I love justifying purchases that way. There’s a ton of information in these books and magazines and I’ve been using them to do research for my blog posts and to care for my orchids. These purchases were definitely worth it!

Update on The Orchid That Won’t Die

It’s been three weeks since I last posted an update about the orchid that won’t die. Amazingly, this poor little orchid is still hanging in there! I took a few pics this morning so that I could share them here:

Orchid is hanging in there
Still kickin’

The leaves look slightly more wrinkled than before, but overall it’s basically in the same place it was three weeks ago. Except for its stub of a stem, which has turned brown and looks a little rotten:

Brown orchid stem
This can’t bode well

At least the stem isn’t molding like it had started to when I was trying to sphag-n-bag. Currently I have this orchid in a kind of modified sphag-n-bag setup with a plastic baggie tented over it. I tore the baggie down the side and made sort of a teepee to allow air flow:

Orchid teepee

What am I doing to keep this orchid “alive”? Each morning, I check the moisture level of the sphagnum moss in the pot and if it feels dry, I mist it, taking care not to get water in the plant’s crown. The last thing I want right now is crown rot. I also lightly mist the inside of the baggie to help increase the humidity around the plant. Even with no roots and that rotting stem nubbin, this system seems to allow the plant take in enough water to maintain its current state.

I just can’t believe this orchid hasn’t died yet. The orchid’s health clearly hasn’t improved and it has no signs of putting out new roots, but somehow I still have hope. More updates to come…