Blooming Bonanza, a Rescued Orchid, & an RIP

In the past week, THREE of my orchids have bloomed, starting with this adorable harlequin orchid on Valentine’s Day:

A couple days later, my peloric Phalaenopsis buds began to open:

Then a couple days later, this lovely bloom woke up:

As I mentioned in my most recent Orchid of the Week post (which, incidentally, I neglected to do this past week…oopsie), I rescued two beautiful white Phalaenopsis orchids from a friend of mine who’d received them as a gift at work. They were potted together in one giant clay pot, which makes for a stunning display but is unhealthy for the plants. My friend didn’t know what to do with them and her office gets decent Western sunlight, but it’s not ideal for orchids. So, last week I made the visit to her office in the West Village to rescue the orchids. And…durr…I forgot to take a picture of them potted together when I got home, but I do have this pic that my friend had texted me:

So when I got home, I repotted the orchids separately after cutting away some of the rotten roots. But overall they both look really healthy—the leaves look exactly how Phal leaves should: firm, glossy, and grassy green. Most of the blooms have fallen off, but that’s normal. Here are the separated plants in my apartment…note how HUGE they are! They are at least twice the size of most of my orchids!

Thanks to Mo for the new orchids! I promise I’ll take good care of them!

I also want to point out that my Phalaenopsis amboinensis that is in spike is now developing buds! They look like they will become teeny blooms!

And, one more bit of news on the orchid front is that I had to toss my Oncidium Twinkle Fragrance Fantasy last week. It had been doing well, grew a couple spikes and bloomed for me, but then went straight into the crapper from there. I’m really not sure what happened…but RIP, little guy:

So that I don’t end this post on a sad note, here’s what the mantle in my living room looks like as of this morning.  🙂