brooklynorchids | Brooklyn Orchids

Orchid of the Week: Haraella retrocalla

January 14, 2011 7 Comments

Before I get into discussing this week’s featured orchid, I want to take a second to pat myself on the back because this is my 100th blog post! I’m pretty proud of my blog, so yay me. Also, I had my best blog day ever this week in terms of views—188 hits on Monday, January 10! Whoever’s reading…thank you! 🙂

Okay, the orchid I’ve chosen to write about this week is Haraella retrocalla. It’s a small epiphytic plant native to Taiwan with blooms that I think look like big fat yellow-and-purple bumblebees:

My Orchid Garden

The Terminator…Spike.

January 12, 2011 3 Comments

I was just doing some daily inspection of my orchids and noticed that I have what appears to be a terminal spike starting to poke out from the crown of one of my Phals. A terminal spike is one that grows from the center of the foliage of a monopodial orchid, meaning that the plant will no longer be able to grow leaves from there. Healthy Phals usually put spikes out from the base of the plant or in between older leaves. According to chit-chat on orchid forums, a terminal spike on a Phal may signify that the plant is not healthy but is trying to find a way to keep on truckin’. Sometimes Phals that do this will end up growing a basal keiki to try and replicate themselves, but other times they won’t survive.

The Phal with the growing terminal spike hasn’t been in great shape for awhile, and in fact was quite near death about a year or so ago.

My Orchid Garden

Orchid Retail Therapy

January 8, 2011 12 Comments

Some women shop for clothing, shoes, and other accessories when they need a little retail therapy. Not me—I shop for orchids to get a little pick-me-up. On Thursday, I took a walk over to the Lowe’s in Gowanus, using orchid shopping as an excuse to get out of the house. OK, so the last time I bought orchids from that Lowe’s, they came down with a bad case of aphids and I ended up tossing them in the garbage. I went into this excursion cautiously, with those creepy little greenish-white creatures in mind. And when I got to the store I discovered that all the packaged Better-Gro orchids were 50% off! I’ve only bought one of these before, an Iwanagara Appleblossom, but these were such a good price that I ended up buying THREE of them (for only $7 apiece!).

Oncidium Ampliatum

Orchid of the Week

Orchid of the Week: Cephalanthera austiniae

January 7, 2011 1 Comment

Hey, it’s the first snowfall of 2011 here in Brooklyn!

I wondered if there were any orchids known as a “snow orchid”…so I googled it and stumbled upon a really fascinating orchid called Cephalanthera austiniae. You know why it’s referred to as the snow orchid? The entire plant is white! There’s just a tinge of yellow in the center of the blooms:

Cephalanthera austiniae — Photo credit: MiguelVieira, Flickr

Orchids in the Media

Orchids on The X Files

January 6, 2011 No Comments

Now that The X Files is on Netflix Streaming, I’ve finally immersed myself in this show that I’d heard so much about but never watched. Last night I started the third season and came to the second episode, titled “Paper Clip.” And I was so excited when a scene opened in an orchid greenhouse that I had to pause and take pics so that I could post them here! Click each photo to see a larger version.

Orchid Greenhouse — Orchids on The X Files

Events, New York Botanical Garden, Orchid Shows

NYBG Orchid Show 2011

January 3, 2011 6 Comments

It’s a new year, and I’m already thinking about the New York Botanical Garden‘s Orchid Show! I just looked at their website and found out that this year’s show runs from March 5 through April 25, and the theme is “On Broadway.”According to the site, “The lure and lore of orchids and the theater are melded by Tony award-winning set designer Scott Pask and image maker Drew Hodges to evoke the flair and excitement of Broadway.”

Sounds pretty different from the themes of the past two years, which were “Cuba in Flower” and “Brazilian Modern.” To be honest, I don’t really care what the theme is; I just want to go see thousands and thousands of amazing orchids!!