My Orchid Garden

My New Phal from Home Depot

September 21, 2010 2 Comments

Today, I went into Manhattan to wander around the Garden District and possibly get a new orchid or two. I was just really, really in the mood for a new one, because none of my orchids are currently in bloom (though two are currently in spike!). While the flower shops on W. 28th St. have a large selection of orchids, they make me a little uncomfortable because you can’t set foot in one without being asked if you need help by about five separate employees. The situation sort of reminds me of the people who stand outside of restaurants in Little Italy and Little India, the ones who try desperately to get every passerby to come in and eat there. It reeks of desperation.

Anyway…so I was again reminded that the orchids in the Garden District are a bit out of my budget at the moment. I did good and left the area without making any purchases. Though I was tempted by some really lovely Dendrobiums and perfect Zygopetalums at one of the stores. I do love me some Zygos!

My Orchid Garden

Mystery Dendrobium in Spike

September 13, 2010 3 Comments

Wow, so I totally skipped doing an Orchid of the Week post last Friday, for no good reason. I guess I just wasn’t really in the mood. But something that has gotten me in the mood to post is that my mystery Dendrobium is in spike! Check out the nubbin I noticed within some of its leaves a couple weeks ago:

Dendrobium spike — The beginnings of a spike

I bought this guy on sale for $12 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden shop, along with an Odontoglossom Geyser Gold that has since died. This Dendrobium, which wasn’t in bloom when I bought it, has been flourishing and putting out new growths every so often. And now, it looks like it’s gearing up to finally bloom for me! The nubbin has turned into a spike for sure:

Getting this orchid to bloom is particularly exciting for me, because it had no tag when I bought it and I have absolutely no idea what its flowers are going to look like. For all I know it’s not even a Dendrobium (though its foliage and canes suggest that it is).

So I will wait patiently for the mystery blooms to open up. Whatever they end up looking like, they will be a nice surprise. Stay tuned!

My Orchid Garden

Stick a Fork in It.

August 26, 2010 8 Comments

Yeah…I could tell this was coming. I had to call time of death for the plant from Trader Joe’s formerly known as The Orchid That Won’t Die.

This is what it looked like last night before I tossed it into the garbage (ouch, it hurts to say that):

Sad Orchid — Just a shell of its former self

Sad Face^TM. This orchid put such a valiant effort over the last six months. I can’t believe this plant held on for so long!!

So, to the beautiful little orchid that could: RIP. Thanks for trying so hard.

White and pink orchid in bloom — Orchid in happier times

My Official Orchid Kill Count is now up to 5. More Sad Face^TM.

My Orchid Garden

Keeping the Faith

August 19, 2010 3 Comments

The Orchid That Won’t Die now looks like this:

Orchid nubbin — This poor thing is just a nubbin

Orchid on its last leg — Is there any hope??

When I came back from vacation three weeks ago, this little phal was showing real signs of turning around: a new leaf, the slightest hint of a new root. Shortly thereafter, the largest leaf died off so I removed it. That turned out to be a mistake, because the root seemed to have been growing from the base of that leaf. The plant was then left with one small leaf plus the new leaf that had begun to sprout while I was in San Diego.

A couple days ago I noticed that the small leaf was shriveling and turning yellow, and then began to mold. So this morning I removed that leaf, and the plant – if you can even call it that anymore – is what you see in the photos above. The reddish-brown stuff along the edge of the leaf is cinnamon, which I applied to the area that I removed. Cinnamon has antibacterial properties and should help prevent infections.

This poor orchid is so far gone that I sorta can’t believe I’m even still trying. But as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve given this orchid so many chances that I’m not going to give up until it’s finally, officially dead. It seems pretty close, but you never know. Amazingly, I have faith!

At least I have more good news on the Oncidium front: my Twinkle Fragrance Fantasy is sprouting a second spike! In the photo below, you can see it starting to poke out from the large leaf on the left:

New Oncidium spike — Second new spike on this Oncidium!

I’m curious to see how long it takes for this plant to put out blooms after it throws out a spike. You know I will be posting updates here as I get closer to seeing the flowers! 🙂

My Orchid Garden

An Oncidium in Spike!

August 13, 2010 7 Comments

I was just misting my orchids with water when I noticed that my Oncidium Twinkle ‘Fragrance Fantasy’ is in spike!! Apparently I haven’t been paying close enough attention to this one, because the spike is already about one and a half or two inches tall. You can kinda see the spike peeking up out of the center of the plant in this photo (click to enlarge):

Oncidium Twinkle 'Fragrance Fantasy' in spike — My first Oncidium is in spike!

My Orchid Garden

Meet My Newest Orchids

August 10, 2010 18 Comments

Last week I gave in to the lure of 20% off orchids at Orchids by Hausermann and ordered four more beauties to add to my collection. On Friday afternoon, my newest additions arrived!! They all look like they’re in good shape, and one of them even has a small spike growing! Click on the photos below to see larger versions.

Newest Orchid Additions! — From L to R: Encyclia cochleata, Phal hieroglyphica, Huntleya heteroclita, Phal violacea

The Encyclia cochleata is the largest of the four, and it’s still a pretty small plant, about 10″ tall at most. Here’s a closer look at it:

The Huntleya heteroclita is so much smaller than I expected. Huntleyas are in the same family as Zygopetalums, and the two Zygos in my collection are literally about 10 times larger than this Huntleya! It may just be a seedling, I’m actually not sure. But it’s a cutie:

The smallest of my new orchids, however, is the Phalaenopsis violacea, which arrived in a 2″ pot:

Last but not least is the Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica, which has a small spike growing from its base! I will be SO THRILLED if this plant blooms soon!!

You can see the little mitten-shaped spike in this close-up:

I haven’t repotted any of my new orchids yet (BAD!!) but I am going to do so this week to make sure all is ok with the plants’ roots.

In other news, this morning I finally bought a thermometer/humidity meter for my Orchid Room so that I can actually start to monitor these things; I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile! Already, I see that the humidity in the room is just over 50% so I think I’m going to get a small humidifier.