It’s no wonder why many people think orchid lovers are mentally ill freaks of nature, or rich eccentric folks with lots of time of their hands — or some combination of these quirks. Many film, TV, and written portrayals of orchid enthusiasts perpetuate these stereotypes. The first representation of an orchid lover that comes to mind — probably because it’s one of my favorite shows ever — is Harold Smith, the agoraphobe played by Lenny von Dohlen in Twin Peaks:
I searched for something interesting to write about for this week’s orchid, and came across a horned little devil called Lepanthes lucifer:
This orchid totally makes me think of The Host (Lorne) from Angel:
Lepanthes blooms tend to be TINY – less than an inch across, in many cases. Specifically, Lepanthes lucifer (aka “Satan’s Lepanthes”) blooms are usually a bit less than a half an inch in diameter, so they truly are little devilish gems. This particular orchid species is found in Ecuador.
I searched for an image of this orchid that would really demonstrate the miniscule size of these flowers, but the only shots I could find were close-ups. Regardless, I think we can all agree that they are adorable, Lucifer be damned!
The Lepanthes orchids make me think of Dracula orchids, which makes sense because they are in the same orchid subtribe, Pleurothallidinae, along with the more commonly known Masdevallia orchids.
That’s all for now!
The Orchid That Won’t Die now looks like this:
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:
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! 🙂
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):
This week’s orchid is the Cattleya guttata, a smaller, speckled species of Cattleya. This orchid is found in Brazil, often near the coast:
The blooms on this Cattleya range from two to four inches in size, whereas the blooms of other Cattleya species can be up to eight inches across (or more)!
Cattleya guttata can be found in other colors, like this maroon-tinged version:
Beautiful, isn’t it?? Many Cattleya flowers are two-toned in color or are monochrome with a sort of watercolor-esque feel. So it’s fun to see a Cattleya variety with unexpected markings like this one’s speckles.
Learning about orchids can feel like learning a foreign language. When I first started surfing the internet for information about orchids and how to care for them, I felt a little dazed and confused; orchid lovers on forums were throwing around all sorts of terms that meant absolutely nothing to me. Over time these terms became a part of my vocabulary, and I want to share with you a glossary of the terms that I encounter most frequently when reading about orchids. So below is a list of terms that I wish I’d known when I got started with the hobby. Of course there are a million more terms out there to learn—the world of orchids is virtually endless—but this list should help you on your way to understanding these wonderful plants.
In alphabetical order: