This week’s orchid is Coelogyne pandurata, aka Black Orchid (due to its black lip):
This plant is native to the rainforests of Borneo and can be grown in the home under warm, humid conditions to mimic its natural habitat.
I just love the unique color of this orchid – that green color which is not often seen on blooms. Add to that the black lip and it’s a true stunner!
I woke up this morning to this lovely sight:
There’s more where that came from…it’s gonna be so spectacular!
I must say, this orchid is one of my favorites (out of the ones that I own, I mean). I bought it at the Union Square Greenmarket almost a year ago and it was in bloom when I brought it home. So I’ve successfully gotten this one to rebloom—on a brand new spike and all. Victory!
Also I want to show you a photo of the new leaf that’s growing on one of my not-so-happy orchids—one that I mentioned yesterday:
I think this one’s status as “not-so-happy” can now be upgraded to “recovering.”
Hooo boy, are my orchid leaves dusty! I’m going to give them all a good wipedown with a damp paper towel today.
Happy Thursday!
A month and a half ago, I blogged about a couple of my Phalaenopsis orchids that were in sad shape. I write today with both good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad news first: one of these two orchids now appears to be on its way out. :/
When that leaf on the right started going yellow, I still had hope for this orchid. But when the leaf on the left started turning too, my hope started to fade. I think I will take it out of the potting mix and see if there’s anything left that can be salvaged but I’m wondering if there’s just too much rot under there. 🙁
And now for the good news: the other sad Phal (the one on the left on the photo, in the green bowl) seems to be making a comeback! Last time I wrote, there was just the teeniest root nubbin starting to poke out of the base of the plant. Since then, that root has grown and another two have started to come in. Even better, which I just noticed a moment ago, the plant is beginning to grow a new leaf out of the top of the crown—a definite sign that it’s recovering after all!
A second piece of good news is that my biggest Phal is about to bloom! There are eight buds so far and one of them is just beginning to open up today. I’m super excited about this one – its blooms are GORGEOUS. You better believe I’ll post photos when its blooms open up!!
UPDATE: OK, so I just realized that the dying orchid is a Doritaenopsis, not a Phalaenopsis like I originally thought. The tag says “Dtps. Sogo Kitty” and for some reason this whole time I just ignored those four letters “Dtps” because it looked like a Phal. Doritaenopsis is a hybrid of Phalaenopsis and Doritis, but they need basically the same conditions as Phals. I just removed the dead leaf and some more rotted roots, and repotted the plant with a mixture of sphagnum moss and bark, hoping the mixture will help it get more air circulation and will rot less. We shall see…
Ok, I’ll admit it. Sometimes my mind is in the gutter. A lot of the time, actually. So when I hear orchid names like the ones listed below, my mind automatically goes there. I’ll let the names speak for themselves. In no particular order, here are…
1. Cattleya labiata
Recently I became a member of the American Orchid Society (AOS, found at www.aos.org) and my membership includes all these cool benefits:
That’s all pretty sweet for only $65 a year, right?! Especially with the inclusion of the monthly magazine subscription. I’m pretty psyched about the free admission, reduced guest fees, and gift shop discounts at AOS botanical gardens. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York Botanical Garden, and Queens Botanical Garden are all on their list, as is the Missouri Botanical Garden (MoBot) in my hometown of St. Louis. Plus, I now have access to the members-only forum on the AOS website. More orchid nerdery! Love it!
Dracula is real! In orchid form, anyway. This past week I discovered that there is a genus of orchids named Dracula, so of course I had to pick one for this week’s featured orchid (vamps are SO HOT RIGHT NOW). So of course there is a variety called Dracula vampira—and like its undead namesake, it is dark and a little spooky:
Dracula vampira is native to the mountains of Transylvania Ecuador and Colombia. Look at the flowy capes on these guys! No sparkly vamps here, just pure beauty.
Pretty spectacular, right? Who knew such flowers existed?? The incredible variety in appearance is one of the things I love about orchids, and the names can be super fun too. I wonder when there will be a Dracula vampira named ‘Edward‘…if there isn’t already. Personally, I’d like to see a ‘Stefan‘, or maybe even a ‘Damon‘. 🙂