It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any updates on my orchid collection because there hasn’t been a whole lot going on other than the blooming of the mystery dendrobium, which, by the way, now has two blooms. Each has taken on a more pinkish and greenish tinge in the throat than when they first opened. The faint coloring is a little hard to capture in a photo, but you get the idea:
Scratching the Orchid Itch
Okay, I’ll admit it. When none of my orchids are in bloom, I have a strong desire to buy more because I like to have something blooming in my home. On Tuesday, I ended up buying a new Phal at Home Depot in Manhattan. The very next day, I finished my volunteer shift with KittyKind at the Petco in Union Square and decided to check out the orchid selection at Trader Joe’s…you know, cuz it was so close by and all.
TJ’s had a pretty nice selection of healthy looking orchids, including lots of Phals, some Oncidiums (I almost bought a second Twinkle Fragrance Fantasy!), and Paphs. I ended up selecting a small Phal for only $9.99. It’s healthy looking with two spikes and nice sturdy, grassy green foliage. See?
There are currently three blooms open, and they are white with a lovely blush tinge and a peachy speckled-and-striped lip. This orchid did come with a tag, which says “medium white with blush”. Wow, I couldn’t have figured that out myself. So helpful. Anyway, here’s a close-up of one of the blooms:
When I first brought the orchid home it had lots of swelling buds on both spikes:
But as of this morning it looks like some of the smaller, newer buds are starting to blast. They have turned darker in color and look like they are drying out and starting to shrivel:
I wonder if the bud blast is due to my repotting this plant as soon as I got it home? I know that repotting orchids in bloom can lead to loss of blooms. It could also just be due to a change in the orchid’s environment. At least I know that I got rid of the few rotten roots on this plant when I repotted it, and I didn’t pack in the sphagnum moss nearly as tightly as it had been when I bought it.
Each spike is starting to grow a side spike, so with a little luck maybe those will become fruitful and bloom for me. Regardless, my two new Phals make me so happy!