As promised, I’m finally sharing photos of all the orchids currently blooming in my collection! Having a greenhouse has really stepped up the number of blooms that my orchids provide me with each year. Blooming was more sporadic when I growing orchids in my various apartments over the years.
First, take a look at this stunning Phalaenopsis that John got me a couple years ago:
In mid-January, I shared some of the orchid blooms that had opened up in our greenhouse. A lot more action has happened since then—even more orchids have bloomed. So I’m back with fresh photos…including two orchids that I’ve had for 11 years without blooming once! Before we take a look at all of them, please enjoy this shot of a bright, sunny winter afternoon inside the greenhouse:
For the first time in YEARS, I have several orchids blooming and many more in spike. About two thirds of my Phalaenopsis orchids are currently blooming or in spike! Having our greenhouse has REALLY paid off. 🙂
So I’m here to share photos of my orchids that are in bloom! The first to bloom on a new spike was the Phalaenopsis tetraspis var. alba that I ordered from Orchids by Hausermann last summer:
Winter is the season in which many Phals display their full potential. While it actually doesn’t feel so wintery in NYC these days, my Phals are responding to the season as they should. I have a few orchids in bloom that I want to share with you! One of them is the Phal that opened up in mid January; a few more buds have opened and there are still more to come:
The second is a beautiful, colorful bloom on a side shoot of the Phal that my parents sent me for my 33rd birthday last summer:
And possibly the most exciting of the three, my Tolumnia from Lowe’s is finally beginning to bloom again!
Another one of my Phals and two of my Phal keikis (one potted on its own, one still attached to its mother) are in spike too, so there will be blooms aplenty in the house soon. 🙂
Orchid of the Whenever I Get Around to It Week is back today with Tolumnias! In my most recent post I bragged about one of my Tolumnia plants being in spike, so I thought now would be a good time to feature this pretty mini orchid. Tolumnia blooms come in a variety of bright, cheery colors like this specimen that I saw at the NYBG’s Orchid Show earlier this year:
Whoops…I forgot to do an Orchid of the Week post last Friday. For shame!
After my Lowe’s orchid shopping extravaganza last week, I’ve been waiting with bated breath for my new tolumnia’s blooms to open. I did my regular Sunday morning orchid watering session yesterday and noticed that one of the buds was starting to open!
And this morning, I got up to discover the fully opened, gorgeous bloom:
How beautiful is that?? A couple of the other buds are beginning to open, so in the next few days I’ll have several little beauties. Woohoo!!
Also on the Woohoo!! front, I noticed that yet ANOTHER one of my phals is starting to put out a spike. I guess phal blooming season is coming up—they do generally bloom in the winter. So I currently have three phals that are throwing spikes. The newest one that I discovered is the one that I bought at the Union Square Greenmarket about a year and a half ago. This will already be the second spike that it has put out for me—it spiked and bloomed earlier this year. You can see the very beginning of this orchid’s spike in this image: it’s the small light green bit in the middle:
And just for fun, an updated photo of my peloric phal’s spike:
That’s all for now. So much orchid excitement in my house these days! So many exclamation points are necessary!