Oncidium splendidum spike

I've tried growing a few Oncidium species.  I killed two O. lanceanum (which has been moved to a new genus), two O. ornithorhynchum (and two related hybrids) which I may try yet again mounted or in a basket, and O. leucochilum (which was a terrific plant I would like to try again). 

I finally have an Oncidium doing well, O. splendidum, that I've been growing in a basket.  The first new growth grew over the summer.  It was much larger than the previous growth (always a good sign) and I was pleasantly surprised to see this spike the other day.  Looking forward to the flowers.

Checking plants on a sunny Saturday

This is the first sunny day we've had for some time on a weekend, so I took the opportunity to check on how the plants are doing.  Not as well as I'd like, but not bad considering the conditions.  Plants winter on my patio in a small temporary greenhouse I heat at night with a small electric heater.  There are seams that leak when it rains, and condensation drips onto the plants, too.  Still, all in all, it isn't bad.  I am looking forward to Spring.

Encyclia cordigera alba

This is last year's blooming of the plant pictured in a previous post on growing in marginal conditions.  There are two common forms of E. cordigera besides the alba.  The rosea form has a solid red lip, and the semi-alba form has a white lip with a red mark.  They all smell great.

Charles Darwin liked orchids

Darwin's immortality derives from his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, which changed the world forever.  However, he had diverse interests and was a tireless investigator.  He was an enthusiastic gardener and had a greenhouse at Down House, his home.  One of his other books was, On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects.  Now, thanks to the an amazing amount of work by many people, you can find this book along with all of Darwin's writings online at a single place - and all for free.

Cattleya Dalaginding

This is one of the first orchids I acquired - a cross between C. Angelwalker and C. Old Whitey.  It doesn't seem common - I haven't seen one for sale since.  Like most large white cattleyas, it is very fragrant.  This blooming is from a couple of years ago.  The plant is not doing well, but I hope to bring it back into good condition this year.  In spite of its poor condition, it wanted to bloom off its last growth.  I removed the buds so the plant could allocate more of its resources to growth.

Cattleya Landate

C. Landate is a primary hybrid between C. aclandiae and C. guttata that I got a few years ago from Oak Hill Gardens.  This has flowered in late summer for me.  The flower is nice, but this plant is on my list of plants to sell or trade.  The problem is that has only flowered once per year and only one flower.  Yes, it is easier to grow than C. aclandiae and is much smaller than C. guttata.  But if you want to focus on growing species, a hybrid has to give you a good reason to grow it.  With one flower/year, this one doesn't pass that test for me.

Cattleya intermedia

Flowers of most Cattleya species have a large number of forms.  Several forms are regularly found in nature, while others are probably very rare types that would not be able to persist in the wild.  An impressive collection of Cattleya intermedia forms is pictured at Brazilian Orchids.