About Karma

Karma is a digital nomad graphic artist and writer, orchid nerd and long-distance hiker from Gothenburg, Sweden. Former editor-in-chief for the Swedish Orchid Society magazine, published internationally and held lectures on orchid culture.

Paphiopedilum St. Swithin

A rather large plant in my collection, Paphiopedilum St. Swithin (rothschildianum x philippinense), a classic cross registered back at the turn of the last century. The tag actually says Paphiopedilum philippinense, but this is abviously not the case… though most likely a St. Swithin. Regardless, it is an impressive multi-floral primary hybrid from the subgenus Polyantha and it sure does command respect when in blooms. The beautifully striped flowers measure nearly 10 cm tall with a petal wingspan of […]

By |2016-11-16T20:11:23+01:00November 16th, 2016|Categories: My orchids, Orchid blog|Tags: , , |6 Comments

Paphiopedilum Leeanum

The slipper parade continues, it is Paphiopedilum season after all. Let me present Paphiopedilum Leeanum, a lovely primary hybrid with Paphiopedilum insigne as the seed parent and Paphiopedilum spicerianum as the pollen contributor. It is an old classic as far as hybrids go, registered in Britain in back in 1884 when the orchid hybridization craze was first gaining momentum. Leeanum was one of the first of many successful insigne crosses exhibiting enormous vitality and eagerness to bloom, a quality making insigne very popular in hybridization […]

Paphiopedilum appletonianum

Paphiopedilum appletonianum is a personal favorite in my collection. I know I say this every year, but everytime it blooms I feel this way so it must be true then. Not only do I like that the flowers last for several months I also adore the color combination and the purple-brown, lightly hairy and ridiculously long inflorescence often measuring up to half a meter long! The lovely light mottled leaves add some extra appeal even […]

By |2017-10-13T11:25:38+02:00October 27th, 2015|Categories: My orchids, Orchid blog|Tags: , |4 Comments

Paphiopedilum purpuratum

This stunning species hail from southeastern China and Vietnam where it grows at elevations of 500-1400 meters. It is a small and fairly easy going species. It does not require a whole lot of light and can handle a wide temperature range from warm to intermediate and a grows either terrestrially or as a lithopyhte on limestone cliffs in nature. The leaves are beautifully mottled in a pale and dark green rather graphic modern camo pattern. Commonly called the purple Paphiopedilum it is as to be […]

By |2015-10-16T15:13:02+02:00October 16th, 2015|Categories: My orchids, Orchid blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Paphiopedilum purpuratum

Diodonopsis pygmaea… or is it?

This plant originally comes from Ecuagenera who sell it under the name Diodonopsis pygmaea. However, I am not convinced that this is correct. Although my plant and flower matches the picture on Ecuageneras website, other photos of this species show a rather different looking plant and flower. For one, there is nothing pygmy about this pygmaea… The plant is much larger that I had expected with leaves measuring about 8-10 cm and with a much broader flower measuring about 1.5 cm. My […]

By |2015-09-17T12:48:31+02:00September 17th, 2015|Categories: My orchids|Tags: , , |16 Comments

Paphiopedilum vejvarutianum

This is a small terrestrial species from southwestern China and Thailand. Found around 500 to 750 meters, it is a warm grower, but I grow it kind of intermediate and it seems to handle that just fine too. It is a fairly new species, only just described in 2003, although it may have been on the market under the name Paphiopedilum charlesworthii var. kanchanaburi before. The flower measures about 15 cm across and feels quite large for […]

By |2015-08-29T20:10:41+02:00August 29th, 2015|Categories: My orchids|Tags: , |4 Comments

Lepanthes meniscophora

I love Lepanthes. No, I adore Lepanthes! This huge genus is packed full with amazing little gems, like this one. The flower of Lepanthes meniscophora measure no more than 5 mm, which at its minuscule size is about average for this genus. Still, the intense color and details are no less impressive, a bit of a shame you have to break out the macro gear to really appreciate it though. Another really nice quality of many Lepanthes is the successive flowering habit, producing flower after flower neatly […]

By |2015-08-18T23:51:21+02:00August 18th, 2015|Categories: My orchids|Tags: |Comments Off on Lepanthes meniscophora

Masdevallia (Buccella ) nidifica

Masdevallia nidifica is a small species that is fairly common in Central- to South America where it grows from about 600 meters all the way up to 2 000 meters. This wide altitude range makes for a fairly temperature tolerant Masdevallia and perhaps this is also why there is such a color variance within the species? Mine is fairly dark and nicely saturated compared to some more pale specimens I have seen. This plant comes from Ecuagenera in Ecuador and I think it […]

By |2015-08-10T16:51:45+02:00August 10th, 2015|Categories: My orchids|Tags: , |6 Comments

Paphiopedilum Magic Lantern

I am generally not that big on hybrids, although many very beautiful crosses exist, I find the natural species more of a thrill to grow. Slipper orchids being an exception to this rule. I am rather intrigued with the fascinating selection of primary hybrids created here. With primary hybrids, being a cross between two pure species, you can still track the lineage and in most cases clearly see what each parent bring to the table. Kind […]

By |2017-10-13T11:25:39+02:00August 3rd, 2015|Categories: My orchids|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Paphiopedilum Magic Lantern

The greenhouse build

I am probably no different than most hobby growers turned fanatic, and we all begin to dream of a greenhouse sometime along the way, the Holy Grail with seemingly limitless possibilities. Needless to say, creating orchid culture nirvana doesn’t just happen. Building a greenhouse is quite an undertaking requiring a lot of planning and hard work. My case was no different. The greenhouse build has been the most requested topic I have gotten while silent, […]

By |2017-10-13T11:25:39+02:00July 26th, 2015|Categories: Greenhouse, Projects|Tags: , |2 Comments
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