Dracula rezekiana
I love orchid buds almost as much as I like the flowers. Most orchids have the most amazing buds and I particularly like the moment right before they are about to open up, it is a very sensual moment. Dracula buds […]
Restrepia elegans
This orchid came in my Peru Flora order back in April and it just finished blooming for me. A nice blooming for such a small plant with about 4-5 flowers at a time for about a month. The flowers do not last for very long, perhaps a week, but it is a sequential bloomer so you get several flowers per inflorescence. I really like the […]
Cool vivarium – a photo update
Ok… I think it is time for a photo update of the cool vivarium. It is really starting to fill in now and I am quite pleased with how the viv is performing!! If you are curious to see exactly what orchids I am growing in there so far, you can look at this photo on Flickr instead. I have put up little notes on the photo labeling the orchids in it, just mouse […]
Masdevallia mendozae
I picked up this little gem from Ecuagenera at the Sofiero orchid show in May and it obviously did not object over the long journey from South America since it is already blooming. I just adore this little thing… the sepals remain fused together and the flowers look like some sort of an alien… […]
Cool vivarium – a drip system modification
I have got to admit… growing orchids is easy compared to growing moss! Well, my moss is doing just fine actually, but not without effort. All the time on the brink of drying out, and dry moss equals dead moss, so it has been a bit of a challenge. Providing enough water for the moss on the EpiWeb walls without over watering the orchids mounted on the very same walls is not easy. I believe […]
Paphiopedilum Dellaina
Since my Dellaina decided to bloom just as we left for our vacation it got to tag along to the coast as well. It is a nice primary hybrid between Paphiopedilum delenatii x P. chamberlainianum. The seed parent (delenatii) is a small terrestrial/lithophyte from southern Vietnam and Dellaina have inherited its beautiful […]
Vandas on summer vacation 2010
Here we go again… We have moved to the summer cottage by the coast and of course with a bunch of bare-rooted orchids in tow… A slightly larger crowd than last summer, mostly smaller young plants, but […]
Phalaenopsis sanderiana
Phalaenopsis sanderiana is a very nice species from the Philippines where it grows at sea level up to about 450 meters. It was discovered in 1882 by Roebelin who sent it off to Sander, the famous orchid collector who gave it its name. I never use supporting stakes for my orchids, unless absolutley necessary. I think it is much more beautiful to […]
Nematode warfare round 2
It is fungus gnat season again… sigh! They love warm wet vivariums and now it is summer with a lot warmer temperatures – which was followed by an explosive increase in fungus gnats. They look like a small mosquito and some mistake them for the harmless common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). It is called Sciara hemerobioides, or dark-winged fungus gnats […]
Cool vivarium – an even cooler installation
Perhaps it was wishful thinking believing that I was going to be able to cool the new cool vivarium all summer only with the help of outside air. But not really… we normally do not have such nice weather. I am not complaining mind you, it really is taboo to complain about “nice” weather in Sweden. It has been very warm here lately and […]