Orchid blog
This blog is dormant at the moment, but it is still getting a lot of visitis so I will keep it up for you guys as a resource. My future adventures will be published on my new blog, hope to see you there!
My focus… if pressed to name favorites it would have to be orchids of the Pleurothallid Alliance. But a Paphiopedilum was the first orchid I ever fell in love with so slipper orchids will always be close to my heart, and while we are on the subject I might as well disclose a love affair with Neofinetia as well.
Aerangis mooreana
This is a lovely little epiphyte hails from the Comoros and Madagascar where it grows in humid forests from sea level to 600 meters. I got mine from the German grower Karge a couple of years ago and have since been growing it mounted in the warm vivarium. I grow it fairly bright, perhaps 10 cm from the light (9000 lumen), and I was rewarded with three inflorescences this year. Each inflorescence carrying about 12 lightly peach colored [...]
Technical difficulties
Apparently I was experiencing some technical difficulties after the transfer of this site to a new webhost last night... but it is finally back up now. Thank you for your patience!
Masdevallia guttulata
This is a small epiphyte from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador where it grows along streams at altitudes between 400 and 1100 meters. Since it grows on pretty low altitudes it is also more tolerant to warmer temperatures and do well in intermediate culture. The small flowers are perhaps not as showy as some other Masdevallia, but I think they are really striking against the dark EpiWeb backdrop with the tall erect inflorescence holding the delicate [...]
A humid lift for the room
Alright... I have spent so much time on the cool vivarium lately that I have kind of neglected the rest of the room a little. So today I took some time to spruce things up a little. The humidity delivery system needed an upgrade, so I got the humidifier all cleaned up (soaking it, well at least the membrane, in distilled vinegar), and then I installed a new chimney for it. Well, dear husband helped with [...]
A pollinator with gyroscope troubles
Time for orchids at summer camp - part two. My little Cattleya Dahlenburg Mini had a curious visitor yesterday while hanging outside soaking up some rays. The tiny hoverfly crawled into the flower many times before he decided that the back the flower was where all the action was. He sat there for a long time and his body was, ehm, undulating strangely. Hey, what can I say? I call 'em like I see 'em... Obviously a pollinator with [...]
Prosthechea cochleata… or the clamshell octopus
Clamshell octopus, that sounds like something our of a B-horror flick... but the common name for this species is the cockleshell or clamshell orchid, although we tend to call it the octopus orchid (bläckfiskorkidé) here in Sweden. It is not hard to see why, either name fits the bill. The flowers are about 9 cm tall and are actually quite unique as they are technically displayed upside down. In most orchids the labellum is located below [...]