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.
Cypripedium Kentucky Pink
This is my very first garden orchid, a lovely Cypripedium hybrid called Kentucky Pink. I guess it is not very strange that I do not have that many garden orchids since I live in an apartment for 10-11 months of the year. This one is hanging outside my kitchen window, and I love the beautiful contrast between the rich purple flowers, green leaves and the light yellow stucco walls of the building. My own little [...]
Podangis dactyloceras
This is a small to miniature warm to intermediate epiphyte, and occasional lithophyte, from Western Tropical Africa to Angola and Tanzania where it grows from 750 to 1 950 meters. A beautiful fan shaped species with flowers that look almost like sheer white glass and with a prominent spur. Each short inflorescence carry several (5-20) flowers nestled within the leaves. The flowers measure about 5 mm wide and last a really long time and is a very nice contrast to [...]
Neofinetia falcata ‘Kibana’
I got a division of this lovely Neofinetia from a friend in September last year. It bloomed already a month later and now it is time again. I really like this cultivar. It looks just like the regular white Neofinetia falcata, except for the amazing golden yellow color. The flowers open slightly lighter and darken with time. These photographs were taken about one week before they began to fail, when they are the very best in color. [...]
Vanda (Trudelia) alpina
This wonderful Vanda is now blooming again. I bought this as a seedling in 2009 and it first bloomed last September. The very best thing about this orchid is that the flowers last fo such a long time, well over two months. The pendant flowers measure about 2 cm wide presented on a one to three flowered inflorescence. It really got a boost hanging outside last summer, developing the beginnings of six flower spikes. Only two bloomed [...]
Paphiopedilum bellatulum
I got a small flask of Paphiopedilum bellatulum from Equatorial Plant Co in 2008 and deflasked them in August the same year. I have since traded all the seedling but one plant that I kept for myself and it is now blooming for the very first time, 3 years and 7 months later. I am like a proud momma! You really have to be patience when you raise orchid seedlings, but in this case it was more than [...]
Cool vivarium 2.0
It would seem I have made the same journey that many people make when they build vivariums... starting off with something looking very close to nature, and eventually ending up with something a little more practical. Originally I aimed to recreate a little slice of the cloud forest in my inner city apartment and the result turned out great! Vivarium was fully operational in the beginning of May 2010. Everything was thriving and I was finally [...]