Walking Iris

Hiya!  After some hiatus, I've been posting plants over on Instagram.  Faster, less construction involved and I can still share some things with you.  Follow me there if you'd like to see some plants, nature, fiber art, and pets.

Today's in bloom is a walking iris, Neomarica species, no ID.

You can find that post here.  Blogger seems to have trouble slurping photos from instagram for preview.

Mystery Mushroom

Leucocoprinus birnbaumii (?)

You may have had this experience.  You have a plant, large or small, summer comes, its warm, the thing is being watered well, and suddenly there are neon yellow mushrooms cohabitating with your plant.

"What do I do?!?" you think, and "where did I go wrong?"  Nothing* and nowhere.

If you have a small child or dog with compulsive hand to mouth syndrome (eats whatever it touches), you might remove the mushrooms, the species is not edible.  But otherwise, they harm no one, certainly not your plant.  Though some fungi are parasitic or pathogenic, in general fungi of the mushroom type are nothing more than an indication of the presence of decaying organic matter.  In this case, potting soil.  Many fungi are even beneficial.  To learn more about that, read up on mycorrhizae. 

This, however, is just a mushroom.  I believe the species is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii.  They get into the soil from other plants, spores in greenhouses and garden centers, and in potting soil (or potting soil components if you mix your own like I do) that is not fully sterilized.  You can remove the mushrooms, but these are only fruiting bodies, the bulk of the organism is living quietly beneath the surface in a vast network of fine mycelia.  I suggest you just enjoy their obnoxiously yellow presence for the few days they are present.

If anyone is interested, according to The Rainbow Beneath My Feet by Arleen and Alan Bessette,  the species produces beige to yellowish brown dye depending on mordant.  Bummer, I really hoped it would be sunshine yellow.

Happy Holidays

Aloe barbadensis (vera)

We like an alternative Christmas tree.  Every year, one or two unlucky plants get pulled for ornament duty.  :)

I believe this to be Aloe barbadensis, or some near similar hybrid.  It came to me without a tag.  Its a large, beastly plant, and I have divided out many pups from it over the years in a vain attempt to manage its size.  The normal blooming season for these would be around early Spring, attracting hummingbirds if it was outside.  However, frequently this guy blooms for me in the late fall, soon after it comes inside.  I assume the sudden change from exposure to temperatures of 45 or 50F (7-10C) overnight to constant 68 (20C) makes it think spring has come early.  That scape is nearly 5 feet high (150cm), but that includes the height of the pot. 

In Bloom: Pumpkin Colors

Three lovely orange flowers, for your enjoyment.

Clivia cyrtanthiflora

Clivia cyrtanthiflora, a natural hybrid between miniata and nobilis.  I don't know if this particular plant is a natural hybrid or a man-made "remake," but the effect is largely the same.  A large, beastly plant, it already has 3 pups, one of which bloomed for the first time this year.  Division of this plant would likely require a hacksaw, the root mas is so solid.  Clivias tend to tell you they want a bigger pot by pushing themselves up out of their current pot an inch or so.

Lc. Jungle Eyes

Lc Jungle Eyes (Jungle Elf x aclandiae) is a compact cattleya bearing thick, spotted flowers heavily influenced by aclandiae, which makes up 75% of it's ancestry (example flower photo shows C. aclandiae). The rest of Jungle Eye's heritage comes from a miniature yellow laelia species, esalqueana. Both species are small, and Jungle Eyes matures at about 6 inches tall.  This is the first of a batch of seedlings to bloom.  Younger plants of the same cross are available here.

S. cernua

Sophronitis cernua is an awesome little miniature plant, popping buds out of a maturing growth as it finishes out its growth.  Its a creeping plant, easiest to manage on a mount due to its habit of hugging its substrate.  They grow perhaps a little brighter than a Phalaenopsis, otherwise similar requirements, but are highly tolerant of lazy watering habits.

Also, a couple orange bugs - some woolly bears I found hiding under an empty pot outside.  They were grouchy about being disturbed, and vacated shortly after this photo was taken.  These are ground-dwelling caterpillars that eat grasses and weeds, and hibernate during the winter, then spin their cocoons in the spring.  Good luck little fellas.

A stinky bouquet

Stapelia gigantea, or Carrion Flower, Starfish Flower, and several others.

The species originates from South Africa, but has been in cultivation for a long time.  Ironically, though called Carrion Flower and reported to have a very foul scent, I have never noticed it.  I have no explanation for this, really.  Perhaps it is only horribly stinky early in the morning when I am not yet alive.  That said, it is always popular with the flies, so I might have a different story if I had to be in a small, enclosed space with it.

I have recently learned that his succulent-type plant is actually a member of the milkweed family.  This perhaps gives reason for its vigorous growth, a habit well known among that family.  The plant is really easy to grow and flower, though newly rooted cuttings sometimes must establish themselves a year or two before they will bloom.

The plant is well known for the flower size, with a 10-12" wingspan.  Here's a wine cork for comparison.  The flowers in the photo are very reflexed, having all their sepals folded back, which in this case gives the impression of a smaller flower.  So, natural spread is not always 10-12".

Yes, those are sepals.  The petals are the tiny doodads in the center.

As mentioned, the plant is a weed, and scrambles over the edges of a pot in no time.  These flowers were all on one section of stem that was well over the edge of the pot and the basket in which it was sitting.  Their combined weight got to be too much.  You can see it breaking off below.

But, no worries.  These are really easy to root.  It actually already has little pimply 'nubs' where the roots are prepared to pop out.  After the flowers are gone, I'll break it off, give that piece a few days to heal the wound, then set it on something fluffy, fertile, and relatively well drained.  It'll be a brand new bushy succulent in no time.

In Bloom: Summer Miniature

Dyakia hendersoniana, formerly known as Ascocentrum hendersonianum, is a very adorable miniature species.  These bloom on an inflorescence up to 6 inches high covered with wee, purple-pink flowers with a white lip in late Spring or early Summer. They can be grown along side Phalaenopsis, pretty much the same conditions but with maybe a little bit more light.  I am keeping mine in slightly stronger light than the phals right now, but they spend the Winter in a slighty shadier spot.  Great plant for those of you looking to branch out, and great plant for the miniature collectors out there too!  Now available in the shop!  :)

In Bloom: Isn't she lovely?

Cattleya aclandiae

I'm quite happy with this.  No, it could have a flatter lip, and my camera could have been less recalcitrant about the color of the lip.  It is actually a very nice deep red-purple in real life, but that shade is just not in my camera's repertoire.  Overall, the color is very dark and rich, which is the form I like most in this species.  As a bonus, it is wildly fragrant from morning through early afternoon, with a fragrance resembling a very nice rose, but a good deal more potent.  

I had a few aclandiae, and after being told they like it dry and hot, I proceeded to mount most of the plants I had.  They did well during the summer, but of course, during the winter I sometimes ignore stuff, and several croaked.  Turns out, if you're lazy with the watering in winter, they're a lot happier in a pot...(see photographic evidence above!)

I do very much like these dwarf Brazilian bifoliate cattleyas, and I'm pleased as punch that I've finally bloomed one of these seedlings.  So much so, that I trolled around here singing "Isn't she lovely!  Isn't she wonderful?"  blah blah blah.  Several comments were made in regards to my probable over-consumption of caffeine.  This of course prompted me to sing louder and put more effort into singing off-key.  This was rewarded with the 'stink eye'.  Now I'm extra pleased with myself.

In Bloom: Albizia julibrissin

All over Maryland Albizia julibrissin trees have been in bloom for the past few weeks. These are also known as Mimosa or Silk Trees, though the former more properly belongs to a related genus to which the diminutive Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) belongs. I've you've seen those, you'll recognize the family resemblance.  The plant in the photo is a volunteer, which admittedly came up a little close to the house, but they don't get that big and I like them so it stays.   I have carefully protected this thing from 'helping hands', sloppy lawnmowing, and grazing horses since it was a wee, weedy sprout.  Finally it has bloomed.  I am quite pleased with its depth of color.

This species is found in much of the Eastern and Southern ranges of the US, but it is not native.  It is actually introduced and naturalized, and also considered a weedy, invasive pest in certain areas, notably Florida and Tennessee, according to the USDA PLANTS Profile.  Such is often the lot of plants in the pea family.

Yes, this is actually in the pea family.  Family resemblance is more obvious in the structure of the foliage and the bean-like seed pods, less so the flowers due to lack of petals.  Interestingly, however, if you look closely at that flower you'll notice that each of those pink filaments is tipped with yellow.  Those are stamens.

I understand the species is highly susceptible to Fusarium wilt, and so can be short lived in the Northeast as a result.  My mother used to tell me there were many of these trees 30-40 years ago in the DC area with fantastic color.  Then they almost all died out, tragically leaving only the ones with pale color.  Well, fortunately, they're weedy, and so are making an excellent comeback.  They sure seem to be all over the place now.

In Bloom: Moth Diner

Following much personal change and a good deal of procrastination and total distraction with mad knitting, I've decided its time to start posting to the Plant Geek Chronicles again (and, uh, paying more attention to the plants...yep, had some survival of the fittest experimentation).

I'm starting easy, by showing you some goodies in bloom. First, we've got a lovely variegated Neofinetia falcata, tagged as 'Higashidemiyako'.



I'm very pleased with it. It might not be an extremely rare form, but I still think its awesome. Neofinetia falcata is a Japanese species, and all the most interesting plants are still Japanese in origin or recent ancestry. These plants are also easier to grow. I've had trouble with the ones that have been bred in the US for several generations. Likely those are all horribly inbred. But so far I have four that I believe to be of Japanese origin, and not only are they of more interesting varieties, they're so adaptable and easy to grow!

They're also sweetly fragrant, somewhat reminiscent of honeysuckle. As the flower form includes a long spur and the plant displays increased fragrance at dusk and dark, I suspct the plant is probably moth pollinated in its natural habitat. I don't know this for sure, if you have any data on this please chime in.

The other goodie I have to share is a Brassavola acaulis, which I am sure is moth pollinated.



This plant is also cool, and surprisingly sturdy. The 'leaves' are long, pendant...well...green sticks in appearance. Almost based on the appearance and the placement in genus Brassavola you'd assume *Super High Light!* But nay. On the advice of the ever knowledgeable Al, I've kept it with the large mounted phalaenopsis plants, so low-medium light (by orchid standards, mind you ::shakes finger::), and decent watering. Though, to be fair, through the winter I tend to not water enough. The phals were a little crabby about that but they're still alive. Some sources suggest 3-4 hrs light for this species, but mine lives in an East window just fine. It is possible it will adapt to either situation. In any case, it bloomed.

Here again, like most moth pollinated species, it isn't very impressive in the day. As soon as it gets dark, though, you can smell it from across the room. It has a vaguely citrus-y rose-y scent. Very pleasant.

2011 MOS Show

The Maryland Orchid Society annual show was held this weekend at the state fairgrounds in Timonium, MD. I went for a look on Friday evening and brought back the following images for you. This year the show seemed smaller than in previous years, and at the risk of being critical, there were a surprising number of flowers in less than optimal shape. I rather think folks should only send their best. That said, there were still several gems to be seen at the show.

First, lets look at some exceptional Cattleya hybrids:

Rlc. Lebenkreis, exhibited by Fishing Creek, was awarded an AM of 80 points at the show. It had wonderful color, velvety texture, and pleasing shape. The plant is bred out of Slc. Circle of Life and at first, that is what I thought I was looking at. A very lovely little thing.

A very nicely grown Slc. (a.k.a. Cattlianthe) Hazel Boyd 'Apricot Glow' HCC/AOS. This cross is of special note for its extensive use in hybridizing. Hazel Boyd was registered in 1975, and since, 154 hybrids have been registered which used Hazel Boyd as a parent. I don't know offhand how many grandchildren it has, but I'm sure there are many.


Incidentally, Slc. Jewel Box was a parent of Slc. Hazel Boyd. This clone is 'Dark Waters' AM/AOS, and is very well grown and bloomed out.






For this group, we'll end with Slc. Memoria Alvin Beggman 'Poem', which I thought was devastatingly cute. In fact, if you know who might be offering these wholesale, please let me know. The plant was very compact, and the color was clear and bright.

From here, we'll move on to Cattleya species, which have become a fascination of mine of late.

First up is Cattleya intermedia var. orlata 'Crown Fox' HCC/AOS. The plant was wonderfully bloomed with more buds emerging. A wonderful show of a nice variety with excellent color. I have some C. intermedia v. orlata seedlings in the shop.

C. lueddemanniana 'Lovelei' is another nice, but likely overlooked species. It has the look of a generic "big purple cattleya," but still has some nice markings that set it apart. Look at the venation/striping in the throat - very striking.

Laelia jongheana 'Turnberry' AM/AOS is a species I see occasionally at shows, and possibly I'm even seeing the same plant or couple of plants making the rounds to the spring shows. It doesn't seem to be a commonly grown species, nor commonly for sale as far as I've noticed, but it does produce very nice, flat, pastel but color saturated flowers, making a very pleasing image.

Last in this group is a very tiny Laelia bradei, with several sunshine yellow flowers on a tiny little plant. The plant was perched up on the top edge of the display, almost out of my photographic reach. This is one of those rupicolous Laelias, typically found as a low-growing, fleshy plant on rocky areas.

Following the L. bradei, we'll look at a couple other miniature species found at the show.

Cadetia taylori is a species I've always thought was adorable. This is a tallish one at perhaps 4" tall, and grown into a neat porcupine on its little stick mount. Flowers are typically about half a cm with fragrance like anise, though I've always thought if I sniffed to hard I'd snort them right up my nose.


Leptotes tenuis, approximately a 2-3 inch tall plant.




And no miniature selection would be complete without a cute little Bulbophyllum species. This one was labeled pleuro-thallianthum, which I've never heard of and isn't listed in the ISOPE database, but that isn't hard to do with Bulbophyllums. There are so many. Its flowers remind me of a species I once had called macroleum, but I think the growth morphology was slightly different.

In closing, I'll leave you with my favorite Paphiopedilum of the day:
This Paph. haynaldianum x philippinense had beautiful markings with striking contrast and clear, deep color. I suspect it wasn't finished opening, though, and as it matures, the petals will probably twist and may elongate. The only thing that would make it more awesome would be a dark pouch. But even still, I'd really like to have that.

2011 Paph Forum

Hi folks! This post is a couple weeks late, but hopefully will mark my getting back on track for more frequent plant-i-licious posts. It has been a winter of much knitting, working, and complaining bitterly about the lack of sunshine. I say, "Bring on Spring!"

This year's National Capitol OS Paph Forum was held at Behnkie's Nursery in Beltsville, MD, due to the typical meeting place at the National Arboretum being under construction. It was an interesting change, presenting some good and bad points. For one, it presented a brighter space. Better light makes looking at the plants and taking photos easier, though in some cases the light was so bright that it was difficult to get photos that weren't washed out, and the backgrounds were a bit busy in some cases. The Arboretum space is always rather dark; it can be difficult to get decent photos at all. However, the space we were in for lectures is of typical greenhouse construction. Between the wind whistling across the roof and opening and closing of vents there was a lot of background noise. But regardless, the event went off without a hitch.

For your entertainment, here are a few photos from the event.

Phrag. Mary Bess 'Holly Vhee'

Phrag. Richter x Pink Panther

Paph. richardianum

Paph. micranthum 'Thoroughbred' AM/AOS

Paph. haynaldianum 'Grace Botamy'

In Bloom: A Study of Dendrobium bowmanii

These are Dendrobium bowmanii, synonym mortii, synonym Dockrillia bowmanii. I have five of these and four are currently in bloom. As you can see in the photos, they grow on long, spindly stems with needle-like leaves perhaps 3 inches long and very narrow, flowering from the nodes at the base of the fleshy leaves like other Dockrillas. Notice also the flowers are held up-side-down, another Dockrilla trait. The flowers are vaguely fragrant with a minty odor, matching nicely with their yellow-green color, and last about 2-3 weeks.

According to IOSPE, the species is native to mangrove swamps in Australia, and prefers warm to hot temperatures year round with a slightly drier winter rest.

I also have a Dendrobium rigidum blooming right now. I think I'll go off and introduce them to each other to see if we can't get something interesting...

In Bloom: Random Orange Stuff

It's Autumn, and we here on the East coast have been enjoying the fall foliage. It is ephemeral, fleeting, beautiful but ever-changing and far too temporary. But believe it or not, with the waning of Autumn color marks an increase in the number of blooming activity at our house, especially orchids, but I've got some other things as well. In honor of Autumn color, here are a few orange selections.

Sophronitis cernua blooming out of season. Supposedly they are Spring bloomers, but this is not the first time I've seen one have other ideas. This species is native to Southeastern Brazil, in warmer and brighter locations than you would typically find the other Sophronitis species. Hence, this one may grow for people that have had trouble with its cool and shady -growing relatives.

This is Clivia x Crytanthiflora, a naturally-occurring hybrid between two species miniata and nobilis. I've shown you this plant before, but I rather like her so you get to see her again. I did a major repotting of most of my clivias (it was kind of like, "when did I get SO MANY!?") this summer, and attempted to repot this one. Note: "Attempted." I couldn't get it out of the pot. When happy, Clivias have a rather aggressive root system consisting of thick, succulent, tentacle-like structures, a style which is consistent with certain other plants of South African origin, such as Strelitzias, and bearing some similarity to the structure of certain beefy orchid roots. I had two options with this plant: Break it out of the pot or leave it be. I wasn't in the frame of mind to crack open a very thick clay pot, and if the root system was that dense I wasn't sure I had an appropriately sized pot for it to go into, so I took option B.

I love aloes, especially the little ones with cool leaves, but this is perhaps my favorite. This is Aloe bellatula. That is a 3 inch clay pot. I divided this plant this spring, selling one division, and keeping this one and one other. I had fully intended to sell another division, but they're just SO CUTE. Give me time, I'll either produce more divisions or will finally reconcile giving up my extra. Its like meeting a litter of kittens...I just want to keep them all. Anyway, its easy to grow and a reliable bloomer, though not as prolific a bloomer as some of the little Aloes, it does bloom at least once every year with these adorable bell-shaped orange-peach flowers. I'm not terribly knowledgeable on succulents, but I'll tell you what works for me. I keep the plant with my intermediate-growing cattleyas, meaning it lives in my unheated basement during the Winter and gets watered a lot less than during the Summer, but does still get watered a least a little bit every 2-3 weeks. In summer it gets watered every 2-3 days, especially when it is very hot and sunny.

In Bloom: Happy Halloween

What is it??? Dead things, hairy things, fake dead things with fake worms? Ew. It sure smells like dead things.

This is Stapelia gigantea, with flowers easily 10 inches across and up to 12 inches across. The buds take weeks to develop. By the time they're the size of a small lemon you think, "It's sure to open soon!" But alas, it will still have several weeks to go. They pop (litterally) open when they get to about the size of an average orange. Then they proceed to stink and attract flies.

Most people will grow these in well drained soil, but ever the oddball, my approach is to grow it in sphagnum moss, allowing it to dry out completely between watering. Obviously, you can't keep it in constantly wet sphagnum, but regular wet/dry cycles works out just fine. They'll want bright light to full sun, such as the conditions in which you might grow Cattleyas. This beastie was grown from a cutting rooted about a year ago, and during that time it has doubled in size (and weight! heavy plant). They're easy to grow and very interesting to look at. Certainly a plant worth having, just don't put it on the dining room table when you have guests.

In Bloom: Blue(ish) Things

Hi folks! I'm still alive in my little cave. Been busy around here, but life with the plants keeps trudging on as well.

Today I thought I'd share two sort-of blue things in bloom. The first is Lc. Cariads Mini-Quinee (C. intermedia x Lc. Mini Purple). I bought a small group of these seedlings a little while back because I rather like Mini Purple, though my favorite clone is 'Tamami', which isn't blue. This was most likely bred from one of the many coerulea clones. For those of you checking your monitor color, no, it isn't blue as in cobalt, blueberry, or anything else of that nature. Blue in orchids is this funny purple way off into the cool color spectrum.

I'm rather pleased with this plant. It is nice and compact, like you would expect from that parentage. Higher flower count would be nice, but Mini Purple being L. pumilia x C. walkeriana, you can't expect it to be too high. It is also a first bloom, so maybe on the next we'll get two or three flowers. It is very lightly fragrant.

While taking pictures of it, I realized it has about the same colors as my current weaving project. I'm going to pretend that was on purpose. :)

Our second plant only does the vague impression of blue, and is actually pink. It is Phal. Equalacea 'Leesburg Sky' x violacea v. coerulea 'Nancy's Gift'. It could have been blue, but it isn't. I've decided I don't care. This one opened kinda funny, but in general they're cute, novelty type flowers with sweet fragrance, and it intermittently throws flowers throughout the summer. I tried to breed it earlier this Summer but it didn't take. In general it hasn't been a good summer for breeding orchids for me - lots of failures which I'm rather cranky about. So instead I have some flasks on the way from Florida. Nothing beats instant gratification.

In other news, I've got ten overgrown compots of cattleya seedlings to plant out. Heaven help me. That's a lot of untangling...

In Bloom: Huernia and Fire Magic

Before you get offended, we're not talking about embarrassing personal products today. :P

Huernia are among the Stapeliads, a jungle cactus type succulent group. They like approximately phalaenopsis type light and temperatures. I basically grow mine just like a phalaenopsis, but remember I grow on what most of you consider 'the dry side,' so maybe water a bit less for those of you who grow more wet. It can take cooler temperatures in winter but doesn't seem to require a dip in temperature to bloom. I do water them a little bit less in winter, but don't let them get dessicated.

This came to me unidentified, but I believe it to be H. schneiderana. Nevertheless, these are easy to grow and cute. As they get longer and start making branches they become great plants for hanging baskets. Often the lower branches are programmed to come off naturally, as a pre-programmed propagation method. When that happens, you can root them into the original pot to make the basket more full, or into a separate pot and share with friends! I have one such rooted plant in the shop.

Slc. Fire Magic is a great cross. It has pretty much everything I like to see in a mini-catt cross. It is small and compact, easy growing, can be bloomed under fluorescent light (but you have to grow them fairly close to the tubes for best results) or in windowsills of course, and they have wild colors and patterns. The one shown is even lightly fragrant. It might be better if they were more strongly fragrant, but I can be satisfied with lightly fragrant, and not everyone always likes the style of, "nice perfume, must you bathe in it?" that you often sniff in Cattleyas.

I bought a good size batch of these seedlings a while back, but they've been selling well. Everyone seems to agree that they're exciting, so I only have a few left. See the listing for more examples of Fire Magic flowers.

In Bloom: Dendrobium hercoglossum

Today's in bloom is a Den. hercoglossum. I purchased this plant a couple years ago at the SEPOS show from Andy's Orchids, and although for some reason I sometimes kill stuff I buy from him, this plant has had no problems. Likely because it likes a drier winter, so my cycle of abuse & good care suits it just fine. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud?

Yes, well, Den. hercoglossum does indeed enjoy a slight rest in Winter, with less water and fertilizer, and slightly lower temperatures are also acceptable. In the Summer I put this plant outside in a medium bright location, and water nearly daily as it is mounted.