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'

Hi Everyone!

Haven't posted in a while, but I'm still lurking about. Last Friday I had a table at the University of Maryland at Baltimore craft show, where I got to meet lots of plant and knitting- interested folks. I enjoyed talking to you all. I'd like to remind you all that I'm happy to help, so don't be afraid to send me your questions. :)

I also got to test out my awesome new banner. Check it out there, all glossy and whatnot. Isn't it cool?

2010 SEPOS Show, Tiny Things

Today's selections are all miniature plants, defined as less than 6" tall, though many are well below that. Among miniature orchid species you will find a microcosm of delight, though you may require a magnifying glass to truly appreciate some.

This first selection, labeled Gehis. japonicus, has sprays of wee flowers of no more than 5mm in height. I take the label to indicate Gastrochilus japonicus, and the flowers do look similar to gastrochilus, but the foliage is all wrong and the flowers and plant are too small even for the species Gastrochilus japonicus. Perhaps I have misunderstood the abbreviation Gehis?

***UPDATE: Orchid Eric wrote to tell me that this plant is actually Omoea philippinensis. Thanks for the identification, Eric!***

Next we have a nearly microscopic Dendrobium, Den. toressae. Again with this, flowers (and also leaves!) are up to a whopping 5mm. I have to assume based on the plant habit and flower type and bearing that it is related to Den. lichenastrum. It may even have some odor associated with it, if you care to risk inhaling the entire flower.

This Masdevallia ferrusii was nestled into Andy's Orchids wardian case display, along with today's last selection Pleurothallis asaroides 'Walter'. Both of these had flowers in the 3/4 to 1 inch range, and as you can see, both with unusual forms. I really can't tell you much else about either species. Masdevallias are typically from new world Alpine cloud forest areas, meaning cool, damp, and buoyant air. Pleuros have a range of environments, especially in temperature, so it pays to do your research and ask questions when buying one of these guys.

2010 SEPOS Show, Nifty Dendrobiums

Today I'll show you a few of the Dendrobium selections at SEPOS this year. First off, we have two color varieties of a very cute, compact species: Den. kingianum 'Karl Marx' and Den. kingianum 'Big Foot' AM/AOS. Den. kingianum is typically fragrant and the plant compact in stature, but with spikes height is up to about 15 or 18 inches perhaps, and they can form large clumps. A large clump is of course rather impressive when in bloom. These two guys were exceptionally lovely. As much as this is often considered a 'common' species, not many people seem to grow it around here. Perhaps the appearance of these two at the show professes a coming increase in popularity.











Next, a most interesting small species, Den. lingueforme displayed by Andy's Orchids. By the flowers I wouldn't be surprised if this one has been moved between genus' a few times. It was displayed in one of his trademark Wardian cases, stuffed to the gills with interesting little bits. Leaves on this guy are about an inch long, succulent and multicolored with the tactile characteristic of very fine grit sandpaper. He had a couple for sale. I snatched one up - couldn't resist such a weird looking thing.






We'll finish out today with a Den. johannis. This is a rather tall plant topped by a spray of twisty, earthy flowers.

2010 SEPOS Show, Cattleya Alliance Selections

I'm going to break up my selections of photos from the South East Pennsylvania Orchid Show again into a couple installments. I came away this year with >150 photos after curation. I started with over 300 photos, as I generally take multiple shots per plant, keeping the best one or two, as well as a snap of the plant's tag, which is deleted after renaming the photos. Since I don't often talk about Cattleya alliance plants, I'll start with those this year.

Cattleya schilleriana has long been one of my favorite species (though, admittedly, I have many "favorites"). It is a medium sized bifoliate species with heavy, glossy flowers of rich color and, like many Cattleyas, heavy fragrance. I thought this one was very nice - it was quite dark. If I remember correctly it was in the Fishing Creek exhibit. Fishing Creek got an FCC on one of their cattleya hybrids, I was unable to get a good photo of that plant. It was perfectly flat, very round, and had a most unusual near solid watermelon shade. I'll bet it shows up in Awards Quarterly.Also in the show (in a different display) was this schilleriana hybrid, Cattleya schilleriana x Enc. cordigera. See a photo of the species Enc. cordigera at ISOPE for reference. Obviously, as both parents posses dark petals, the offspring does as well, but the spots are gone and the striping of schilleriana comes through on the lip, while the size of the lip comes from cordigera. Schilleriana has flattened it out a bit as well. And of course, thanks to both parents it is sweetly fragrant. I'm going to have to seek this hybrid out. If anyone knows of flasks or compots for sale, please point me in the right direction!

As expected, there were several examples of Cattleya walkeriana to enjoy. This is a very compact species, generally between 6 and 8 inches tall, and in my opinion, best grown mounted, but I almost always see them in pots so likely I'm the one of the few who thinks that way. C. walkeriana is always a lovely thing, available in pink, white, white with pink lip, and "blue" (which is really a weird purple shade), and always with a rose fragrance. The most interesting thing about the species is the unique way the flowers are borne. Most cattleyas and relatives of cattleyas bear their flowers from within the leaf axil at the top of a mature pseudobulb. C. walkeriana, however, sprouts the flowers from an odd little growth with no other purpose from the base of a mature pseudobulb. The third picture shows this if you look closely - you'll see the mature growth center-left, with its papery protections, and center right the flower stem with bracts. The exception to this rule for walkeriana is the clone C. walkeriana v. alba 'Pendentive'. Pendentive is believed to be a tetraploid, because the flowers and growths are exceptionally thick and hard (like heavy cardboard), and suspected by some to not actually be walkeriana because it bears its flowers like any other cattleya.

There were many other species displayed as well. One I was particularly impressed with was this enormous Laelia purpurata var. venosa 'Bella' AM/AOS. This variety is unique in the striping of the lip. Last year I purchased a flask of Laelia purpurata (v. venosa x v. schusteriana), and have recently made the youngsters available in my shop. I'd never actually seen either variety in person, so this was doubly exciting. The babies have several years of growing to do before they're quite that large, but hopefully they'll be convinced to at least bloom for the first time in 4-5 years.

While I could prattle on about all the other Cattleya alliance species we saw - there were several very attractive examples - I think I'll round out this image-rich post with a photo of one of my favorite hybrids. This is Slc. Fire Magic 'H&R'. I like Fire Magic for the variety of patterns you see in the flowers, as well as their compact, easy-growing nature. I got a batch of seedlings myself last year, and I'm waiting to see many of them bloom for the first time. I hope this summer will be it for many of them. Unbloomed seedlings are available from my Etsy shop.

2009 SEPOS Show, Fantastic Dendrobiums

In line with my increasing fascinating with Dendrobiums, I spent a good deal of time examining the selections at the SEPOS show this year. There were many interesting and well grown plants, what follows is just a selection of highlights. We'll start with this beautiful specimen of Dend. lindleyi. This is a fairly compact growing species, but as you can see, does increase in overall size dramatically at flowering time.


Another densely flowered specimen was this Dendrobium (a.k.a. Dockarilla) Oliver Jack "Gerard". A very attractive tuft of a plant.


A very adorable Den. Tie Dye.


Dendrobium discolor, a rather tall species with very unusual twisty, ruffled, rusty-color flowers on long sprays.


Dendrobium harveyanum, with very cool fimbriate flowers.

This Dendrobium Julie Skillicorn was quite fascinating. It was hung in a spot where I suspect it might be overlooked by some, but it is something certainly worth admiring and probably growing if you get a chance. I'd like to get one! It was in a rather small basket that was overflowing with long, needle like leaves arranged in a chain fashion, with a generous seasoning of upside-down flowers.

2009 SEPOS Show, Paph Installment

Last weekend I went to the South East Pennsylvania Orchid Society Show at Longwood Gardens. I came away with hundreds of pictures and two dead camera batteries. I still haven't finished weeding through them (though, admittedly I've procrastinated a bit) and don't know how to pare it down to a few highlights for the blog. Thought I'd do a few installments of highlights instead, so you can see more photos! Today we'll be starting with some paphs, focusing on species, although there were also plenty of hybrids of interest.


Paph. sangii 'Suzanne' HCC/AOS
Sangii is a rather rare species in cultivation, and a fantastic flower, so deserves top billing.



Top: Paph. villosum 'Lloyds' AM/AOS
Bottom: Paph. villosum '#1'



Top: Paph. hirsutissimum 'Buffy Lynn' HCC/AOS
Bottom: A different Paph. hirsutissimum


Paph. bulleniamum var. tortipetalum


Paph. lowii 'MacLean' AM/AOS - a rather nice and unusual lowii due to the dark color, especially on the dorsal.

Next time: Exciting Dendrobiums

Report on the USBG Production Facility

Once or twice per year, the US Botanic Gardens offers the opportunity to tour their production greenhouses which are on a separate location from the public greenhouses. This is where they maintain collections and produce things like the bedding plants you see around the facility. They have a wonderful collections of orchids, succulents, and more.

They have a great variety, but also may have multiples of the same thing - usually because they've had it long enough to divide it many times. But sometimes, they keep the plant together and just pot it into a giant milk crate, like this Isochilus major. The plastic basket it is in I'll estimate to be approximately 30 by 18 inches, maybe a bit bigger, with the plant spilling out of it in every direction.






There was a nice assortment of Epidendrums, but due to their octopus like nature I had a hard time identifying source pots and therefore names. So these are just interesting pictures.





There was also quite a crop of dendrobiums, especially a large number of classic Nobile hybrids. They were all above my head so I can't give you a name on them, but they all looked rather like the old style hybrid that is slightly larger and needs colder temperatures in the winter to set buds. Still very nice of course.

Among the dendrobiums of note were Dend. caryicola on the left, which was labeled as a CITES seizure. If you fancy it there are a number of quite similar species available, such as Dendrobium aphyllum. I'm not sure I can tell the difference between them. The photo on the right shows Dend. speciosum. This is the first time I've seen one of those in person and the plant is massive. The canes were about 2 inches in diameter and about 2 feet long topped with a pair of thick, one foot long leaves, generally looking like a large Cattleya type thing. The plant was not very attractive, but the flowers are quite nice.

Of the many lovely paphs and phrags in bloom, there was one Paph. De Witt Smith which I was quite smitten with. I'd like to get some seedlings of this, but I suspect I'll not be able to find any. The plant is large so they've had it a while, and one sad thing about paph hybrids is that often you only see them for a short period of time and then you don't get an opportunity to buy that one ever again. With few exceptions they just don't get remade. Fortunately there are plenty of other exciting things to be growing.

These two closely related species are Paph. glaucophyllum and Paph. victoria-regina. These and related species and hybrids are great things to grow because they produce multiple flowers sequentially over a period of months.

A very adorable Pleuro. circumplexa. This is a small species about 5 inches tall.











Gongora scaphephorus, like all Gongoras, was well flowered on an elegant, pendant spike. These flowers were also nicely fragrant, but I can't remember what it smelled like. Citrus-ish, perhaps?




























I will leave you with a couple photos from the succulent house. Above is Pachypodium succulentum, an interesting caudiciform species. I've never grown this one but have been pleased with the other Pachypodium species I have tried. They seem hardier than the more commonly seen Adeniums in my opinion.

A violently red-orange Echinocereus triolochidatus in full bloom.

They have many other plants in other greenhouses - gingers, anthuriums, bedding plants, cycads and more. Visiting the main public complex located next to the capitol building in DC will give you quite a display and impression of the variety of their collection. I highly recommend it!