Plant Sales Live on JuliaRedman.com
Once again, we took the annual opportunity to visit the US Botanical Gardens production facility this past weekend. They have an open house every spring, and it is a wonderful opportunity to see parts of their collection that you may not otherwise see. You can see photos from last year here.
This year, not as much was in bloom, likely due to the cooler winter, or perhaps much of it had just been moved off-site for use in the conservatory or participation in various plant shows. As always, we were treated to several nobile-type dendrobiums and their lovely bank of Paph. victoria-regina specimens (upper left).
The Dend. loddigesii, one of my favorite dendrobium species (of which there is an increasing number) were in bloom. These are sweetly fragrant, like roses. It is a delightful species to grow and they bloom fairly young. There are variegated clones of this species as well.
They also have a succulent collection with an interesting variety of this & that. There were a number of Euphorbias there I don't remember seeing before, and a few miniature Aloes. Aloes are a new fascination with me. I am especially fond of the miniatures.
Euphorbia horrida var. striata
Aloe humilis
Aloe aristata
And finally, because I think its cool, some liverwort. (Although, The Larry accused me of being weird for taking this photo.)
Although I'm a big fan of Google image search, sometimes it is more practical to go to specific databases. Mainly I use these to search for species photos and culture specifics, leaving Google for hybrid images. I've recently learned of the London Orchid Society's photo database, which covers species and hybrids, but works a bit differently from other internet resources in that it returns a list of book and magazine references where photos of any searched name can be found, rather than the photos themselves. Useful for anyone with an extensive library, but maybe not so much for the rest of us. I thought now would be a good time to share some of my favorite online resources.- Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia (amazingly comprehensive cross-referenced list of species, including some varieties, with photos, basic culture information, origin and other information; Please consider giving a donation - he does a fantastic job!)
- Phalaenopsis Primary Hybrids (click on Phalaenopsis species and you'll get an array of photos of the species as well as a list of the primary hybrids made with it)
- RHS International Orchid Registrar (not a photo database, but useful none-the-less for finding hybrid names and parentage)
- Paphiopedilum Primary Hybrids (Click on a section of the chart, arranged by genus sections, to get a page containing primary hybrid names, photos of the hybrids, and photos of the parents)
Do you have a favorite resource that is not on this page? Please share in a comment!
On the top is my Paph. (victoria-regina x lowii) which has actually been blooming off and on for a few months. P. lowii is multifloral, and P. victoria-regina is a sequential bloomer related to glaucophyllum, liemianum, and moquetteanum. The hybrid, registered in 1997 as Paph Sandy's Wild Turkey, seems to have inherited the sequential blooming aspect of VR, along with the giant plant aspect of lowii. Although, I suppose VR isn't exactly a mini either, but the plant looks more like lowii. I purchased it at Parkside Orchids in the summer of 2008 as a seedling. The second photo shows the plant that was the example plant at Parkside when I bought mine. I think I chose well - I like mine more. :) Score!
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Some of you may remember CatTV, the original.
Well, now we have the NEW and IMPROVED programming! IN HD (Hoppity Def)!
In the original series, we had Fritz, the German Angora (with really really bad haircut), and his sort-of nemesis, Hawkeye. In a not very exciting conclusion, they became friends and Fritz moved to a bigger cage.
In our new season, Fritz' kids are being observed by Hawkeye's compatriots.
Ha, ok. We have baby angora rabbits. For more on the babies, see November Air. They'll be ready for new homes around Valentine's Day! Please let me know if you'd like a little bunny! :)
Just for kicks, a few photos of a recent adventure in Anthurium repotting. The plant, named Anthurium 'Marie', has been in this pot for 2 or 3 years (since I bought it), and probably could have been repotted last year, but I procrastinated. The next two photos are what I started with. As you can see, it is looking a bit overgrown and under-potted.
In a fit of insanity, I thought I'd try to cut the pot away from the roots, without damaging the roots on the outside of the pot. That was slow going, and after struggling to pull back the first half of plastic on one side, I saw there was more root than media in the pot. That's about when I skipped to ripping the pot off the plant. Below is what I ended up with.
So I lost those stray roots outside the pot, but I'm not really convinced it will set the plant back any! Also, needless to say, I did not attempt to remove old media from the root ball. I then found a pot several sizes larger and reset the root ball, back-filling with a large size cattleya-type mixture of coconut husk chunks, charcoal, sponge rock, and diatomite. Results below.
It looks so happy now!
As a side note, DiatomiteUSA has shut down all sales through its website! ::GASP:: They have a note on their site that DiatomiteCanada.com will continue to serve our needs, but that of course will probably mean higher shipping. At least there's still a supplier.
This is Phrag. (longifolium x Barbara LeAnn). The first flower to open on this plant had no pouch, and no peloric petal either. I waited for a total of three flowers on two spikes to open before taking a photo, to see if this was a developmental mistake. But each of the flowers is the same: No lip! I've never seen anything like it. I think I'll call it "Frank Burns" after the MASH character described as being a "lip-less wonder".
Some of you may have already guessed this, but I love growing things from seed. This is why it is a natural progression for me to have advanced to growing orchids from seed. This is also why I covet seed catalogs. Full of beautiful photographs of obscure or heirloom varieties and ripe with possibilities, they captivate my imagination every winter. I know many other plant geeks out there can relate to this, and it was a fellow plant geek that coined the term "plant porn" for plant catalogs, seed or perennials. It also helped that she kept all her catalogs in the bathroom.
The flood of seed catalogs has begun for me. I got these three recently and I expect several more over the next 6 weeks. Every year I know a new set of gardeners will be looking to get started or advance beyond hardware store offerings. Below you'll find links to some of my favorite companies.
Seed Savers Exchange
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Pinetree Garden Seeds
Territorial Seed
Vermont Bean Seed Company
Amishland Heirloom Seeds (*online only, small, woman-owned business)
Johnny's Seeds
Totally Tomatoes
There are many other seed companies, small and large. Explore and have fun with it.
Once again, we took the annual opportunity to visit the US Botanical Gardens production facility this past weekend. They have an open house every spring, and it is a wonderful opportunity to see parts of their collection that you may not otherwise see. You can see photos from last year here.
The Dend. loddigesii, one of my favorite dendrobium species (of which there is an increasing number) were in bloom. These are sweetly fragrant, like roses. It is a delightful species to grow and they bloom fairly young. There are variegated clones of this species as well.
And finally, because I think its cool, some liverwort. (Although, The Larry accused me of being weird for taking this photo.)
