Paph concolor v chlorophyllum

Paph. concolor v. chlorophyllum 'Buttercup'

Responding to an OGD post regarding a request for Paph concolor photos, I dug up what I had to share.  This is a photo of a plant formerly in my collection.

Yes, sadly, formerly.  I lost it when I ended up with a resistant, rampant mealybug infestation in a stand of paphs.  I finally destroyed them rather than continuing to spray, as the best I was able to do was keep it in check.  It was a liability.  So after a couple years of fighting it and keeping the plants isolated, I decided that rather than risk sharing such pests with anyone who got plants from me, I should put everyone who was infected into a black plastic bag.  It still makes me ill to think about it.  I had several very nice things in there.

This, kids, is why some people quarantine newcomers.  I didn't, and I paid for it.

But back to the plant.  Paph concolor is a lovely species, with butter yellow flowers and lovely, thick, crystalline tessellated foliage.  It and things like it really love calcium, and I always thought my success with them was a result of having hard water.  (See?  There is an up-side to hard water.)

The irony of this situation is that this flower smells like pesticide.  Not everyone can pick it up, its faint, and also, easy to mistake for pesticide residue.  However, this plant bloomed *before* the major infestation began, and so nothing else was stinky at the time.

I maintain that a lot of plants have some fragrance and we never hear about it.  People are convinced "Paphiopedilums have no fragrance", so they never check.  But I have come across several that are.  So don't feel silly, sniff every flower to see if you can detect something that someone else missed.

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.

Eager Clivia Seed

Today I learned that Clivia seeds will germinate when they are ready, even if the fruit hasn't been picked yet.  I saw that little root poking out of a fruit I had procrastinated picking.  Here it is with the fruit cracked open.

A proper web

Argiope aurantia, or yellow orb weaver, is possibly my favorite spider.  The females are large, dramatically colored, and spin the most impressive webs.  When they are young, if you get close to their web they freak out a little, and rock their bodies to make their entire web flap, making themselves more visible in hopes that you won't destroy their careful weaving.  Males are much smaller and easily overlooked, but sometimes you'll see one actually hanging out on the female's web in an unobtrusive spot.  I enjoy monitoring their progress throughout the summer, occasionally helping out by tossing them a grasshopper.  I count myself lucky that these accomplished pest control agents can be found in my yard every year. 

Promises of Lazy Gardener Tales to come...

I plunked a fig into my yard this summer and the little guy is already gifting fruit.  It is a lovely little Chicago Hardy which I had in an 8" pot for the previous year.

Why the "Lazy Gardener" tag?  Well...in a fit of genius *cough* I decided to do a hack job of preparing the bed, and made a smallish one very close to the patio, completely ignoring the sheer mass a fig tree can attain.  I know this, but I chose the lazy way out.  A couple weeks after, while visiting my brother, I had an up close look at his fig tree.  I know this tree to have been viciously pruned last fall, yet by the end of June it was already about 8ft tall and perhaps as much in diameter.

I sense I'll be doing a lot of battle with my "little fig tree" in the coming years.

On the bright side, I'll have lots of cuttings to root and share, and perhaps this means the Passifloras have finally met their match...

Dischidia ovata seeds

Dischidia ovata seeds!  Though I have been interested, I have never figured out how to hand pollinate Dischidias.  Their floral structure is not obvious, I have never bothered to stick one under a dissecting 'scope, and have yet to find any useful information.  But as you can see, some kindly bug must have finally taken pity.  I was gifted a wee pod about an inch and  a half long and very narrow.  It recently ripened and released the prizes.

Dischidias are a close relative of the Hoya genus, which places them in the milkweed family.  You might have suspected this by the appearance of the seed pod.  If you've ever grown either genus, you'll also have noted that any cut or damaged plant parts exude a white, sticky sap, also reminiscent of milkweed.

I have a few Dischidia species and I find them all to be easy to grow and flower.  Dischidia ovata, though, is by far the easiest.  With almost no encouragement it will creep, crawl, twine and climb all over the place.  It also seems to bloom for much of the year when kept indoors.  I have never found this sort of success with Hoyas.  Actually, sadly, I have yet to have a long term relationship with any Hoya.

Want some cuttings?  Drop me a line via the shop.  I'll probably root some to sell, but they're easy enough to get going, so if you're interested, no sense in waiting on my account.

I have sown my Dischidia seeds in a plastic bag of damp sphagnum.  They germinated within a couple days.

The method is also effective with Anthurium seeds.  Oh by the way - you can expect Anthurium scandens seedlings to become available soon too...