I'm still here :)

I have received several inquiries as to why I don't post new bloom pictures more frequently.
Well, I dont have a lot of plants to begin with. I probably have around 200 or so.
And most of them are cattleyas and dendrobiums that all bloom around the same time of year.
So I end up with posts with a lot of flowers at the same time, and then there are months when I have nothing to post.

I believe that it is more meaningful to post something of value than to post something just for the sake of posting something.

Thanks for your understanding,
John

Blooms Update - 02/01/2011

Epicattleya Volcano Trick


Epicattleya Mae Bly 'Ching Hua Spash'


Cattleya percivilliana 'Summit'


Cattleya percivilliana 'Summit'

More flowers in bloom

Dendrobium Blue Violetta



Cattleya maxima


Blc. Magic of Mishima 'Volcano Queen'


Diacattleya Chantilly Lace 'Twinkle' HCC/AOS



Howeara Lava Burst 'Puanani'

Phalaenopsis NOID in bloom

Here's one of the phalaenopsis orchids that I have in bloom.
They were languishing in the greenhouse so I brought them into the house.
They responded really well to the indoor settings next to my office window.

08/22/2010 - Greenhouse Update - Bloom pictures from the past three months

Epicattleya Siam Jade 'Avo'




Eplc. Mae Bly 'Ching Hua Splash'



Cymbidium NOID



Den. NOID (White with green piping)



Blc. Dewey Forest 'Kudos'


Blc. Waianae Leopard 'Ching Hua'


Blc. Samba Gift 'Hawaii'



Cattleya Hawaiian Wedding Song 'Virgin' (They are all over my greenhouse)



Howeara Lava Burst 'Puanani' (8 inflorescences)


Howeara Lava Burst 'Puanani' (8 inflorescences)


Den. Palolo Sunshine x Den. gouldii




Brassanthe Island Stars (another color variation, with some flower mutations)

Orchid garden is expanding. New shadehouse construction in progress.

It was becoming clear that the larger orchids (cymnidium, grammatophyllum, etc) are clamoring for more space, and more sunlight than the greenhouse would allow.
So after a few months of saving up, the "Orchid Budget" had enough funds to purchase a new shadehouse that will better accommodate these outdoors orchids.

It is a 20ft x 10ft Carport kit, made of 1 3/4 inch powder coated steel tube, and a thick canvas top.
This should allow plenty of space, air flow, and plenty of light while protecting the plants from direct afternoon sun.

I placed it south of the greenhouse, along a north-to-south axis.

I am still reviewing the plant locations and will continue to fine tune the setup as I go along. As you can see on some of the pictures, I have installed additional green shade fabric on certain sides for additional protection from direct afternoon sunlight.

Early stages of construction.


Additional shade fabric installed.


Plants brought outside for acclimation.


Trying out different plant arrangements.


More plants.


I am also going to place an outdoors table and chairs inside the shadehouse so we have a little outdoor reading/sitting area away from the house.

I will post more updates as they become available.



This does present a new problem for me (and my budget).
Moving all these bulky plants out of the greenhouse created a lot of available space inside the greenhouse. So again I am starting to hear these voices in my head "Buy more orchids!".

One of my articles will be published in Orkideer !

I recently received confirmation from the editor of Orkideer, the Swedish orchid magazine, that my article on mounting orchids will be included in their April 2010 publication.

This is very exciting news for me since this is the first time a major publication has adopted one of my articles.

If you are an Orkideer subscriber, or if you are a hobbyist in that area, please check it out.

New Blooms

The weather is starting to warm up again, and some of the flowers are starting to open.

3 variations of Bc. Island Stars (?)

These were originally purchased as part of a single community pot (compot) of B. Little Stars x Bc. Maikai 'Hawaii'.
The registered cross name is Brassanthe Island Stars

Peach


Yellow/Green


Purple


Group photo


I cannot confirm if these are all in fact, Brassanthe Island Stars. But they were all labeled accordingly when I originally purchased them.


Other photos

Unidentified Oncidium



Growing Areas

12/26/2009 - Blooms update

Dendrobium NOID mounted on driftwood.

12/26/2009 Blooms update

Lc Puppy Love 'True Beauty' - All flowers open.