Orchids in Bloom: 2012

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Dendrobium pentapterum

Dendrobium pentapterum is another Oxyglossum Dendrobium from New Guinea. The plant is 10 cm tall with 3 cm pale green flowers that have an bright orange tip to the lip. Its most remarkable feature however, is its floriferousness. It has as many as four flowers at a time from each growth that last up to six months and it continues to bloom from the older growths over many years. My plant at present is in an 8 cm clay pot and has over 80 flowers on, so crowded that it is hard to see where one ends and another begins. I had thought about taking it in for judging but discovered that another plant had been awarded with 170 flower, mine not even having half that amount.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Stelis ciliolata 'Leia' CHM/AOS

This plant and the photos I've taken of have gotten some attention recently. A close-up of the flowers was used on the cover of the December 2012 issue of Orchids, the magazine of the American Orchid Society. That is a real honor which I've had only once before and that exactly a year ago (December 2011). Both the original photo and the cover are shown below.

Last Saturday was the monthly judging of the Pacific Northwest Center, held at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington. If I had known how bad traffic was going to be I probably would have stayed home, but in the end was glad I went. This plant was given a Certificate of Horticultural Merit at the judging and now has the clonal name 'Leia.'

It was awarded with "approximately 100 dark red-purple successive flowers and 216 buds on 40 mature and 10 immature ... inflorescences," and the description mentioned the "striking color contrast on a floriferous petite plant." The plant is from Ecuador, blooms faithfully every year at about this time and is grown in a 6 cm clay pot in sphagnum moss with other cool growing orchids.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Paphiopedilum venustum

My Paphiopedilum venustum is in bloom once again with two flowers. I like the species, but the flowers on my plant are quite small and the petals reflex back behind the flowers which was especially disappointing when it first bloomed. The flowers are still beautiful, however, and I decided do a series of macro photos to show some of the details of this remarkable species, a good example of the odd colors and forms in the genus Paphiopedilum. The species, by the way is from the Himalayas.

flower front

flower close-up front

flower back

petal

dorsal sepal

staminode and top of pouch

pouch side and front

pouch top and interior

flower side

Monday, December 10, 2012

Northwest Orchid Society Show

This post is long overdue. The show featured in the post was held last spring and I have only now gotten around to sorting the pictures and posting some of them here for your perusal.

The Northwest Orchid Society draws from the Seattle area and is larger than our own Mount Baker Orchid Society. Its show is held every spring at a large nursery in Shoreline, Washington.

I did not have a display in the show or plants in the Mount Baker Society display, but did attend and brought several plants for American Orchid Society judging, three of which were awarded.

Shows are notoriously difficult for good pictures, though this show is better than many with a lot of table top exhibits backed with black velvet. I apologize for the poor quality of some pictures

I apologize, too, for the fact that I did not get all the names. I make a practice of photographing the tags along with the plants, but in some cases forget to do so or do not find a name with the plant.

CATTLEYA ALLIANCE

Brassolaeliocattleya Ann Morning 'Paradise'