Spring Update March

It's been a while since my last post. I've been to an Orchid Society meeting, and the Western North Carolina Orchid Society's annual show in Asheville. And of course, I've added a few new plants to my collection :) We finally closed on the house with the solarium, so my next post will likely be with a few shots in there- I'm so freaking excited, we both are and cannot wait for the change! There is a lot going on in my life right now in regards to changes, with work, school, and home- but it is so exciting!

Here are some photos from the WNCOS annual show:

Krull-Smith display table

Krull-Smith Phalaenopsis species and primaries sales table

BIG leaf orchids! Phal bellinas and giganteas- their leaves are enough to make you want to grow one. The leaf in the lower left side of the photo belongs to a Phal bellina (which smells a lot like Fruit Loops), and that leaf was as big as a dinner plate, and just as round.

This is a sibling to a plant that I purchased. It's label reads that it is a Phal corningiana sib cross, but most likely it's a primary hybrid with Phal venosa, making it Phal Dragon's Fire.

Phal speciosa x sibling

Phal venosa- decently large flower for this species

Phal Ba Shin Canary (or something like that)- very nice sweet fragrance.

From Orchidview's display

Phal Guadelupe Pineda (bellina x amboinensis)

This came home with me :) Phal (Ambomanniana x sumatrana)- it's a huge plant, the largest leaf must be the size of my forearm, it is extremely fragrant, although I'm not sure I'd say it's the most pleasant smell. Up close it smells like paint thinner, oddly enough.

Some other beauties that came home with me :) From left to right: Phal sumatrana (Many Flower x Dark Brown), Phal Double Eagle (corningiana 'Tejas Red' x sumatrana 'Tejas Treasure') and Phal corningiana ('Fernbrook' x '2002'). These are all huge and beautiful plants unlike anything I've ever seen for this cheap. The middle plant was $15 at the show! 

Recent Developments at home:

Phal  modesta ('Yaphon' x self)- This is from a recent order from BigLeaf Orchids in Texas. This is by way of Yaphon Orchid Nursery in Taiwan ( I believe). Smell reminds me of vanilla, almost like an artifical vanilla birthday cake smell. I saw my first Phal modesta just days before this one bloomed at the WNCOS annual show, but it had a much different smell, like the smell from grape flavored Tylenol. You can see that this is not a large plant, so it's blooming at a smaller than average size for most Phals.

Phal Dragon's Fire (venosa x corningiana)- This is another new plant that I got along with Phal modesta from BigLeaf Orchids. I saw this online, even though I pre-ordered one from the same batch back in June, and knew that it was mine! The flower is a bit faded but you get the idea, nice orange tones, and it should be very fragrant thanks to Phal corningiana! Looking forward to making crosses with this one!

Phalaenopsis pallens- this one always makes me sing the song 'Yellow Polka-dot bikini'. This is a cute miniture species that produces baby plantlets (keikis) like crazy! It's sadly not fragrant, but it's adorable and reliable so it stays! At it's height it had 7 open flowers this year on a plant with a 3 inch leaf span with a keiki. Considering crossing to my Phal modesta since they are similar in size.

And possibly the most exciting news yet, here is a photo of a flask of seedlings that I had a professional do for me. This is work from Orchid Origins:

You can already see tiny leaves and roots! So excited for my own cross. Since this is a sibling (sib) cross of the same species they will pretty much look the same but each will be unique in it's own way.

This is one of the crosses, and the other is the exact reverse.

The flasks that I did on my own did not turn out so great. Four of the five did not germinate at all, only one did. And that flask had most of the seeds turn brown- which I've been told is not a good sign. So I made a ghetto sterilized environment from a dry-cleaning bag, cut holes for some rubber gloves, sealed it all up and fumigated the interior with bleach fumes, much like I did with the flask, and even sprayed and wiped down the interior with a water-bleach solution. I've got my fingers crossed that the protocorms I was able to salivage will make it.