Recent Blooms

Now that summer is officially over all the orchids are back inside! I had to setup my old 50 Gallon Aquarium to house all the plants, and some of the larger 'chids are hanging on the driftwood in our kitchen.

I am happy with this current setup so far. I am really excited about having all the orchids growing together, easier to maintain, and water. Plus I can pull up a chair and sit infront of all the 'chids at the table, which is where I am currently, writing this blog!

So onto my most recent blooms! My Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica has rewarded 3 years of attention and care with a few blooms this year :) The last time it bloomed the form was a little off, not as symmetical as I was hoping, but I have hope seeing this year's blooms that future displays will be very nice. As of today, October 10th, I have not detect any fragrance, which is somewhat disappointing, since this species is supposed to be fragrant, but it could still happen. Here is a photo of the blooms.

This species is named due to the intricate markings on the flower segments, which some say resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs. 

the lip on this species can be very fuzzy, and I love it!!! I want to put the pollen to use, but I only have one other plant currently in bloom. Although I do have quite a few things that are coming into bloom in the next month or so.

Here is another plant putting on a display.

a little bit of backlighting to show the variation in color.

This is Phalaenopsis corn-cervi fma chattaladae. This form of the species is considered the only known entirely red Phalaenopsis species. Other forms of this species displays red bars or red dots on the petals and sepals (which are the outer flower segments, or the flower segments that keep the petals and lip enclosed while the bud is developing). I named this orchid after my sweetheart, so formally this is called Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi fma chattaladae 'Redfearn'. Redfearn is a family name that has been passed down through the generations. This flower is lightly fragrant, and it reminds me of sawdust- which I find very pleasing. If you look closely you can see a flower in the background that has a lot of green pigments in the flower segments, I recently took pollen of my Phalaenopsis Penang Girl (venosa x violacea indigo) and put it on this orchid. I am looking for fragrant red star-shaped everblooming flowers on vigorous plants. 

So that is all for now, in a few weeks I hope to have a few more plants blooming- including a very small seedling of Phalaenopsis (Penang Girl x Corning's Violet) that has produced one small bud. I am looking forward to see what this bloom turns out like, but even more excited to smell it! Phalaenopsis Corning's Violet is a primary between Phalaenopsis corningiana x Phalaenopsis violacea, both extremely fragrant species, yet Phalaenopsis corningiana has an intense grape candy like fragrance- amazing!!! So I shall update when this orchid blooms- regardless of the quality of the bloom!

Since my last post I have once again picked up the toothpick to make some more hybrids! 

Pollinated 8/23/2012- With this cross, Phal (Sogo Gotris 'Flora Arc' x speciosa 'C#1'), I am lookinng to get multi-flora (many flowers) small red flowers, with strong color, and hopefully faint fragrance. Phal speciosa (aka tetraspis) 'C#1'- a widely disputed specie, is know for passing on strong red color to it's progeny. I have not used Phal Sogo Gotris 'Flora Arc' for breeding, nor do I recall seeing any of it's progeny, but it was one of the first Phals that I got a rebloom from, and since I purchased it in 2009 it has rebloomed consistently each year. 

Pollinated 8/26/2012- This next cross, Phal (Spica 'Florence' x Penang Girl 'Très'), should be fragrant as well, since both parents are fragrant. Phal Spica 'Florence' is a widely known culitvar, and a primary hybrid between Phal. lueddemanniana (see my plant list) and Phal. fasciata (which I have no photo of currently). Phal Spica has a pleasant floral fragrance, which is detectable during the morning hours. It has been a reliable bloomer for me as well. This plant originated from the UNC-Charlotte McMillian Greenhouses, and was gifted to me as a small keiki from a worker there. This cross should give lots of red/yellow flowers with bright pink lip, and pleasant fragrance.

 Below is a photo of both parents, for size comparison, on the pollination day. 

This is the pod developing!

 Below is the developing seed pod of a cross from my first post, Phal (Samera 'Mija' x Penang Girl 'Très'). It's getting fat!

In the next coming weeks I should be trying to make some more hybrids since I have several things coming into bloom! Be on the look out for a new post soon!

Welcome to my first blog post. If you know me, you know that I have an obsession- Orchids, specifically Phalaenopsis species and primary hybrids. These are but a few of the unique and exotic plants that nature has bestowed upon us- well atleast the species. Primary hybrids are a cross between two species, some do rarely occur in the wild, others are man-made. Today I would like to share some of the orchids I have been growing and have recently bloomed.

These beauties smell delicious :) The top two are the same specie, Phalaenopsis violacea, which smells like cinnamon bubble gum. The bottom is a primary hybrid called Phalaenopsis Penang Girl, one of it's parents is the indigo, or blue Phalaenopsis violacea, and the other is Phalaenopsis venosa, which I'll included a photo of below. Phal. Penang Girl fragrance reminds me of incense...

Phal. venosa smells smokey, and my partner has even described it as savory. 

I've been growing Phalaenopsis orchids for about 3 years now, and find it very rewarding. Part of the fun is that growing is a constant learning experience! A new venture I have recently started is hybridizing. Below are some of my recent crosses:

 Pollinated 3/30/12- This cross is a sibling cross between the two Phalaenopsis violacea shown in the first photo, in which you can see the green flower pod on the right side. Since I have used them to breed, I should go ahead and give them a name so that I can differentiate between the plants if I want to make future crosses. On a plant label this cross would look like this : Phalaenopsis violacea ('Mister' x 'Lady'). The flower on the left in the diptych is the pod parent, the pollen parent is on the right. It is generally believed that the pod parent influences genetics more strongly than the pollen, so I can expect progeny that are both magenta and indigo. And of course these will have the wonderful cinnamon bubble gum fragrance of Phal. violacea.

Pollinated 3/30/12- This cross is the reverse of the cross mentioned above, Phalaenopsis violacea ('Lady' x 'Mister'). The pollen parent ('Mister') has an indigo parent in it's lineage. So I'm using the indigo as the pod parent in hopes to get more indigo colored Phal. violacea, but expect several magentas as well. 

**As of 9/10/12 both pods have been harvested and sent off to a lab for flasking!**

Phal Samera 'Mija' x Phal Penang Girl 'Très' 

Pollinated 7/8/2012-  Both parents in this cross are primary hybrids, both with one common parent- indigo colored Phalaenopsis violacea. Using Phalaenopsis Samera 'Mija' as the pod parent could potentially yield a rare indigo, but either way this cross is bound to be interesting and it will be extremely fragrant. The size ratio between the two images is about right for all these crosses.

So now I have pollinated several of the orchids, and have some 'chids coming into bloom in the coming weeks. All I have to do now is wait and hope that all the pods make it to maturity and yield many seeds. And then there is the challenge of raising seeds from flask, but that's a whole other adventure!