Cattlianthe Betty von Paulsen 'Drops of Gold'

Cattlianthe Betty von Paulsen 'Drops of Gold' is the cross made from Cattleya Hazel Abel x Guarianthe aurantiaca. This has just finished blooming. The flowers are very pretty and very long-lasting.

I took it out of the pot to divide and re-pot. I wanted to show you the roots and one of the reasons I like rocks. The roots have formed a nice cage with plenty air. After a brief soaking, I will be able to remove the rocks and spread out the roots with minimal damage. I will remove a backbulb division and stake the remainder up. I will try to remember to rotate the plant once in awhile so that it doesn't lean. The light in Sonoma is very bright toward the south wall of the greenhouse.

Cattleya dowiana aurea

At Christmas I bought myself a present, 10 Cattleya dowiana aurea seedlings. The plants were healthy with 7 of the 10 having visible new growth.

The last of these plants died this month. I think I didn't treat them enough like seedlings or the difference in conditions was too much for the young plants. A couple died right away and I never found the right place for them as they kept dying.

I am not sure what I learned except to be shy of seedlings.

Cymbidium Hybrids

I get as many, if not more, opportunities for free cymbidiums as any other orchid. I don't take them because I have no space for them. The few I have had died from the combination of too much sun in the summer and too much water in the winter.

While the new growing area is not being built for growing Cymbidiums, I am going to give them space for a 12-foot double row of plants along the east side of the space. They grow in conditions just like Laelia anceps and will not take any space away from the plants hanging overhead. I don't know that I will buy any, but at least I can take free Cymbidiums with a clear conscience.

Dendrobium wasselii

This Dendrobium wasselii was an impulse buy from the SCOS member sale table. This is a piece of a very large plant. There are 13 pseudobulbs and trailing roots. It is fastened to a small cork mount just so the plant has a hanger of some sort.

Dendrobium wasselii grows in Queensland Australia at around 1000 feet at the edge of rainforest areas. It is warm to hot growing, blooms spring through fall and needs bright light. It is also known as Dockrillia wasselii.

I saw the plant this piece was taken from Tuesday evening at our meeting. It is a large plant with flowers all over. Very nice. The talk was about "specimen" plants in the sense we use it as opposed to the botanical definition. To us, a specimen plant is a large plant that has been allowed to grow. There is a bit more to growing them for show than just waiting, however.

The speaker, Cindy Hill from San Francisco is a expert at growing these large plants. I have seen several of them in San Francisco and she is a good speaker. But instead of inspiring me to grow one, I am more convinced than ever to let others do the growing.

Growing Area Hangers

The last remaining task to get the new growing area ready for the open house is to put up a way to hang plants. That's the main reason for this area, to have a sheltered place to grow Mexican Laelia plants in hanging pots.

The picture above is of the hangers in the greenhouse. They are 2-foot pieces of 3/4-inch dowel running between the ceiling beams. They are resting on 1x2-inch boards that have notches to keep the dowels in place. They provide both a place to hang from and a support for temporary shade-cloth panels.

The beams in the new growing area are also spaced 2 feet apart and so I will use almost the same method. It is plenty strong enough for heavy clay pots. The only difference is that I will make the notches 9 inches apart instead of 6 inches.

I painted some 4-foot lengths of 1x4 pine and and drew a line down the middle from one end to the other. At 9-inch intervals I mark where I will drill a 1-inch hole. After the holes are drilled I will cut the wood along the line so that 1/2 half of the hole is on either side of the cut. When these are screwed to the beams and painted, there will be perfectly spaced matched notches for the dowels.

Bulbophyllum facetum

This Bulbophyllum facetum is mounted on a 6x10-inch piece of cork. There are 13 pseudobulbs. The plant is healthy, if a bit rough looking. It has a flower open and 5 more buds. These are long-lasting flowers so they will all be open for the open-house in three weeks.

The genus Bulbophyllum (Bulb) contains 1500 species found in all tropical areas on earth.

Bulbophyllum facetum grows throughout the northern island of the Philippines in the mountains. It is warm to hot growing.

I bought this plant from the member sale table at our (SCOS) spring sale. It had eight pseudobulbs and it is almost doubled it two years. Many of the pseudobulbs had two new growths.

Cattleya aurantiaca

For some time last year I tried to add whatever small Laelia and Cattleya species I could without spending too much money. This Cattleya aurantiaca was one of them. I got two plants and divided each, placing them in separate micro climates. This is the first of these to bloom.

Cattleya aurantiaca grows in Mexico and El Salvador in rain forests. It is cool to warm growing and blooms in winter and spring.

This plant is in bark over peanuts in a 2 1/2-inch plastic pot. There are three pseudobulbs and a new growth. It is in the clay pot because it is tippy. I should have staked it. I have been doing more staking.

The micro climate for this plant was very little like what I imagine for a rainforest, very hot and bright, not much watering. The 4 pieces are all growing but this one is the only one to flower.

Dendrobium Silver Wings x Stephen Batchelor

This PNG hybrid has been in the collection for three years. It is potted in rock and lives in Sonoma. It has grown from three canes to ten and has five spikes this year. The picture is of two of them.

Growing Area has a Roof

Two pieces of good news today. First, the new growing area for the Mexican Laelias and Cymbidiums has a roof. It is ready for the dowel hangers. I will start making them today.

The second is that the Laelia Canariensis is sprouting in the backbulb portion of the plant and the lead parts continue to grow well. This will be one of the first plants to go into the new grow area. If you want a division of this plant, Steve Christoffersen has one for sale. I will sell one in 2012.

Howeara Lava Burst 'Puanani' AM/AOS

Howeara Lava Burst is Howeara Mini-Primi x Rodriguezia lanceolata. This plant is mounted on a 6-inch branch with growing live roots trailing 20 inches down. There are three pseudobulbs with three spikes on the newest growth.

The flowers are starting to open. They have developed slowly and they are branching. There is exactly 4 weeks until the open house and this plant should be one of the high points in the display.

Cattleya dormaniana

I power-washed the roof of the greenhouse and I got 1000 ft-candles of light back. That's a good thing, right? Yes and no.

Cattleya dormaniana grows in Brazil to the south of Rio in the Organ Mountains. It is cold to warm growing, blooms in the fall and needs very bright light. It needs a dry winter rest period.

This plant is mounted on a 4x7-inch piece of cork. There are four pseudobulbs and two new growths. The new growths reflect the change in light level. It looks as if I am going to have to put up some shade cloth panels.