Rhyncholaelia digbyana

I don't have proper notes on this plant. I got it last year and forgot to catalog it. It has grown well this year but I am a little worried about the roots. It is potted in lava rock which holds quite a bit of water. In my environment it gets watered every day and I count on quick drainage.

Rhyncholaelia digbyana grows from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. It is cool to warm growing, fragrant, needs bright light and blooms in summer. It is used in many hybrids. It is often called Brassavola digbyana. The genus Rhyncholaelia (Rhynch) contains 2 species that were formerly included in Brassavola. They grow in Central America and are fragrant tropical epiphytes needing bright light.

When the flowers have had a chance to fully open I will see about getting a flower picture. I like to have the flower picture go with the exact plant if at all possible. The picture on this post was taken at the SFOS show and tell table.

Cattleya lueddemanniana (‘SVOII’ x ‘SVO’)

I keep complaining about needing to reduce my plant count, but I am an addict. I just bought a seedling Cattleya lueddemanniana from Jewell Orchids on eBay.

Cattleya lueddemanniana grows on the northern coast of Venezuela. It is fragrant, warm to hot growing and needs bright light. It blooms in summer or fall.

The plant came in sphagnum over peanuts in a 2-inch plastic pot. I popped it out and saw some roots, about what would go with the size of the top. I added more sphagnum and re-potted in a 2 1/2-inch clay pot. The flower picture is the one with the listing. Since this is from seed, the actual flower may or may not look similar.

Cadetia taylori

You can see the old leaf on the left. I moved this from Sonoma two years ago when it looked very close to death. It didn't seem to do much in 2010 but this year is making a comeback. The green is all recovery growth this year.

The genus Cadetia (Cad) contains about 50 species from primarily New Guinea. They need lots of water and low light.

Cadetia taylori grows in Eastern Australia and New Guinea in tropical forests at low elevations. It is warm to hot growing, low light, high humidity. It blooms spring and fall.

Cattleya aclandiae 'Iguassu' x 'Valley Isle'

I bought this Cattleya aclandiae 'Iguassu' x 'Valley Isle' seedling in the spring of 2010 and mounted it in July of that year. The plant has grown well in the past year. More important, there is great root growth. This is a picture of the back of the mount.

Cattleya aclandiae grows in Brazil in dry areas near the coast. It is fragrant, warm to hot growing and blooms in spring and fall.

This plant is mounted on a 6x10-inch piece of cork bark. There are six pseudobulbs. I am not sure how close this is to blooming size. It is described as a dwarf species so I have my fingers crossed for flowers next spring. Roll over the picture on the right to see the growth since it was mounted last year.

Epidendrum peperomia

I was looking around for small plants to trade when I saw this Epidendrum peperomia in bloom.

This is one of those plants that looks too small to be anything, so I was glad it was blooming. This species will form a mat and flowers will come from all parts of the plant. It is very impressive in a "large" plant.

Epidendrum peperomia grows from Nicaragua to Ecuador in pine and oak forests. Cool to warm growing, low light. AKA Neolehmannia porpax.

NOID Phal

I get a lot of free Phal hybrids that originally came from Big Box. They are in a variety of conditions and seldom have tags. I usually don't add them to the catalog because I don't want to keep them.

I made an exception in this case because it still had buds when I got it and the roots look good. I put it outside with the Laelia anceps where the buds have developed and started to open. The flowers are about 1 1/2-inch wide. Small, but lots of them from the look of the old nodes on the stem. The flowers are pretty and I was able to get a nice picture.

Bulbophyllum Wilbur Chang

Everyone loves a long lasting sequential blooming plant. Bulbophyllum Wilbur Chang is one, and it has been in bloom since I got it three months ago. It is showing no sign of stopping with the bud of the next flower already formed.

Bulbophyllum Wilbur Chang is the cross Bulbophyllum echinolabium x Bulbophyllum carunculatum.

The plant has new growth from two places and there will be a third sprout off of the pseudobulb with the spike. I will make it into three divisions.

These divisions are not salable right away because of how the leaves look. They had a fungus at one time and they are permanently marred. The fungus is long gone and the plant is fine but will take a couple of years before it looks healthy.

Coelogyne flaccida

Over in Google+ we are talking about Coelogyne flaccida and how it is likely to sulk, that is take a couple of years to recover when re-potted. I sent off a sprouted backbulb division to one of the group to grow. The discussion got me curious and I found a division I had made in February. The picture above was taken today and the one below in the middle of February when it was re-potted.

Coelogyne flaccida grows from northern India through south China in mountain forests in the 3000 to 6000 foot range. It is cold to cool growing and is fragrant.

This plant is in sphagnum moss in a 3 1/2-inch plastic pot. There were three pseudobulbs and a new growth and now a second new growth has started. February's new growth is still maturing. I will be watching this plant to see how large the new pseudobulbs get.

My theory on the subject is that there are some species that I have to divide at just the right time and others that can be divided on a more relaxed schedule. If the vendor tells me that a species doesn't like to have its roots disturbed, I have learned to pay attention and always wait for new growth to divide.

Laelia lundii

A year ago I got a large Laelia lundii and broke it up into smaller pieces. I kept the pieces in a bowl until they sprouted in January and I mounted all of them except one that had not sprouted.

Laelia lundii grows in Brazil on the coastal mountains. It is warm growing, fragrant and blooms winter and spring. The flower picture is of Lealia lundii 'Grace'.

The three backbulb piece sprouted in late spring and sat in a clay pot until now. I would say to myself, "You should really do something with that" every time I saw it, but I didn't until yesterday. Instead of mounting it I put it into a 3 1/2 clay pot.