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Post by joe on Jan 5, 2007 18:13:36 GMT -5
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Post by cina on Jan 5, 2007 18:17:27 GMT -5
I for one am glad you got a bit of spring down there  |
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Post by Cher on Jan 5, 2007 21:00:33 GMT -5
Wow that's neat Joe, is that some kind of an orchid?
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jan 5, 2007 22:01:21 GMT -5
wonder why it hasn't bloomed in so long? you must have done something differently this past year that caused it to bloom. beautiful flower joe!
kim
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Post by stoner on Jan 5, 2007 22:21:59 GMT -5
Ah yes, springtime! And life begins anew.
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Post by joe on Jan 5, 2007 23:17:00 GMT -5
Yep, it's an orchid. It was given to me 20 years ago and has only bloomed a few times and none of them in the past ten years. I've given up trying to figure this one out.
Outdoor spring may take a lot longer to arrive, the glacier in my neighborhood has to melt first!
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rockhard
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2006
Posts: 227
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Post by rockhard on Jan 8, 2007 3:44:05 GMT -5
Cool! This gives me hope for my recalcitrant Paph. orchid too, like yours but a darker maroon flower. It used to bloom every year with several flowers- back when I had a greenhouse.
It's not so excited about living in the kitchen. They're known as "low light" orchids, but that's relative, mine only bloomed well when it was in the same bright light as the epiphytic cacti.
Edit- Haha! I just noticed that there is an epiphytic cactus (Rhipsalis) in the first picture with the orchid lol.
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Post by joe on Jan 8, 2007 9:35:04 GMT -5
Hey Rockhard, thanks! I never knew the names of either of these plants 'till you posted. I've had that cactus thing since 1978 and never knew what it was. I'm scribbling down names as I read your post. What is the full name of Paph? Sorry, I don't know what the abbrevation stands for. Thanks again for the info.
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jan 9, 2007 18:55:55 GMT -5
Wonderful flower- I have never had the courage to try orchids- My wife has some Christmas Cacti- man they were loaded with blooms this year (started budding in early Nov. and are still flowering!)
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rockhard
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2006
Posts: 227
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Post by rockhard on Jan 12, 2007 6:01:59 GMT -5
Cool Joe- I used to be a plant guy before the current job demanded something that wouldn't die of neglect.
The orchid is in the genus Paphiopedilum, but the ones sold to the general public are complex hybrids so I can't give a species name. They're a tropical relative of the American native 'Lady's Slipper' orchids. It's a terrestrial orchid, meaning in the wild it grows in the ground instead of up on trees and rocks like so many other greenhouse orchids do.
The cactus is one of the many epiphytic ones in Rhipsalis, R. baccifera or a similar one. It's been in cultivation so long it must have a dozen different names.
Orchids and cacti are both notorious for getting hyperactive botanists (yes, there really is such an animal.) to switch around their scientific names too often to keep up with. Rhipsalis was recently divided into a bunch of different genera, but I think yours is still under that name. Easter cactus used to be a Rhipsalidopsis, but I think it's a Hatiora now... Christmas cactus was Zygocactus, have no idea what it is now... but they're all related.
Stefan- try one of the "mini Dendrobium" hybrids on a bright kitchen or bathroom windowsill. I had those things growing like weeds with about as much care as a regular cactus. Not sensitive miniature species, these are commercial hybrids- Mine came from a grocery store, they came in the purple, pink, white range and bicolors. I had them in a half and half blend of orchid "mix" and fine orchid bark, and let them completely dry out between waterings.
Paph's definitely don't like to dry out that much, as my suffering one here can attest.
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