Cyp Progress

Cyps generally develop quite qiickly once the shoots break the soil. You can see that after another week, the potted Cyps on my growing shelf are really coming along. Pics in order: C. reginae, C. parviflorum, C. pubescens, C. 'Gisela'.

More Cyp Stuff

The top photo is the Cyp. parviflorum var. pubescens I pictured a week ago, with its leaves fully unfurled. It won't flower this year although it did last year; this I find is common with this species. After they take a year off however, they produce larger and more flowers the following year. The second pic is the Cyp. reginae I pictured earlier, still slowly, as reginae does, emerging. The third pic is another pubescens which I brought in a week ago, just peeking through. This one should (hopefully) flower - it flowered on two stems last year. It seems to have suffered some frost damage from the pot being plunged too high in the hole in the ground. I have also brought in a 'Gisela' which has not appeared yet.

Playing in the Dirt

Yesterday evening I decided to move my oldest Cyp. reginae plant, which bloomed for the first time last year, to a more favorable location in the garden. I gave it better soil, and a little more shade; the previous area was borderline too hot. It had nice long, healthy roots, so I dug it a bigger hole, as well. Soon I plan on moving my oldest Cyp. pubescens as well; it is getting too much shade and won't multiply.

Early Cypripediums

Regular readers of this blog will know that I grow a lot of Cypripediums, or hardy lady's slippers. I am experimenting with growing C. parviflorum (second pic) and C. reginae (first pic) in pots, which allows me to "wake them up" earlier in spring than the plants in my garden will rise (these are active at least a month before the garden plants will be). I am also growing some second year Cyp seedlings this year: C. californicum (third pic) and C. reginae f. albolabium (white form of C. reginae - fourth pic). The last pic shows the size difference between the rising C. parviflorum and the fully active seedlings.

Early Spring - Sempervivum

Sempervivum, or hens and chicks, are great little rock garden plants that spread to form a carpet of this beautiful evergreen foliage, flowering in the summer. I have three different varieties, which are visible again now that the snow is melted.

Signs of Spring

April in my area is the first month of spring. As the snow melts, the plants are always eager to peek through the soil. By the end of the month, I usually have tulips blooming (although this year is moving along slowly so it will likely not be until May). From top to bottom: tulips, Allium 'Purple Sensation', Tulipa tarda, Aquilegia jonesii.

Coelogyne tomentosa

Coelogyne are wonderful epiphytic plants from Asia that can quickly form large specimens like the one pictured here. This plant is growing in a 12" hanging basket. I find it quite difficult to keep because I have limited space, but I found this plant at such a great price in the fall and couldn't pass it up. I was surprised and excited one morning to find this spike in bud, and it is now in full bloom. Usually a plant of this size would produce many spikes at a time, but I have just a single spike - probably because I can only provide the plant with so much light. I plan on dividing this plant in the spring so that I can save some space - since it is only producing one spike at a time anyway. Besides the flowers being so attractive, they have perhaps the most pleasing fragrance I have ever observed in an orchid, making this a desirable plant indeed.

Paph. Ho Chi Minh

I have waited a long time to see one of my Ho Chi Minhs bloom! This is a cross between two Vietnamese species, P. delenatii and P. vietnamense.

OSA Show 2008 (3)

Cyp. parviflorum var. pubescens (top 2), Phrag. besseae, Paph delenatii.

OSA Show 2008 (2)

Phrag. Lutz Rollke, Paph. Lippewunder, Paph. concolor, Paph. Ho Chi Minh (delenatii x vietnamense), and a Paph. complex hybrid whose name has escaped me.

OSA Show 2008 (1)

The OSA orchid show and sale took place the weekend of Feb. 23-24 this year. I took pictures of some of the amazing slippers on display there. In order from top to bottom: Paph. bellatulum, Paph. Satin Smoke (micranthum x primulinum), Phrag. Eric Young (besseae x longifolium), Phrag. April Fool (Cardinale x schlimii), and Phrag. Schroderae (schlimii x caudatum).

A Refined Hobby

After several months of inactivity in my orchid growing hobby, I have removed some of my unwanted and damaged plants (from the frost in the fall) and replaced them with new ones that I've always wanted. As well, I am cleaning out my growing area and relocating it to an area where it will be easier to maintain. I have also decided to grow only slippers now, and will be focusing on Cypripediums, which are becoming more available in my area (finally!).

This past weekend featured the always-popular Orchid Society of Alberta (OSA) show here in Edmonton, and as always I was an avid attendee. I managed to make a few plant and supply purchases, one of which was an unlikely one: a Mexipedium xerophyticum (more on that later). The show had quite a good turnout and there were some fantastic plants both on display and for sale.

Another couple of great purchases I made at the show were some rare Cypripedium seedlings: Cyp. reginae f. albolabium (the white form) and Cyp. californicum, an amazing multifloral Cyp from Oregon and northern California. This is the only Cyp besides the Central American species (which are not in cultivation) that has multifloral inflorescences. Some pics will follow!

My Orchid Forums

To all my readers:

I am a member of Orchid Board (www.orchidboard.com) as slipperfreak, and Slippertalk Orchid Forum (www.slippertalk.com) as parvi_17. I encourage all two of you (hehe) to join these forums and chat with me and the other members. This information is now on the side panel.

Misc. Photos 2

These are also from July. The first is of Paph Norito Hasegawa (left) and Wossner Armenijack (right). The second is of Wossner Armenijack. The last is an unknown variety of Aquilegia (columbine). This was a little plant that wasn't doing much in a shady spot last year so I moved it to a brighter location and it flowered this year. It had been in the original spot since I was a little kid and my grandma worked the garden.

Misc. Photos

All of these were taken way back in July. The first photo is of Paeonia 'Moon of Nippon', a standard garden peony flowering for the first time. The second is Allium caeruleum (blue ornamental onion). The third is an unknown variety of Lilium martagon. The last is Lilium orientalis 'Casablanca', which grew to over 4 feet tall this year.

Phragmipedium pearcei

This is a quick photo I took about 6 weeks ago for my records as I bought the plant in bloom. It is a miniature species with these beautiful green flowers that open sequentially. These are not all that easy to get, and i was lucky to get one at a very good price. They like lots of moisture.

Winter is Upon Us... What Should I Do With My Orchids?

Well the yard has been covered with the first blanket of snow of the year. I guess for people who live in more moderate climates winter is still hiding around the corner, but for us it's pretty much here (and a little later than usual too). The question is though, what is to be done with tropical orchids when the photoperiod shortens and temperatures drop? Well, the first thing that must be done is just that. make sure the photoperiod shortens and temps drop. Depending on your growing situation, this may or may not be a natural change; usually the latter is harder to do in the home. The second thing you'll want to do, for most epiphytic orchids, is decrease water and fertilizer. If you're growing terrestrials (namely slippers) you don't need to do this most of the time (any readers who want to get more specific can ask me). It is also very easy and common for orchids to get confused about the seasons, and you will probably get plants growing like crazy and spiking over the winter. When this happens, just pretend it's summer. What I'm getting at is, it is actually more important to adjust your seasonal conditions following your plants' growth cycle than following the season outside.

Paph Envy Green

This is a much-loved but fairly rare hybrid that will likely cost you a pretty penny if you find one (not as much as a micranthum eburneum or anything, but more than the average Paph). I really like this particular clone which originates from Paramount Orchids, a (sort of) local nursery that carries some pretty hard-to-find Paph hybrids which is the source of over half my Paphs. It has a second bud forming as well.

Envy Green is a cross between the hard-to-beat Parvi species malipoense and the sequential blooming primulinum.

Paph Wossner Butterfly

This is a new Parvi cross between malipoense and
vietnamens-e. Slowly legal plants of the striking new Paph
vietnamens-e and its hybrids are creeping into Canadian nurseries, and I am excited to own this one. This is a unique specimen whose flower shape takes after the typical form of vietnamense - it looks basically like a green vietnamense! Most Wossner Butterfly clones I've seen look more like the other parent. Unfortunately this one isn't fragrant, though.

Phragmipedium Hanne Popow 'Strawberry Shortcake'

This plant has a bit of a story behind it. When I originally bought this plant last fall, I thought it was a Saint Ouen because of the way the tag was printed, "Phrag besseae x / Hanne Popow". If you look back closer to the front of the blog you'll see a post with a photo of its first flowering when it was purchased. The second blooming is a bit better (on 2 spikes and with better color and form); I've posted photos around the Net and took it to a society meeting where it won best Phrag at the show table (by default though). A member of the Slippertalk forum, who works for Ecuagenera (where I bought the plant) says that it has to be a Hanne Popow because they don't have a permit to export Saint Ouen. he says the tag must have been cut off where it should read "besseae x schlimii / Hanne Popow". Now that I have the ID straight, I've given it a clonal name too. This plant has been in bloom for about a month now and continues to produce buds. I've had even better color in its newer blooms so there may be more photos in the future.