Today was the October OS meeting. I came home with some amazing and hard-to-find plants on my most wanted list. I also captured some great slipper orchid pics at the show, which I'll post in the near future. Today I acquired:
Paph Ho Chi Minh (delenatii x vietnamense)
Paph delenatii
Phrag Hanne Popow (besseae x schlimii)
Phrag schlimii
Dendrobium seedling (unknown speces/cultivar)
Cypripedium reginae (my second one)
Cyp. macranthos
Paph Ho Chi Minh is a fantastic new hybrid between the famous P. delenatii and the recently discovered P. vietnamense. The huge flowers look like delenatii but have a darker lip. It retains the fragrance and compact habit of both its parents, and has caused a sensation. Mass-produced in the US, it's not easy to get one in Canada, but I got lucky. A bloom-sized seedling for $30.
Paph delenatii is the most well-known Paph species and respresents its group well. It has always been up there on my list. Large pink lip with white tepals (sepals and petals). Beautiful mottled leaves. Bloom-sized mature plant for $35.
Phrag Hanne Popow is a very popular hybrid beween the two most colorful Phrag species. Because both its parents are miniatures, it's a compact plant. It has the shape of besseae with the color of schlimii (light rosy-pink with yellow staminode). A sequential bloomer, it produces up to 10 flowers on a spike. A blooming plant for $25.
Phrag schlimii is a collector's item. It's hard to find and worthwhile, for its delightful rosy-pink flowers with a yellow staminode. Its round shape is reminiscent of our native Cyps. What's more, is it's a full miniature, less than half the size of a caudatum-group Phrag or a (caudatum x besseae) type hybrid. For the most part it grows the same as besseae but likes a fairly coarse medium for Phrags. An in-spike plant for $20 (though fairly small).
Cyp reginae is my favorite Cyp, with its large fuschia lip and white tepals. It forms large, bushy clumps over time. An awesome garden plant. Bloom-sized plants usually are expensive, but my big BS divison (4 growths) was only $25.
Cyp macranthos is a must-have Cyp. An Asian species with large red or pink flowers. Its compact habit makes it great for front-border or rock gardens. Large BS divison (5 growths) for $25.
Last month I had the pleasure of viewing a fantstic specimen of longifolium var. gracile; this time around I spotted a 4' longifolium! These flowers were about 6" across (at least). It had 2 spikes open at once.
This was an amazing specimen of this difficult species. It had some 8 flowers open!
Phrag. Hanne Popow (besseae x schlimii) is one of my favorite orchids, and I was very fortunate to see it on display at the last OS meeting. What a fantastic speciman! It had at least 10 spikes open! Quite compact, too.
re variety of the species which was also shown at the OS meeting. A great speciman with many spikes. Longifolium is sequential flowering and quite easy ti grow. One thing I noticed about var. gracile is its compact size (for a Phrag!).
This is one of my favorite parvi hybrids and was being shown at the last (Sept) orchid society meeting. It is (armeniacum x delenatii), I believe.
This is my first and only Brassia, which I picked up a couple weeks ago. Brassia are very unique and interesting orchids and you can see why they are often called "spider orchids". Besides being very dramatic, the flowers are quite fragrant. Brassia can grow with Odontoglossums, but prefer a little brighter light.
This fantastic clone was awarded the prestigous Highly Commended Certificate by the American Orchid Society (Division). It's the only awarded orchid I have, and I'm very proud of it. My Miltoniopsis perished in the heat of July; Odontonias are a little more tolerant of culture inefficiencies such as high temperatures and this one did fine. Odontonia is (Odontoglossum x Miltonia) and as you can see, the flowers resemble those of Miltoniopsis but are smaller with a less-significant-but-still-showy lip. This particular clone is quite floriferous and easy to bloom.
Phrag. Grande (caudatum x longifolium) is the best caudatum-type hybrid in my opinion. Having been bred in the late 1800s, it's tried and true. It has very large, dramatic flowers with a rich mahogany lip, lighter sepals and long, spiralling, purple-pink petals up to a foot long. A mature plant reaches 2.5-3' tall in spike, and it produces 2-6 flowers on a spike which are open more or less at the same time. It will bloom for many weeks in this way. To bloom, it needs high light levels (like a west or south window). This type of phrag is best not grown in water like the besseae types but should be watered frequently. Also, they tolerate tap water better than the besseae types. I bought this plant very recently at a local orchid society meeting for $65.
To be honest I have no idea what "Z4135" is but I suspect it's a clone of Maudiae, since this wonderful hybrid has mottled leaves (unlike charlesworthii). The flowers are also a deep purple-red throughout; charlesworthii has more of a tannish pouch and petals, and the petals are smaller (and the pouch is rounder). However the flower retains the veining and spectacular dorsal of charles. I spotted this hybrid in full bloom a couple weeks ago and it's still blooming at home! Charlesworthii is one of my fav paph species and this should hold me until I get one!
If you like delphiniums but you don't have a sunny spot for them, monkshood (Aconitum spp.) is the answer to all your problems! Though they don't look exactly like delphiniums, they are very similar with these sprays of interesting flowers (and grow tall), and they actually prefer shade!
I have a grouping of 10 Acidanthera bicolor (peacock gladiolus), and for some reason one of them made this unusual flower.
The new Firecracker series of garden mums is outstanding. 'Suncatcher' has sun-yellow flowers with fluted florets.
I love delphiniums and this may be my favorite cultivar. Blue is my favorite color and it really is difficult to find a true blue flower - this satisfies.
This is an outstanding beebalm cultivar. This plant is no more than 8" tall and the lilac flowers are absolutely gorgeous. Perfect for the front of a sunny or shady border, the foliage is very aromatic and it attracts butterflies.
