Bloom events - epidendrum, Prosthechea, Camaridium and Trichopilia

Following what might be considered quite a meaty post earlier on, I thought I'd lighten the mood with a few pretty pictures of Orchids from my collection that are in bloom at the moment. The sharp eyed among you might notice that these photos have all appeared on Instagram before now. As I get 'caught up' with all that is going on at the moment photos will appear at more or less the same time. Additionally, I will post photos on here showing my cultural environment, and more of the icky pictures showing that not everything succeeds!

Epidendrum plastic doll

 Epidendrum plastic doll is a primary hybrid between E. pseudepidendrum (note spelling) and E. ilense. As you can see, it is very like the former and almost nothing like the latter. It appears an easy but not fast grower, and the canes are still increasing in size from year to year. No scent that I can detect. The flowers are quite long lasting, and flower spikes are produced from the top of the canes. spikes should not be cut off as they may produce flowers again in future. This plant seems a magnet for red spider mites, but this might not be such an issuer for growers with a cooler growing area.

Prosthechea trulla (lancifolia)

 I purchased this plant a couple of years ago labelled as Prosthechea lancifolia. I have a great liking for Prosthechea species, and this one is a real gem. Highly fragrant, one spike of flowers fills the growroom with a lovely spicy scent. From what I have read, Prosthechea lancifolia is now considered a synonym of Prosthechea cochleata, and this plant resembles P. cochleata in no way whatsoever. It seems that many plants in the trade that are labelled as P. lancifolia are in fact P. trulla, and research of P. trulla seems to bear this out. Also, P. lancifolia is not, as far as I'm aware, fragrant at all and neither is P. cochleata.

Camaridium praestans

Camaridium praestans is a reliable and fast grower and easy bloomer. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs from the sheaths surrounding a newly completed pseudobulb. It may bloom at any time of the year. I have three Camaridium species, but two are recent aquisitions and haven't bloomed yet. The flowers are not fragrant, but do have really great colouring. Plants in the genus camaridium used to be part of the much larger genus Maxillaria, and I can't help but fall into bad habits and continue to call them Maxillaria.

Trichopilia hennisiana

Trichopilia hennisiana seems another good grower under my conditions, and this is its second blooming since I got hold of it. It blooms as new growth is completed and usually carries two or three flowers per spike. The flowers sadly don't last very long which might explain why Trichopilia are not often seen at shows. A week seems to be the maximum for me. They are slightly fragrant, but you really have to stick your nose in them to pick it up. Luckily, they are truly handsome and worth the wait.