Bloom Event - Phalaenopsis micholitzii x tetraspis

It feels like ages since I've sat in front of my computer and written blog posts (well, let's face it, it has been) so it's nice to be back at least for now. Hopefully you'll follow my Facebook page and Instagram account so you'll realise I've not been quite as lazy as it may appear.

Phalaenopsis micholitzii x tetraspis was given to me quite some time ago (three or four years, probably) by a friend who said it wouldn't flower. It was sold to him as 'flowering size' (I know, we've all fallen into that trap) by a dealer who had a 'reputation', lets say. I can't comment on my own behalf as I've never dealt with them and they are now out of business as far as i'm aware. The plant was very healthy, but nowhere near flowering size.

With parents like P. micholitzii and P. tetraspis I would expect the plant to be on the small side, but I would probably describe them both as small rather than miniature (there are some truly tiny Phalaenopsis species), and a fairly small hybrid would be expected. They are in fact fairly similar species and are related (google the species and note the little shaving brush lip they both have). P. micholitzii is a nice enough species but rather plain coloured while P. tetraspis is white with varying red markings. I'm not sure what the purpose behind the hybrid is (except to see what we get) as only one of the parents might be regarded as showy.

At any rate, by this time last year, I figured the plant must be reaching flowering size and, lo and behold,  it promptly put out two flower spikes, which didn't produce any buds. This isn't unusual and as a bonus the spikes have stayed green. This year, the plant put out a third spike while the two original spikes have produced buds, two of which are now open.

As you can see, it isn't the easiest to get a decent photo of. The slightly muddy colour of P. micholitzii has carried through (I actually rather like that ivory colour), as have the reddish markings of P. tetraspis (though they could be a bit bolder if I'm being super picky).

You can make out the quirky shaving brush lip in the above slightly older photo (I'm rather impatient, so the flower isn't fully open). I'm aware that the Phalaenopsis I grow are mostly not the showy, floriferous (gaudy, some might say) hybrids of the garden centre and supermarket, I choose to focus instead on the species and more simple hybrids because I find them more interesting and 'orchid like'.

The plant itself is well behaved, as you'd expect any Phalaenopsis to be, and appears to produce flower spikes during the autumn for winter blooming as is usually the case for Phalaenopsis under my conditions, so you can expect quite a few Phalaenopsis posts over the coming few months.

The above is really blurry for which I apologise. The growroom is so humid that as soon as I take my phone out to take a photo the lens steams up. Great for the plants, not so good for my already dubious photography. Unfortunately, the flowers are facing backwards for some reason, and there is another bud lurking behind that leaf sticking up at the back. I would expect them to sit just on top of the foliage. Possibly this is hybrid confusion or just due to it being a first blooming. The other thing about many Phalaenopsis species, of course, is that while they grow and flower perfectly well in pots, this is not a normal orientation for the plant to grow, and it would much rather be sat at 45 degrees with its leaves dangling down (this is the reason crown rot can such a problem for cultivated plants). The flower spikes then display the flowers just below the crown. I am experimenting with hanging them in their pots so that they are tilted to an angle more natural for the plant (I don't want to mount them because I don't have the time to keep up with the watering of essentially bare root plants).

The flowers will never be produced in great quantities with this hybrid, only a couple at a time on short spikes, but the spikes will stay green for years and as the plant grows, more new spikes will be produced so it is capable of quite a few flowers on older plants. I haven't detected a fragrance, though I'm not sure whether I was really expecting one or not. I just always think its a bonus, you know?

Bloom Event - Paphiopedilum Sue Worth

Regular readers of this blog will realise that I have been a bit of a hypocrite where Paphiopedilum are concerned, always saying that I'm no lover of slipper orchids yet continuing to grow a fair number of them anyway. This has now changed, however, and most of my Paphiopedilum (and Phragmipedium) have now been safely re-homed like poor unloved stray cats. I am left with only three Paphiopedilum, one of which is the diminutive and well-behaved Paphiopedilum Sue Worth. 

Although I have been the custodian of this primary hybrid for some considerable time and have even bloomed it before, this is its Kev's Orchids blog debut. It is a hybrid between Paphiopedilum sukhakulii and Paphiopedilum charlesworthii and seems to have inherited some nice characteristics from both its parents. I have heard this hybrid described as 'good breeding stock but not one you'd grow on its own merit' but I think this is a rather unfair assessment. The plants are small and neat, flowers are large and on fairly short stems that are self-supporting, flowers are long lasting with attractive colour and markings and shape. They are temperature tolerant (which can't be said for at least one of its parents) and fairly forgiving of under and over watering. My only real criticism of it as a hybrid is that it is rather slow growing. This needn't be a problem in and of itself of course, provided the plant is also well -behaved and stays looking attractive while it is busy not flowering. Whilst bemoaning that it is a slow grower, it must be pointed out that it is by no means the slowest of Paphiopedilum; its just slower than most modern hybrids.

The main bone of contention from what I can see reading further afield (i.e. Google) is that this is just a weird combination of species and many hardcore Paphiopedilum growers (yes, they do exist) can be a bit vinegar-faced about such hybrids, and question why such crosses are made, as illustrated by the quote in the last paragraph. Whatever the initial reason for the cross, it seems a good way of getting the lovely spotting from P. sukhakulii in to modern complex hybrids and perhaps getting the lovely markings on the dorsal sepal into P. maudiae types.  All of this is quite interesting to me because I find P. maudiae types quite ugly with mis-shapen flowers, at least to my eye, whereas P. Sue Worth produces a very neat flower.

I suppose, if I was to be super critical about it, I'd probably say that I'd like the dorsal sepal to be a bit bigger, and the lip to be a bit smaller. Then again, it is these imperfections that give the flower its personality and without them it would be too generic and I might as well go to a garden centre and buy something with no name. I also like the fact that it doesn't seem to mind the warm temperatures in my growroom which quite a few Paphiopedilum, especially the plain, strap leafed types (one of which is a parent of P. Sue Worth) seem to dislike. Mostly it stops them flowering well, rather than causing damage, but a non-blooming plant is of little use to me, even if it does grow well. Breeding temperature tolerance into modern hybrids is also a good thing, so that might be another idea behind the breeding of this hybrid.

As you can see, that flower is a good size for a plant that small. It is growing in a 9 cm pot and this is the second time it has bloomed in that pot. A new growth has already started, and I'm hopeful of a second new growth, too. Now we know that the plant will stay small and produce good sized flowers, we will have to wait and see how well it clumps up and whether a decent sized multi growth plant is possible with this hybrid.

One thing I always forget to mention with Paphiopedilum is how fascinating it is to watch the flowers open. More than any other orchid I grow, the flowers remind me of an egg cracking open and I always love to see the petals in the process of unfurling. I think the blooms are more beautiful at that time than they are at any other.

As well as showing the flower in the process of unfurling, the above photo also nicely shows how attractive the foliage is, a characteristic it has inherited from P. sukhakulii (P. charlesworthii has quite plain strap like foliage). Out of bloom, it could possibly be mistaken for a P. maudiae type, but the foliage is somewhat narrower, stiffer, and rather less glossy. I'd go so far as to say that this hybrid is rather more forgiving than P. maudiae can be, though it does help to get a healthy plant to start with.

Overall, I rather like this plant. Whether it will be a long-term keeper, I can't say but I certainly don't object to it taking up a small amount of space on my bench so I'm not in a hurry to get rid of it just yet.

Bloom Event - Coelogyne Neroli Cannon

I seem to have a raft of fairly similar Coelogyne hybrids in bloom at the moment (with more on the way). This is presumably because it seems to be blooming time for Coelogyne speciosa which is a parent in many of these hybrids. The latest to pass by on this conveyor belt is Coelogyne Neroli Cannon. You may remember be getting this plant back in November. I was hopeful then that I would get the plant into bloom in the next few months. Clearly, it isn't the growth that was emerging back then that is blooming for me now, but the one immediately after it is. I went through a lot of doubt over whether it would bloom or not this time round; maybe I shouldn't doubt myself so much as the plant is clearly doing very well indeed.

As I pointed out in my original post (linked above), this is a hybrid between C. speciosa (the green form, apparently) and C. fragrans. Coelogyne speciosa turns up all over the place in various colour forms (I have several myself), but C. fragrans doesn't seem to have made it onto the British market yet (and with the state of things regarding 'brexit' it possibly never will). From what I can see of it via the the Oracle (Google), it has a more upright flower spike than C. speciosa (obviously a trait we want in the hybrid) with a striking white and brown lip ending in a distinct point, as opposed to C. speciosa which has a decidedly blunt lip, but similarly with brown markings over a pale lip.

I had done some research on the hybrid which might have been a mistake as it tends to give false expectations of what the hybrid will be. C. Neroli Cannon isn't a common hybrid in itself, and there are very few references to it in the UK (this might cast some doubt over my plant). The best records I could fine were those of an Australian grower who had remade the cross, possibly with better clones of the parents. I should point out that Australia is very strict indeed about what plant mateiral can be imported or exported, so the only way for him to grow this hybrid was to re-make it himself, giving it a clonal name to distinguish it from other plants with that name being grown elsewhere. At any rate, his hybrid came out with a nice pointed white tipped lip, and a decidedly orange column, both traits inherited from C. fragrans. He did also say that his plant had the annoyingly droopy flowering habit of C. speciosa.

Above is my plant. For this cross, the pointy lip and orange column has not been inherited from C. fragrans, although the white on the lip is a lot cleaner than is often found on C. speciosa. The flower has a very nice greenish cast which I find very fetching, and at also carries a faint but very pleasant fragrance which it has not inherited from C. speciosa which smells musky at best. You may also notice that the flower spike is not too droopy and it isn't too much of an effort to be able to see into the flower to take a photo.

As you can see, the plant hasn't grown to gargantuan proportions to produce quite a large flower (and more on the spike - the sequential flowering of C. speciosa has been retained). Hopefully the plant will produce more leads as it gets older and bulk up a bit. In the meantime, a very pretty flower of good proportions and willingly produced under my conditions. Definitely a keeper.

I'll finish with the full frontal view of the flower so you can see the amazing markings on the lip. Notice also that the lateral petals are swept well back, giving the flower a somewhat insect like appearance (another trait inherited from C. speciosa which is definitely the dominant parent, as usual with these hybrids).

I'll be back in the near future with another really lovely Coelogyne hybrid, as well as new plants.

Bloom Event - Coelogyne G Beryl Read

When I see random Coelogyne hybrids for sale, I buy them (if I'm not growing them already, of course). This particular one is a hybrid between C. salmonicolor (the plant I have labelled as C. speciosa 'burnham') and C. mooreana 'westonbirt', and is a relatively new hybrid, being registered in 2008. These speciosa hybrids are made of tough stuff, and C. mooreana is no weakling either. With both warm and cool growing parents, hybrids like this one are very tolerant of warm or cool conditions and it seems an easy, if not fast, grower. It seems to have got the right traits from the right parents; upright spikes from C. speciosa and the lovely white flowers from C. mooreana. I suppose I should call the blooms semi-sequential, meaning there are usually 2 or 3 open at any one time, with buds still being produced at the tip.

As you can see, the blooms are a nice clear colour and more white than some of the hybrids which definitely tend towards the ivory. I don't think much to the scent on this one, but at least it has one. I will say that the flowers seem to be bigger during winter bloomings, so maybe they are better on the slightly cooler side, but their growth is not affected by warm temperatures at all.

flowers are produced from the centre of the new growth while it is still quite young, so the emerging leaves don't get in the way of the flowers. This hybrid seems to not get too big (think back to the large size of C. mem. Louis forget or William Micholitz). It also doesn't seem too inclined to make more than one new growth at a time but, as an seasoned professional, I have methods of forcing the issue. Its not so cruel as it sounds. All I mean is that I have made what I call a 'back cut'. All you do is, provided your plant is large enough, count three or four pseudobulbs back from the lead growth and sever the rhizome. The back of the plant will usually (but not always) produce a new growth. This works well for some genera, but not at all for others, so do your homework before going crazy with the secateurs. I have found it an excellent way of bulking up Cattleya (which, at least for me, don't seem inclined to produce multiple growths), but it won't work on quite a lot of Oncidium alliance plants. Keep the divisions of a decent size so the plants have the strength to bloom quickly. The two divisons can then be left together to produce a specimen size plant more quickly or they can be separated to produce two plants.

You can't see the new growth on the above photo, its still small and below the level of the bark (each new pseudobulb is marginally higher than the proceeding one, so each time we repot the older pseudobulbs get gradually buried), but you can see the overall proportions of the plant. Its in a 12cm pot. I look forward to seeing it with more new growths blooming in the future.

Bloom Event - Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget

I have always had a soft spot for the big white flowered Coelogyne species such as C. cristata and C. mooreana but I can't easily grow them (or rather I can grow them but can't flower them) as my growing area is too warm. I am very grateful that someone has taken the time to create hybrids such as this one (and a couple of others) that will grow warm. Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget (Memoria means in memory of) is a very attractive and easy to grow primary hybrid between Coelogyne speciosa (pod parent) and Coelogyne mooreana 'brockhurst' (now more correctly known as C. mooreana 'magnifica'). It seems amenable to growing at a range of temperatures (remember that C. mooreana is a cool grower and doesn't seem to want to bloom at warm temperatures; at least, mine doesn't), thanks to Coelogyne speciosa.

My plant was divided at around Christmas time into three pieces, two of which have now been sold or exchanged, and the third is staying with me. It was in dire need of division as the pseudobulbs were piled on top of each other at some distance from the surface of the growing medium. In case you wondered why the were piled on top of one another, it seems that the pseudobulbs arrange themselves into a spiral and once the new growth has come full circle it grows on top of the oldest backbulbs. I hadn't realized quite how much this had impacted on the plant's growth until I saw how it took off once it had been divided. I divided it just after blooming, as this is the time during which it is producing new roots. I fully expected the new pseudobulb to be on the small side as I had both disturbed the plant and removed backbulbs. Not so. It has produced its largest yet, and has now produced a nice new shoot which is already blooming.

It would appear that I am to get several flowers of this new shoot, too. The only improvement I could think of is that I would have liked more than one new shoot. Maybe next time.

I have read several times and from some excellent sources that Coelogyne resent disturbance. I can honestly say that I have yet to meet one that has complained in the slightest. The only thing I would add is that, as is common with most orchids, they need to be re-potted at the right time. It is not that they will die if you re-pot at the wrong time, but that they will not produce new roots until they reach the right point in their growing cycle, so you might as well wait until then. This is no different at all from repotting Cattleya or any other genus, really.

As you can see, it has inherited some of the sequential blooming habit of its speciosa parent, but it does hold several flowers open at a time and they are quite long lasting, too. There is also a sweet fragrance which must come from the C. mooreana parent, as C. speciosa has only a vague scent that couldn't be described as sweet. Also, note the fairly upright flower spike. All in all, this is a nice hybrid to grow. The only real downside to it is that the plant can get rather large. I don't mind this at all, though if you are short of space you might want to consider smaller species or hybrids.

Bloom Event - Phalaenopsis Corning's Violet

'Corning's Violet' sounds like an ambiguous name for an orchid before you realise that it is a direct reference to the plant's parents. Phalaenopsis Corning's Violet is in fact a hybrid between P. violacea and P. corningiana, registered in 1976. In fact there are quite a lot of these hybrids with similar names, and all of them are called Corning's something or other. Quite a neat way of naming primary hybrids, don't you think?

Anyway.  This plant and I haven't really had the time to get to know each other properly, but we are gradually becoming better acquainted. You might remember that it came from second delivery I got from Schwerter (link in the right hand column) back in March. It came with flower spikes on it, so I can't really claim credit for the flowers (although if the plant wasn't happy it could have aborted them as my P. dragon tree did after I repotted it. No panic about it though, it is growing both a leaf and new roots). There always seems to be a 'settling in period' for any new plants before they decide whether they are going to grow for me or not, and I have to say that while this plant has decided it likes me, the same can't be said for the Asconopsis I got in the same delivery. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't died or anything. It has basically done nothing at all. I would have expected some root growth by now, but I can't see any evidence of it at all. I had heard that it was a difficult one, so I shall have to be patient.

I really like this flower. Nice strong colour and attractive markings. It doesn't show up particularly well on the photo, but there are some bristles sticking up on the lip that put me in mind of a little toothbrush. The flowers aren't huge for the size of the plant, it has to be said. They seem to be produced in dribs and drabs from the tip of the spike, so hopefully the flowering time should be quite long. Flower spikes are short and self supporting, shorter than the foliage with the flowers being held just above the leaves. This is the first spike to bloom, there is a second following.

The plant is nice and compact and doesn't take up too much space. Both the parents of this hybrid are scented, so it comes as no surprise that this plant is scented too. I thought for several days that I was going to be disappointed by the scent as no matter how hard I sniff I could only get a very faint hint of something sweaty. However, over the last couple of days the scent has really developed and now it is very reminiscent of Brassavola nodosa. I have read of it smelling of cinnamon bubble gum, but I'm afraid my imagination isn't vivid enough to paint it that colourfully. Whatever the description, the sent is very pleasant and quite strong.

I always take it as a good sign that a plant is settling in to my conditions when I see new roots, and this plant is rooting nicely. I especially like it when I see new roots emerging from the main stem as opposed to new root tips emerging from existing roots.