According to the label, this is a sib cross of the 'Yaphon' cultivar. This plant hasn't been fussy at all, easy to grow and smells nice and very much like a fruity vanilla cake!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
First bloom: Phalaenopsis modesta
This Phal. modesta was one of my first purchases last year from Big Leaf Orchids. It made two spikes earlier this year, and is finally blooming. Those buds were taking a really long time to grow, but they pretty much all opened at about the same time which is nice.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
New addition: Phalaenopsis maculata
I have been holding back on new purchases lately, but this week I gave in, owing to the fact that Oakhill Gardens have had two species that is on the borneophals list below for a while now and I'd be disappointed if they were sold out. One of them is Phal. maculata as the post title suggests, and the other is another Phal. amabilis but of the grandiflora form as opposed to the one that I have now, which is supposedly the 'Sabah' form. I have yet to flower any amabilis in the grow area to confirm it, but I think this species generally sulk before they finally acclimate.
There was a great update from on Phal. rundumensis on the ranwild.org phal grower's website. Click on this link to access the article where they did side by side comparisons between Phal. doweryensis and Phal. rundumensis, which is quite compelling. Here's a screenshot of the images of the two phals. It would be great to initiate a sequencing effort for all the phal species and clarify their relationship between each other.
- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have.
There was a great update from on Phal. rundumensis on the ranwild.org phal grower's website. Click on this link to access the article where they did side by side comparisons between Phal. doweryensis and Phal. rundumensis, which is quite compelling. Here's a screenshot of the images of the two phals. It would be great to initiate a sequencing effort for all the phal species and clarify their relationship between each other.
Borneo Phalaenopsis species list 006
| Species | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Phalaenopsis amabilis | Borneo, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Australia |
| Phalaenopsis appendiculata | Borneo, West Malaysia |
| Phalaenopsis bellina | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis borneensis | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis cochlearis | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis corningiana | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi | Borneo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand |
| Phalaenopsis deliciosa | Borneo, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines |
| Phalaenopsis doweryensis | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis fimbriata | Borneo, Indonesia |
| Phalaenopsis fuscata | Borneo, West Malaysia, Philippines |
| Phalaenopsis gigantea | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis lamelligera | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis maculata | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis mariae | Borneo, Philippines |
| Phalaenopsis modesta | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis pantherina | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis rundumensis | Endemic to Borneo |
| Phalaenopsis sumatrana | Borneo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand |
- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Repotting time
Winter has officially ended in California with the last of the rains we experienced in late March, which means growth is gaining some momentum on some of these phals.
I also recently noticed the sad state that my standard Phal. cornu-cervi is in and decided that it needed to be repotted. It was sulking and is refusing to spike. Here's a picture of it looking much happier in new media next to Phal. bellina fma. coerulea after repotting.
There's actually a spike developing on the bellina and hopefully it won't stall as a result of my intervention.
In other news, I think there's a spike forming on the Phal. mariae! It was not doing much over the winter and but was growing steadily. More on that plant in the future hopefully.
I also recently noticed the sad state that my standard Phal. cornu-cervi is in and decided that it needed to be repotted. It was sulking and is refusing to spike. Here's a picture of it looking much happier in new media next to Phal. bellina fma. coerulea after repotting.
Monday, March 24, 2014
A non-phal but Borneo-related orchid post
Managed to catch some orchids in bloom at Gunung Mulu National Park earlier this month. These orchids are wild but epiphytic ones are probably rescues from downed branches that are being grown around the park headquarters. The terrestial ones might actually be there willingly so it was fun to just walk around and look for blooms. Unfortunately, it was not blooming season for Phalaenopsis or Paphiopedilum so none were photographed.
This is Plocoglottis plicata and is my favourite orchid from Mulu. They are very common and are found everywhere around the park, including along the established trails. It is terrestrial and has these great intense white spots on the dark green foliage with bright yellow flowers.
Another terrestrial orchid from Mulu. This is Habenaria elatius and was found gorwing wild in the leaf litter.
A jewel orchid from Mulu, and this is most likely Dossinia marmorata.
There were two Bulbophyllum species in flower at Mulu this time and I actually caught one of these blooming in situ, during the canopy walk. The picture I took on the canopy walk was blurry but I found another one in flower on my walk and took a closeup: my guess is that this is Bulbophyllum auratum.
Still trying to ID these individuals so do leave a comment or PM me if you have any ideas for these.
This is Plocoglottis plicata and is my favourite orchid from Mulu. They are very common and are found everywhere around the park, including along the established trails. It is terrestrial and has these great intense white spots on the dark green foliage with bright yellow flowers.
Another terrestrial orchid from Mulu. This is Habenaria elatius and was found gorwing wild in the leaf litter.
A jewel orchid from Mulu, and this is most likely Dossinia marmorata.
There were two Bulbophyllum species in flower at Mulu this time and I actually caught one of these blooming in situ, during the canopy walk. The picture I took on the canopy walk was blurry but I found another one in flower on my walk and took a closeup: my guess is that this is Bulbophyllum auratum.
Still trying to ID these individuals so do leave a comment or PM me if you have any ideas for these.
1. Bulbophyllum sp.
2. Appendicula sp.
3. Flickingeria sp.
4. Liparis sp.
5. Appendicula sp.
6. Polystachya sp.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
February rains!
The last two weeks has been great for the orchids. The Ridiculously Resilient Ridge dissipated finally and we got a sprinkling of rain. Then, earlier this month an atmospheric river aka The Pineapple Express dumped a whole lot of rain on us. However, we are still very far away from even getting close to the amount of rain to match the record low for rainfall accumulation which means we are still very much in drought conditions.
As a home indoor grower, the rain made a significant effect on humidity levels. While my humidifier was working hard in Dec/Jan to keep the RH at merely 45%, it has not even turned on the last two weeks! The average RH has been around 60% which is quite a healthy level for both humans and phals alike.
Most plants seem to be loving it, and the two new spikes on my Phal. modesta are finally making buds. Still no sign of buds on the new spikes of the Phal. corningiana though. The Phal. bellina fma. coerulea is even working on a new spike! However, I haven't seen any spiking activity from my Phal. amabilis or Phal. cornu-cervi, and I'm assuming they are still not adjusted to the growing conditions yet.
Looking forward to a nice smelling spring.
As a home indoor grower, the rain made a significant effect on humidity levels. While my humidifier was working hard in Dec/Jan to keep the RH at merely 45%, it has not even turned on the last two weeks! The average RH has been around 60% which is quite a healthy level for both humans and phals alike.
Most plants seem to be loving it, and the two new spikes on my Phal. modesta are finally making buds. Still no sign of buds on the new spikes of the Phal. corningiana though. The Phal. bellina fma. coerulea is even working on a new spike! However, I haven't seen any spiking activity from my Phal. amabilis or Phal. cornu-cervi, and I'm assuming they are still not adjusted to the growing conditions yet.
Looking forward to a nice smelling spring.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Continued efforts in 2014
Happy 2014, fellow phal-o-philiacs! It has been a rather quiet winter season in the grow space in terms of flowers but a few spikes are rapidly expanding and most phals are undergoing good vegetative growth. This Phal. gigantea x LD's Bear King plant in particular is a great example of the hybrid vigour you'd expect from a species crossed to another vigorous complex hybrid, and the shape and color of the leaves are very attractive on its own.
The Chienlung Luedgiana primary hybrid is STILL flowering, and producing some welcome color and sweet grapey scents in the grow area. On the other hand, two species (Phal. corningiana and Phal. modesta) have made new spikes and I should hope for some bud formation soon.
The winter in Davis has been extremely dry and this is the third straight year of drought conditions. Some rain would be nice, so the humidifier can rest, but reprieve seems unlikely so far.
The winter in Davis has been extremely dry and this is the third straight year of drought conditions. Some rain would be nice, so the humidifier can rest, but reprieve seems unlikely so far.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Fresh bloom of Phal. bellina fma. coerulea
This is the third bloom from this plant, and it has been sequentially blooming for about two months now. I've been really enjoying the fragrance and colors of this species.
.JPG)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)