• orchids - saving plants - unknown orchid

    To the rescue!

    15 Januar, 2012 - By 

    This plant was saved from the litterbox because my salt was empty. (And I found it on the verge of getting thrown away at the supermarket) So lucky coincidence made me find it and pick it up:
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    It looked thirsty and not happy with its surroundings but apart from that, it seemed healthy.

    It got emergency treatment and then spent the night in the bathroom, where it is cool and humid.
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    Yesterday I thought it would drop all blossoms today, but quite the contrary- they even seem to have recovered a little and are much less floppy and dangly today.
    Since this type of orchid likes it cooler, it graces my kitchen windowsill now.
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    And even if they aren’t in top shape, aren’t the blossoms wonderful?
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    Now I am curious if I can find out if it has a name. The tag just said „Cambria Hybrid“ (which is very misleading).

  • orchids

    Orchid news

    7 Januar, 2012 - By 

    Bad news first- little „Nopsi“ did not make it, it practially died overnight and when I pried it apart to learn from what was left of it, I found its heart had gone black. Rot had caught it after all. 🙁

    The rest of the band are sprouting funny looking areas under the leaves and while I never managed to catch any creepy crawly in the act of damage, I decided that I better take out the chemical nerfbat now while the plants are still vital and help in the fight. So today I got to use this:
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    *ggg*
    I gave them all a good dose, even if not all are similarly affected. Next weekend the repeat procedure and then we’ll see…

    I have several piccies of happily growing plants to add here now:
    The little Dtps. Black Jack that got so cross about being sent by parcel and then also being moved from moss to substrate that it threw all flowers and dried their stalks seems to be more at ease with its situation now, because it makes a new leaf. 🙂
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    Also making a new leaf – and me very happy- is the Phal. Elegant Debora:
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    There is zero improvement on the roots, still, but the leaves are „filled out“ nicely and now the leaf in the making makes me carefully optimistic that it might be out of the woods now.

    Remember the cute little red leaf on the Phal. Mashimo? Well, that one has grown up – and green- afterall and does now look rather impressive already. (The one that stands up)
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    The Phal. Zoro Amato is building my character as it keeps me waiting for the blossom to open…
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    …and waiting, and waiting… aarrggh! I am sooooooooooo curious!! 😀
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    This one is new, it arrived on Thursday, its botanical name is „Ornithophora radicans“, but I suppose it will just be called „sprinkles“ here. *g*
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    Here you can see that it grows from little bulbs just like the large orchids of that „type“:
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  • music - orchids - winter

    Kilroy and some happy plants *g*

    3 Januar, 2012 - By 

    After reading that my orchids would be used to 12 hours of daylight in their natural habitat and considering that the plants raised here might be content with 10 hours, too, still those rainy winter days must be too short, so to speak.
    They do still grow, but very very slow. So I have now decided to borrow them my lamp from my „worktable“, which has a „daylight spectrum“ light in it. It is not a true plant-lamp, but it is better than a simple lightbulb and it sure is more light. If I keep it on from when I get home to when I go to bed, they do get some extra five hours each day. Am now curious if it will show any results. (If so, I might consider to buy them a plant-light)
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    Of course I am secretly hoping that this will speed on the blossom that I am waiting for on the Phal. Zoro Amato. *looks innocent*

    And something to watch- I stumbled across some 80’s favourites on CD lately. „Mr. Roboto“ by Styx is sure one of mine. Here I found an awesome orchestra version of it on youtube:

    Enjoy!

  • orchids - phalaenopsis

    Nopsi Update

    10 Dezember, 2011 - By 

    In the little greenhouse, the inhabitants are slowly getting used to normal conditions, LOL!! In spring they should return to their comrades, until then, they can enjoy the shelter of the greenhouse.
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    Little Nopsi is a really slow one, but at least it works thoroughly. The one remaining leaf displays an healthy amount of „tensions“- two months ago, it was dangling down limply.
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    And here is the reason why- after settling it into Sphagnum moss, it started some root-growing activity. And here are the results uncovered:
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    Hopefully this keeps on and maybe it will add a couple more of them…*g*

  • blossom - dendrobium - orchids - plants

    The blossom is open!!!

    28 November, 2011 - By 

    Last night, I thought the budding dendrobium looked different. I took it out and yes, something is happening:
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    When I came home from work today, I was rewarded with a very pretty miniature blossom. Compared to what the plant produced before it fell ill, these may mislead to think that this is miniature variation.*g*
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    Sorry for the bad quality, but isn’t it awesome?

  • Advent 11 - orchids - seasonal - star

    Seasonal decorations

    27 November, 2011 - By 

    Yay, finally it is time for seasonal decoration again- I always look forward the whole year to it…
    My little round tree outdoors is this year bearing a chain of lights:
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    That is my Advent „wreath“ this year:
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    The wrapped box on the piccies above contained a gift that Mum gave me for today, the first Advent Sunday:
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    I love this star-shape, I know them as a big version- they look awesome if you have a true hallway in your house to hang them there. I never knew that they make them that tiny, too. ♥!

    Since I finially finished repainting the Ikea reindeer, I could just hang it into my orchid-window which is now seasonal, too. Once a darker picture to make the star more clearly visible:
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    And one where you can actually see something. *g*
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    A cute little tealight holder which I couldn’t resist recently:
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  • orchids

    Orchid in da house

    15 November, 2011 - By 

    …in the mini greenhouse:
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    or the quickly made up quarantine version:
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    (Those two have, just like the croton, a mild infestation with the „red spider“ – a phenomenon caused by low humidity levels often. So far no plant is suffering, so I do something about it to keep it thus. Raising the humidity for a few days like this is a start. And when I get my neem oil mixture, I will give them a treatment with that and those critters should be dead and gone.)

    The new Phal. Zoro Amato is playing space-alien, just look at what the spike does! LOL!!
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  • dendrobium - growing - orchids - phalaenopsis

    Various orchid news

    30 Oktober, 2011 - By 

    The first blossom of my white miniature orchid is about to open anytime soon, now, am so excited about it. The first blossoms that any plant has „made“ here, the others they already had when I bought them.
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    My spotted Phalaenopsis is slowly giving up the awesome blossoms now, but it also makes a new leaf, giving me a little scare at first, because I had expected something green, not dark-red. *g*
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    Nopsi and the rescue from the flowershop have been potted in Sphagnum moss now, in hopes to improve the growth of their roots. The little yellow one has already improved her floppy leaves in the night it stood in the moss now, that’s really cool!
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    I bought the moss at the zoo-shop, happy that I remembered that you can also use it for animals living in terrarium surroundings. Like that, I had not to mailorder it.

    And the most amazing thing- on Saturday I looked at my Dendrobium again, which I had half forgotten in its little indoor greenhouse. I was most amazed at what I saw, not only is it still stubbornly clinging to life- no it also attempts some little (malformed) flowerstalk! And down on those stems, the green spots are hopefully new roots showing. Apparently as long as the roots are halfway ok, an orchid will survive even worst case scenarios!
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  • growing - mini orchid - orchids

    >Progress piccies

    22 Oktober, 2011 - By 

    >Remember the picture of the new leaf growing from the heart? It just showed as a tiny triangle.
    Now, one week later, it is already looking like a tiny, folded leaf. The root has also been growing and there is a second one on the opposite side of the stem poking out now, see:
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  • growing - orchids

    >More happy orchids

    16 Oktober, 2011 - By 

    >Today was just the right weather to show off my awesome double flowers on the Phalaenopsis bellina:
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    Outdoors, all the plants prepare for winter, while indoors everybody gets busy growing.

    This flowerstalk in the making:
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    Does now look like this:
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    If this was a fairy-tale, one could probably pull one of the delicate layers very gently and hold an enchanted red robe in ones hands:
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    (Too much of „Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel“, I know…)

    This little orchid is in full growing-mode, it blooms:
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    The roots in the pot grow:
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    From the stem grows either a new root or maybe a new stalk:
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    Aaaand it makes a new leaf! ♥♥♥
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  • Elegant Debora - Orchideen Wichmann - orchids

    >Mail-order-Orchid

    8 Oktober, 2011 - By 

    >My parcel with my plant supplies and my new orchid arrived yesterday and I picked it up this morning.
    What do model horses and orchids have in common? They are fragile and travel awesomely wrapped, looking like a mummy. Just how awesomely, that I am going to show here.
    There was the parcel, very exciting, the size can only mean that the plant is in bloom, whee:
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    Opening the lid revealed a nest of paper-cuts:
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    …then some strong packaging paper:
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    …and the next layer:
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    I see green! There really is a plant in there, yay:
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    Here you see how much care they took to protect the complete plant as well as possible:
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    Aaah, finally, there she is!
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    Her name is Phalaenopsis Elegant Debora and here are some nicer piccies of the orchid:
    the green bits *g*
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    And the flowers without flash:
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    …and with flash:
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    And on the quarantine closet, LOL!!
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    The colour is really pretty, a deep, deep burgundy red that changes depending on the light.
    I ordered this plant from Orchideen Zentrum Wichmann and am very happy about fast shipping, awesome wrapping and a strong and vital plant.

  • growing - offshoots - orchids

    >Happy Orchids

    23 September, 2011 - By 

    >So nobody thinks I have just sick little plants here, today I show happy progress on three of my plants.

    My Phalaenopsis bellina is is gracing me with two flowers in her first bloom apparently, because here I see a second bud growing, if I am not mistaken:
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    My miniature white Phalaenopsis hybrid that had bloomed from the heartleaf has now developed something from the spot where one of those little hoodlike leaves on the stem had been growing into something bigger:
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    Since none of my other plants who made branches from the main stalk have ever made a green leaf at the base of the new branch, I am secretly hoping this is a Keiki (offshoot) which plans to bloom first and get roots later.(This would not be uncommon behaviour)

    And the biggest cause for hope is here. Poor sick „Nopsi“, the large white Hybrid without roots (or almost) seems to want to make new ones, now!
    See here:
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    And enlarged detail:
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  • dendrobium - orchids - spider mites

    >Spider Mites

    22 September, 2011 - By 

    >…have overrun my Dendrobium. *grouses* (Funny how one reads retrospectively that those are sensitive to this kind of problem, isn’t it?) Since it does get water every two weeks unlike the others, the big inspections were also further apart – which was apparently enough time for the little buggers.
    What made me suspicous?
    Some creepy-crawly activity on my miniature white Phalaenopsis a week ago (which was localised to one bud) which resulted in separation after killing the spot of problem by removing the part of the plant (stalk part) and using mild desinfectant on the other soft and new spots. (Brutal, I know, but this is a hybrid, so it will not die from such things. *g*)
    After this, my attention was a bit more sharpened, but still my eyes were more on the Phals – until I ogled the plants one evening and wondered about silvery white „chalkspots“ on the Dendrobium, since I do not spray my plants. Examining under full light revealed that the silvery shading had spread far all over the plant. Short internet research confirmed my worries- spider mites, hooray.
    I also read of someone doing successfully the kinda radical bath-method with their dendrobium – so I decided to try it, too, much better than waiting until I finally find a pesticide in the shops.
    So unpotting followed and a showering with warm water to wash off any mobile visitors and then off into the bucket!
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    The greenery in there is the plant. The water has a generous addition of washing-up liquid and a small dose of Sterillium added. (The sterillium is a disinfectant based on alcohol- try first if your plants don’t react to that or it might kill them! For just drowning the mites, the washing up liquid is sufficient.)
    At about twelve hours, I showered the plant again and set up new water-solution, this time only with washing-up liquid.

    Twentyfour hours later, the plant was rescued from the bucket and thoroughly showered, especially the roots. And then potted for the night.
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    Closer inspection in daylight did reveal massive damage on the undersides of the leaves:
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    And in some spots, the plant had not taken well to being wet for so long.

    Since it has many bulbs, I decided to risk a parting of the plant. The youngest offshots did look best for some reason, less damage to the leaves and lots of good roots, so they got settled into one quickly-made pot.
    Only one of the big parts of the plant looked as if it might make it, but the roots are not so good on this part, so we well see. The prognosis for both pots is guarded, but I hope that at least one of them will make it.
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  • flowerpots - orchids

    >Flowerings

    17 September, 2011 - By 

    >On the way home from shopping after my seaside holiday, I ran past a starving miniature orchid- you guess it, I had to save it.
    One flower-stalk was dying so I cut it off and I also removed a dying leaf, then put the whole plant into water for 2,5 hours.
    As you can see, it began to recover pretty quickly, those leaves are no longer floppy:
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    It has very nice little flowers, looking a little like my other yellow mini, but not completely:
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    I then put both yellow mini orchids into one pot, now finally having the ideal relation between amount of roots and substrate. Since they also look pretty much alike from a afar, this is a good mix:
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    (New plant behind the other in the background)

    Today I found a bamboo basket that solved my „how to hang up the Phalaenopsis bellina“-problem. Originally meant to be a basket for a glass with a candle, I removed those, got strong yarn and made it a hanging flower pot instead. The airy construction makes it ideal for housing an orchid.
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    And this is what my updated orchid window now looks like:
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