Beautiful, Bree!

Jim, I went out and checked the tag - it's from EFG Orchids in DeLand FL. http://www.efgorchids.com/

I'd forgotten that mine had more names than just Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite - add 'Chariot of Fire' to that. They don't appear to have my cultivar right now, but there's one called
Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite 'Bloodbath' that has more red splashed on the white lip. Very nice. I find their prices pretty high, but they do include the shipping.

My Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite 'Ursula' is struggling to survive , and should have been in bloom now. Same goes for Phaius Tankervilla.

One new bloom and an update from the OC. Talk about confusing names and the ever increasing blur between Epidendrums and Encyclias. The tag reads Epi. Mabel Kanda 'Miyao' X Epi Cordigerum 'Paradise'. If I enter Epi. Mabel Kanda in Orchidwiz, it comes up just fine but when I cross it with Epi. Cordigerum I get nothing. So, I search on Epi. Cordigerum and find a synonym of Epy. cordigera. Epy is short for Epicyclia. Then I search on Epi. Mabel Kanda X Epy.cordigera and it gives me Epy. Serena O'Neill. So, I give you Epy. Serena O'Neill, I think.


The update is this massive Dendrobium nobile hybrid. I'm guessing it will be my next ribbon winner.


Jim

Ha! I just plugged in Epicyclia Serena O'Neill and got the parents to be Epicyclia Mabel Kanda x Encyclia cordigera. It's like trying to nail jello to the wall. Also, Sander still calls it Epidendrum Serena O'Neill. Go figure.

Jim

HA! That's why I just go by the tag that was on it when I bought it. That Den looks like a winner to me.

Oh my gosh, that Den nobile x gets better every time! triple , Jim!
Serena doesn't seem to worry about any name-calling She is certainly attractive!!

I took the Nikon into the greenhouse today, the IPad camera does really well with larger blooms, but I was into looking at some of my "above the fish tank - mini species ". These little plants seem to be happy about the extra humidity.
Microterangis hariotiana hasn't really done much the last couple of years, its basket broke, and it had a bug infestation which had to be cleaned up. Then I just popped the whole thing into a small wire cage. Looks much better this year with lots of teensy blooms, although the spikes are a tad short.


Pleurothallis grobyi starts blooming


Pleurothallis cypripedioides' aka fuzzy toilets


Restrepia antennifera is a happy camper


Oberonia toppingii is still at at


Domingoa haematochila


And the super mini Dendrobium torressae

My goodness you have the loveliest little curious orchids, Ursula. Truly amazing.

Jim, that whole naming thing just gives me a headache, . . . I think. Your Den. nobile is just gorgeous.

Yes, I am still at home waiting on tenterhooks for the 'baby call'.

I was wondering if you are still waiting…..

Thanks Elaine! I think I always like that mixture of showy blooms and then the cute little species, where you really need a magnifying glass to appreciate their intricacies.

I ran into the same names mess I had yesterday when I bought a new orchid at the UF Spring Plant Sale today. The tag reads "Encatropurpureun semi alba 'Dreamcity' X self". Obviously there should be a space between the c and the a and the last letter should be an "m" so I looked up Encyclia atropurpureum and there is no such thing. Finally I tried Epi atropurpureum and got a hit. I also found Encyclia atropurpurea and a synonym Encyclia cordigera. I've looked everywhere for "Dreamcity" and have found nothing. So, this tag is bogus and I will discard it. It looks like I can go with Epi atropurpureum or Encyclia cordigera and be safe. I'm still trying to decide whether to drop the "Dreamcity", the semi alba and the X Self. Nothing is easy.

Jim

Can't wait to see the face of this mystery orchid, Jim. Is there a bud? Did you buy it just because of the garbled name? You're usually pretty picky about knowing what you're getting.

I was lured to the pool cage by the scent of coconuts today. There's an encyclia camping out in the basket with my two Max. tenuifolias in case you're wondering about the wide leaves in there.

How nice! To me it smells like a beach with lots of people using coconut scented Sunscreen. Yum!

Jim, I wouldn't drop the semi alba and the clonal name 'Dreamcity' and the fact that you have a seedling ( x self), not a clone.

a quote from beautifulorchids.com:

Q: What's the difference between a hybrid seedling and a meristem seedling?
A: A hybrid seedling is an orchid plant that has been produced by seed through the hybridization process. Two parent plants were used to produce the seed and the individual seedlings all have their own unique characteristics, like brothers and sisters in a family. A meristem seedling is a seedling that has been produced using the cloning process. Each "mericlone" plant has an identical genetic make-up and each meristem or mericlone plant will look exactly the same, like identical twins.

(That last sentence doesn't exactly hold true any longer, as you will be dealing with an aging cell make up. Stem cells are subject to an aging process and that is the reason why one sees some horribly "overcloned" Orchids at Big Box stores. Cell changes creep in through the years and that Phal Baldan's Kaleidoscope which had originally a gorgeous pattern, now may show some irregular pattern and blotching. - my aside remark)

In a "self" case, the grower used the same plant to produce the seedling, so all of this information might be of importance to a future hybridizer.

Another gorgeous day here in NJ! Wish it would stay like this!! Great to dig in the garden and clean up the pond!

It is raining cats and dogs here. We have had constant rain and thunderstorms since midnight. The worse weather is supposed to move into Starkville in the PM with torrential rain, hail, high wind, and tornadoes. And then, if that's not enough, we will be in the 30's the next two mornings. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Great day here with a high of 85. I'm out shoveling mulch as usual. It takes 30 cubic yards just to top off the gardens.

Jim

That is 30 long-bed pickups full of mulch!

That sounds like hard work!!

It's truly a 'Chamber of Commerce' day today. Wish I could be out spreading mulch, had to get cleaned up to go to the dentist!

We don't buy mulch by the cubic yard any more. Brought home a pickup truck load, and couldn't believe how little mulch there was, because it was all fluffed up. We get twice as much for just a little more money buying it in bags. Proved this by actually weighing the truck with the mulch in the back.

My DH likes it better too, because when it's in bags, I can schlep it to the beds myself with no shoveling. Slide a couple of bags off the tailgate into the wheelbarrow . . . dump them in place. He's a great help when he has to, but would rather work on mechanical stuff than garden any day.

Humm, I did the same thing and found that a (true) cubic yard of mulch cost 1/2 as much as that bagged. We had two sources of mulch by the cubic yard, our Co-Op and a yard and garden center. The Co-Op was a full cubic yard and the yard and garden center was 3/4 of a cubic yard and it cost $2.00 more. The yard and garden center closed down last year. I also use only cypress mulch. It is more expensive but seems to last twice as long as the mulch I used to use.

I can get two cubic yards of mulch in my pickup and I drive around the yard dispersing it directly into the beds. That is easier for me than dragging bags around. Here in Tampa the price is about the same. A 2 cubic foot bag costs $1.79 or $24.16 a yard while I can get a yard dumped into the truck for $24. I use pine bark nuggets, a by-product of the paper industry. Cypress are native and valuable here so I don't use them. I'll have to think about the bagged stuff being more compact. I can see how you could get a lot more that way.

Jim