Wow, that Key Lime is greener than any key lime I've ever seen! Amazing, but I do love that Golden Tang.

Forgot to say the fuzzy little Habenaria is looking truly fantastic, Ursula. What a display of flowers!

Thanks all regarding the Habenaria. We are enjoying this one very much!

Jim, yours shows growth this year, surely next year you will see a spike.

Oh my, I am always amazed at the wonderful orchids y'all grow and *sigh* here I am again, drooling over all the beauties! I am such a bad orchid mama; I haven't fed my babies at all this year I lost a couple to squirrels or other critters ... and I must admit, a couple were lost due to my own neglect. I keep saying I'm going to get better, but alas I don't think there's much hope for me! I have so many plants and I could really use a greenhouse or a dedicated space just for the orchids. I keep thinking maybe I should use the screened porch strictly for orchids but then I don't have space anywhere else for all my other plants. I do currently have one orchid that surprised me with a couple of blooms. It's hanging in the bottlebrush tree in the backyard.

Ctna. Renate 'S&W' (actually I think this has been re-classified as Lctna.)

Those are pretty flowers with their pastel coloration and translucent petals/sepals. Are the flowers 3-4' in diameter? Is the plant large enough to divide (after flowering of course)?

Ken, It's a small plant, I think it's considered a dwarf or miniature, the blooms are @ 2 inches across. I am not a knowledgable orchid person and have no idea how to divide it since the roots are attached to the wood mount but I'm sending you a tree-mail.

Hi, Lin. It's good to hear from you after such a long time. I think what you have there is Guaricattonia [Gct.] Renate (C. Frenchy's Cheek-La x Grt. Why Not). It has great color and you should be a proud mama.

Jim

Hi Jim, I lurk around the Orchid Forum a lot but don't post much. My plants suffer from such bad care that I'm embarrassed to show them most of the time. They, along with many other plants hang out in the backyard trees and get bug bitten, ants crawling all over them and sometimes eaten by the squirrels.

I got that little orchid @ four or five years ago from Marble Branch Farms with a label of Ctna. Renate 'S&W' HCC/AOS - do you think it was mislabeled or is it that genus name change thing again?

Lovely one, Lin. I have the same one in bloom now, and its label says Lc. Renate. It's a great little generous bloomer.

(I'm sure Jim's been afraid to tell me that it has a new genus name.)

Mine is a relatively small plant, too. After this round of bloom I'm thinking it needs to be mounted properly, but don't think it will be big enough to divide for another couple of years.
Older spike has been blooming for nearly 2 weeks in this heat! Newer one with more vivid colors. One more spike yet to open.

They are lovely blooms, Lin and Elaine!

Jim: Thanks for the info on the name change ... I have now, once again made note of the name change in my plant folder!

Elaine, oh my ... your's makes my little one look pitiful! I just learned that the S&W is an orchid nursery in Hawaii so I'm assuming that's where my plant must have originated. Mine was a freebie with an order from Marble Branch Farms about four or five years ago.

Thanks Ursula! I wish I was younger and had a better attention span ... I think I'd be an avid orchid grower! Unfortunately the older I get, the more my attention span is that of a gnat.

You're definitely doing something right, Lin, for that nice little plant to bloom for you out in the trees. I have a few out in my jungle as well, and they do bloom occasionally. They also get fert and a little extra spray of water occasionally, when the weather's dry . . . and I remember. That "outa sight, outa mind" thing gets me.

The Renate was a Ctna, then a Lctna, then a Grx and now a Gct. There is also a Phal. called Renate. Perhaps I should send out weekly updates.

Jim

Elaine, I'm really bad about plant care anymore. I do turn the hose on occasionally and spray all the plants hanging in the trees but I'm really bad about fertilizing and although I have a 5 gal bucket that I use to mix up the fertilizer/water and dunk the plants, I haven't done it at all this year. A couple of orchids have bloomed this year but for me they are sporadic at best because of the lack of care.

Oncidium 'Gower Ramsey' (if that's still it's name) is in bloom now too. It used to be a huge plant that I divided it into three sections a few years ago, this is the only one surviving:

How about hourly updates, Jim?

Hey, Lin. There's an orchid named for me!

Lin, I think you must be on to something!! Another really nice one here!!

Wow Lin, blooming sporadic for lack of care?!?? Obviously you're doing something right! That's a beauty!

Jim: LOL, even with weekly updates I'd still be waaaay behind on keeping up with the name changes!

Ken: LOL, I forgot that was your last name!

Thanks Ursula and Tara! It's luck for me to get one spike of blooms on an orchid every couple of years ... I know they'd be better at regular annual blooming if they had the proper feeding and watering.

Lin, you almost got one right. It is now a Oncidesa [Oncsa.] Gower Ramsey (Oncsa. Goldiana x Oncsa. Guinea Gold). It's a very popular plant.

I'm thinking I'd better be careful or Elaine will add me to the orchid boffin list.

Ken, your package has arrived in good shape and all is well. I put the Eurychone, cork and all, into a small basket and added a few bark chips. It is getting good Phal. type light and should be happy. Thanks.

Jim

Oh my goodness ... another name change? My orchid list is probably waaaay out of date.

Jim: Oooh, very nice. I like those leaves and it looks like that one's going to have a pretty bloom as well! I placed a small order with Ken earlier today ... just what I need, more orchids to neglect.