We have some of the coldest temperatures coming up, Ken. And, I really have to figure out how to ship some very unwieldy stuff!

Oh, no, no shipping this time of year. Other than Florida and S. CA (I do have an order for two BS orchids going to Puerto Rico), and other areas south of me, I can't ship any of my tropical plants. I can't even ship my standing orders anywhere right now. We were 28 F this AM, and will be in the mid-teens mid-week. It will be a week before our lows are even above freezing. For the vast majority of the US, I won't be doing any shipping until spring.

73 degrees and mostly sunny here. The muggy air is gone and it is crisp and clear. Even better news, the roofers are gone so no banging sounds in the house today. I guess they are finished but no call confirming that so far.

I will call this edition big Catts and little Phals.

Huge flowers on this Rlc. Deecasso 'Pink Perfection. I just call her floof in pink.


With a flower just as large is Lc. Orglades Grand.


Then there is little Dtps. Peter Blue Sky:


And Phal. Charm:


Finally, Phal. leuddemanniana 'Krull's Red Devil' X self


Jim

Love'um, Jim. I have some in bloom and will (perhaps) take pictures later today.

Ohh, I just love those gorgeous Cattleyas!!
Jim, you do well with those Phal species/ hybrids, they look great!!! I gave up on those years ago, I could never keep them more than a year, then I could just see them declining.

We are having an on /off snowy day and now it is just plain cold. The remnants of a nasty chest cold ( everybody has it.. ) coupled with poor driving conditions kept me home today.

I took some pictures -
I always look forwards to this pretty bloomer, this is Cattleya trianaei var amoena. And again, the plant walked over the edge of the pot and essentially grows mounted.

And my little Cattleya Irene's Circle opened another spike.

I moved my 'Emerald Isle' into the kitchen. The entire kitchen smells wonderful!

Oh I bet!

Jim, I see those beautiful roots on the Orglades Grand!

Lovely!

Jim, I love your Phals! I'm giving the small ones a try this year.

Patience!!

Yes, it looks like Orglades Grand is about to go for a walk. Love the Cattleya trianaei.

Melissa. the small Phals. do much better for me than the large ones. I have no idea why. Be advised they can be pricey.

Jim

Well, I'm thinking Orglades Grand is already stepping out. Beautiful Jim. The Peter Blue Sky is adorable, too. Did you check that pot? IF it's one you got from Krull-Smith when we shopped in Apopka, mine was crammed full of moss and started wilting a little bit right after we got home. Re-potted that little guy right away. The Phal. Charm looks a little bit like a baby Psychopsis.

Ursula, the Cattleya trianaei var amoena has such delicate coloring, lovely!

I've been out in the OC enjoying this beautiful weather. It is 64 degrees and sunny outside. They say we will have a one night cold stand tonight with temps around 38 degrees in Tampa, probably about 40 here in Odessa. While there, I found another new bloomer called Ett. Volcano Trick 'Fireball' (Ctt. Trick or Treat x Epi. stamfordianum). By the way, Ett stands for Epicatanthe.


Also, Tolumnia Genting Volcano has a new spike blooming.


Jim

Great colors on the 'Fireball' Jim! Another one jumping out of it's pot, huh?

You've done well with that nice little Tolumnia, too. I had a short chat with Louis Del Favero at the orchid show on Sunday and we were saying that they are pretty hard to keep going. Out of about 6 I have bought over the last few years, I still have only one surviving. It has a little spike, though!

Everyone seems to be asleep so I'll sneak another one in here. I don't post this orchid very often because it is big (4 feet tall), hangs from the OC ceiling and is just a NOID Dendrobium. However, it has so many flowers this year I thought it was worth the effort. I got the ladder out and took it down with no problem but the process of hanging it back up toppled 7 orchids breaking one nice spike and two clay pots on top of the mess it created. So, enjoy this one as you may not see it again. By the way, if anyone wants to guess as to a name, I'd be interested.



Jim

Wow Jim, Sorry about the mess it created, but it is gorgeous! Glad you posted it! If it were mine I'd simply call it Snow White! Of course, I have no idea what the real/true name would be. But she does look as pretty as what you might imagine Snow White to be!

I like the title 'Snow White'. I make these kind of messes all the time. I just have so many plants and so little space. I will be glad when/if spring arrives. I can then at least move them outside if not move them with the help of our USPS...

There is a Den. Snow White but the picture doesn't match. The lip shape is different and there is more yellow in the throat. Good try.

Jim

How about Snow White 'Close But No Cigar' ?

I was told she quit smoking those things.

Jim

Not sleeping Jim, just twiddling my thumbs waiting for two of my cattleyas to open up. They are taking their sweet time. My bromeliads are much faster. They just sneak up on you and - BAM! - they're out! Each cattleya had two buds but one of them blasted on me so now I've got one bud on the one and two on the other. But the two flowers are really close to each other and the lower one looks a lot smaller so I'm not sure what's going to happen there. At least they're safe from the squirrels since Dad screened the whole shade house.

By the way, I was showing Mom the orchids today and we sniffed Onc. Marguerite Tsiku and I think it smells kind of like cocoa butter. Very yummy smell from such a little flower. And the Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Bluebird' hadn't smelled all the previous times I sniffed it, but today it was kind of sweet but faint.

Oh geez, Jim, it's a beauty but hardly worth all that trouble and travail. As long as you didn't topple and break any parts of you!

Next time I see you, I'm giving you a pike pole like mine to hang those high up pots! That way as long as they're not too heavy, you can get them down and put them back up without climbing a ladder!

I saw a big Den at the Venice show last year that looked a lot like that. Tons of nice white flowers. I forget the name, but it was nicknamed the "thunderstorm orchid" or something like that, because the first storms of the season seemed to make it burst into bloom. Found it under that name at Carter & Holmes - Den. crumenatum. It says it is dependent upon a drop in barometric pressure and temperature to induce blooming. Well, we've certainly had a few of those!

http://www.carterandholmes.com...