Great haul Elaine!... I recently acquired a Susan Fender 'Cinnamon Stick' as well..nice to know she's a local!
I think Jose from Plantio is speaking at our orchid club meeting this Tuesday..I wonder what gems he will bring for our consideration???
Patty, lots of beautiful plants at your last meeting!

OOH, I would have bought that too! I'll have to look for it.

I had 25 'Cinnamon Stick' seedlings and quickly sold all I had but a final one. I really, really want to see those flowers. I have had the plant two years and it will probably be another couple of years before blooming.

Jim, if I were you I would have to keep one of each !

Lindsey, the wine must be sweet tonight. It is Rafael, not Jose, who is speaking at our next meeting and I think you were talking to Ken, not me in your last post. Wait until you reach my age!

Jim

Yes, Jim....you are so right!

Ken...if I were you, I would have to keep one of each! I can't wait to see what Rafael brings to our orchid club meeting on Tuesday!

By my figures, Lindsey, over the last four years I have purchased 160-180 varieties of orchids. The majority were seedlings (about 100-120) and the rest were BS or NBS plants. My purchasing model has changed somewhat over those years. The first year, I would only purchase 5 seedlings and 20 varieties. Slowly, the number of seedlings of each variety increased to 25 but I reduced the varieties. I typically purchase about 100 seedlings twice a year and the last two years, purchased 40 or so BS/NBS twice a year.

Anyway, if I were to have one of them all, I would have quite a large (personal) collection. Needless to say, I can't be a seller (though only a small number of orchids are sold) and a collector at the same time. I just don't have the room. I will continue to keep a single specimen of those that I find the flower interesting or exceptionally beautiful (though seeing flowering might take five years).

I think then, Ken..if I had to choose..I would have to become a collector...it would just drive me crazy not ever getting to see a plant bloom! I try and buy a mix of sizes of plants..growing them up is fine, but I want to see the new buds grow and bloom so I can take their portraits and smell the heavenly fragrance.

I see plenty of blooms, just nothing like Ursula, Jim, Kathy, and others that are into growing specimen plants. I guess my work-ethic, or whatever the proper term would be, out-weighs my personal gratification. That may be poorly stated and I certainly don't mean that work is or should be a proper gauge of self-worth, but for me at least, I have a need to have a relationship between time, effort, and profit. I wish the profit angle was a whole lot more, but something is better than nothing.

Back from the orchid club meeting with three new babies in tow. First is this terrestrial, Pelexia laxa X self.


The star of this show has to be Myrmecatavola Frances Fox 'Sun Spot' (Brassocattleya Polka Dot x Myrmecophila tibicinis). To most of us, this is a cross between a Brassavola and a Schomburgkia, my two favorite types of orchids.



Finally, this Brassocatanthe Booth Lee (Brassanthe Maikai x Cattleya Jalapa).


Jim

Nice ones, Jim!

Super haul there Jim! The coloring of Sun Spots reminds me of a tiger lily and I love the Booth Lee...I have a soft spot for the brasso's and their crosses!

I better NEVER come to your place...I'd want to let so many of your beautiful orchids 'fall' into my purse!

Ohh, pretty stuff, Jim. I can sure see why you picked them.

Patty, that is a tuff thing to tell me as I prepare for 40+ MasterGardeners to traipse around the garden on March 3rd.

Jim

My haul from the Orchid Club meeting was modest...one plant , Bc. Nodota x C. Amethystoglossa...10 clay pots ...and a bag of 100 new labels

Heh, you are looking ahead!!!

Only a hundred, Lindsey . . ??

I'll be schlepping my hundred back into the house tonight and tomorrow, it seems.

Lindsey, I think you may want to use one of those new name tags on your recent purchase. What you really bought is Brassocattleya [Bc.] Beverly Matherne (B. nodosa x C. amethystoglossa). There is no orchid called Nodota so he really meant nodosa, which is a Brassavola species, not a Bc at all. C. amethystoglossa is a species as well so no capital A. What's more, it has been registered and has its own name. Good news in that it is a primary hybrid. Here is a picture:


For all you schlepping folks out there, Rafael told us that Brassavolas, Cattleyas and the like can take temps down into the thirties. Just worry about the Vandas and Phals and most of the rest will be fine. I'm just passing along what he said.

Jim

Elaine, looking at your latest purchases, that first one has been registered and has its own name: Brassocatanthe [Bct.] Simba's Song (Bsn. Maikai x C. purpurata).

Jim

Ah ha, thanks Jim! So we don't need to worry too much about the ambiguous tag any more. I will make a new tag for that baby that will be less confusing for me.

I was just about to give it a new pot, then thought better of it, and am going to mount it out in the jungle on the big oak tree branch. I am determined to have some orchids blooming on that tree before I die!

Must admit, I'd hesitate to leave most of my orchids outside if it gets down into the 30's. It may not kill them but it's got to set them back. Those $3 beautiful Dens we got in Apopka are really tender too. How heartbreaking is it to have buds blast when they're about to open, just because I didn't take 2 minutes to schlep a plant indoors?

Plus, if my new babies have been growing in Rafael's greenhouse for their whole life, and then come home with me to be left out over 4 cold nights, well . . . I just can't stand it. If I'm schlepping anyway . . . may as well schlep them all! I have a system now, and they go indoors in order of tenderness so the catts and brassies go in last, and back outside first, while it's still cool in the mornings and the warm divas go out when it's nice and toasty.

I'm letting them dry off now, and will fertilize everybody before I bring in the tender ones for tonight - only going down to mid-50's. Then tomorrow, everybody else will be in before it cools off around 5pm, or earlier if the wind is cold.

We had wild weather this morning, with tornadoes both north and south of us, but the sun is out now, and it's lovely.