Bert, this is a direct copy from OrchidWiz: Rossioglossum Aztec Fire (Rossioglossum schlieperianum x Rossioglossum williamsianum).

Jim

The foliage alone on Aztec Fire is worth it. What interesting pb's.
I wish I were bred for heat tolerance, another day in the 90's, this weather is getting to me. .

And 'tis only early July, Alice. Look to your indoor pursuits and plan your escapes for the summer? I'm just sitting in the Atlanta airport on my way back to stifling Florida, but my next escape is already on the agenda for mid-late August. Niece's wedding in Vancouver

This morning in Salt Lake City it was below 60deg. and too cold to have the windows open! Delicious, but I also miss home, air conditioning and all.

We area few degrees cooler here on the coast but I was in the SC midlands the other day and the car thermometer said 105. Ouch.

Atlanta is the hottest place on earth, be glad you are indoors there. It will be nice to be home tonight with your spouse, your orchids and your own bed.

Still 95 here.. Thank goodness for Tervis insulated glasses.. Have a safe trip home Elaine!

Must admit that on days when the sea breeze kicks in, we hardly ever touch 95 or over. But when the dew point is over 75 you still can't breathe unless you're in the water. My little lap pool gets good use for the summer months.

I had some nice blooms coming along when I left, will hope to post new flowers tomorrow. DH has been 'chid sitting, but he is pretty clueless. Hoping the black rot and bugs have not taken over.

Nice blooms all

My Tervis water bottle never leaves my side. Maybe we all neeed this one.
http://www.tervis.com/orchids-...

if only they had a Cattleya version!

Severe thunderstorm warning in the area, Lindsey. Button down the hatches.

Jim

The weather looks strange and ugly, especially in Lindsey's direction. I'm getting severe thunderstorm warnings popping up on the computer. It looks like the worst of it is to my East moving south. The rain just started here.

Jim

yup...lost my tarp..and a bunch of plants on the ground..even with the life lines up..I'm dreading the carnage outside in the morning. looks like a few tree branches have come down in the front yard..good news , I did bring the Phrag in earlier so..it's ok!

Oh Lindsey, hope the carnage is not too bad. That is such a bummer. One of the reasons I don't have more orchids (other than my orchid ignorance) is that I have no place to display small pots where they would not blow away. So far this summer I have lost a really neat Tillandsia and 2 of the mini bag babies. Gone with the wind. I have to keep my larger containers, 14" - 24" securely tied to the deck railing and they still blow over too often.

for you this morning.

Yes, hopefully you don't see true damage this morning, Lindsey.

I don't have anything new happening in the cage right now, except this Darwinara Charm 'Blue Bird' starts opening a couple of spikes.

And there is the Nageliella purpurea again, took some pics with my IPad, wiggle wiggle, they are so tiny!

The Asctm probably not miniatum is now almost fully open. Calling @bartmotes, I hear Bart and Martin Motes might be able to tell me the id of this one?

Whatever that Asctm is called, it is gorgeous.

Vanda

LOL, that's the way to look at it.

Good morning all!
I've just finished up the yard clean up .. The bench and occupants are ( mostly) ok.. They were all tipped over and only 2 broken pots.. A couple came out of their pots entirely but it gives me an idea of how well the roots were doing ..the wind must have died right after the tarp failed.. I was afraid that the plants would have been shredded by the flapping sail.. So dodged a bullet last night! The lifeline worked well on the top shelf of the bench and all of the damage was to the occupants of the lower shelf.. So in addition to a better tarp solution, I'll be looking at double lifelines.

Lindsey, how about a method for rolling up your tarp in place, so you can secure it quickly when the winds kick up? I have my frost cloth on a roller - piece of PVC pipe works great, the bigger it is the faster you can roll. Then just bungie cords to 'reef' it. You could just pass a line through the PVC so it would roll, and hang neatly when it's not unfurled.

Back to flowers - I have some nice new blooms to greet me home as well as the usual suspects who were blooming when I left. Also the Den. crumenatum aka Thunderstorm Orchid has just finished up a bloom cycle. Sorry to have missed it but those little flowers are very fleeting. I love coming home to new flowers!

Two Yellow Birds with big flowery spikes, and new ones coming. Btw, if anyone has this, don't cut off the spikes until they brown because it does branch and bloom again on existing spikes. The deeper yellow one with no spots is my "other" Yellow Bird that actually has a tag.



My Copper Queen has surprised me with two new blooms - I hadn't noticed a spike before I left but it must have been stealthy. Already turning gold, as it's been so hot and dry, the flowers won't last long. NoID Onc. from Trader Joe's with a spike so tall it tips the pot over. Smells wonderful, too.



Lovely dusky purple NoID Den again a Trader Joe's treasure is almost fully open and TaDa!! No thrips damage on the flowers yet. I gave it a good spray with Spinosad before I left, so that sure works well, plus the sticky strips are also collecting a lot of thrips for me.


Then there's the star of the show, Renate with now 4 spikes fully open. Naturally they are all facing different directions except the first two. I might have to stake it when it blooms, ick. Last shot is the first spike that opened nearly 3 weeks ago, fading daintily to white.