Nice jim. Love them bits of driftwood. I have huge fishtanks so am always keeping my eyes out for nice driftwood.

Here is the Pholidota imbricata. I spotted it from afar thinking it was a stanhopea. If you look at the flowers, you can see why they call it the rattlesnake orchid.

Jim

Nice thing about these bits, Bree, is that they won't erode away.

And finally, here is the Ctsm Crown Fox Voodoo. Wierd looking thing!

Jim

Jim, such nice plants, they look terrific and healthy.
I love the way you mounted the Oncidiums and Dens! Those ceramic logs look neat!

Apopka is really a fun place to shop orchids. There must be 20 orchid nurseries within 5 miles. Some are high end with quality plants at decent prices and others are Korean wholesalers with $4.00 blooming Dens and huge $10 vandas among other offerings. There are many places I have yet to investigate so I see more trips in the future. I just have to avoid the dogs.

The Grammatophylum scriptum is still blooming and I put a yard stick up in the plant to give you some idea of size.

Jim

I know I should post this in "Anticipation" but since I had the yard stick out, I wanted to measure the spikes on Ctna Maui Maid X Mcp Brysiana. They just keep growing.

Jim

And I can't forget an old standby; Brassia Memoria Fritz Boedeker 'Witch Doctor'.

Here is the plant

Jim

A closer look over the pool.

Jim

All your plants look super healthy and what deals!!
Is there any trick to blooming your Brassia? I've had one for years in full sun and lots of water that has never bloomed.

Jim, the Grammatophylum scriptum looks great!! Those are some spikes on the Ctna Maui Maid x! Cool Brassia!

Those mounts look great Jim...I tried grapewood a couple of years ago...the orchids did not stick well and I've since gone back to pots...your climate might be more amenable.

I just put a new Catt lobata alba on grapewood. I'll let you know how it goes.

Time will tell, Todd. I mounted a phal on a piece of drift wood and it took right off. It has bloomed twice and roots are growing well. I've not tried dens or oncis but a $2.50 apiece, I'm up for the experience. Like I said, I'll keep you posted.

Kathy, it feels great that you would ask a putz like me for secrets on blooming brassias. If I had any, I'd be happy to share. Keep in mind that all of my orchids are outside in the pool cage so they get what Mother Nature offers. The one thing I can control is the amount of light. The further from the house, the more sun they receive. I play with that until I find something they like. I also tend to keep my orchids apart from each other as much as possible and hang as many as I can. I get a constant breeze off of the lake and I have found that good air circulation is essential. I mist all of my orchids every day with a weak fertilizer solution and water them once a week unless there is rain. So, they all get the same amount of food and water. Vandas get full sun through the screen. Catts and epis also get lots of sun. Phals, paphs and bulbos are mostly in the shade. That said, there are exceptions. I have a potinara that likes the shade. When I put it in the sun, the leaves curl up and it looks terrible. I have a dendrobium that loves the sun while others stay in mostly shade. Perhaps it is the way they were raised when seedlings. Who knows? The point is you have to play with then to see what makes them happy. My brassias get about half a day's sun and seem to do very well. Another thing is to understand which orchids do well under the conditions you are willing to provide. Paphs won't bloom for me and phrags are out of the question. I could probably grow them if I kept them inside during the summer but I'm not going to do that so I let them go and look at the great pics posted by Todd, Bree and others. I like miltassias but they all die during the rainy season so I let them go as well. I'm content with the variety of orchids that do well under my conditions, as well I should be. After rereading this, it looks like I had a lot to say considering I had no secrets. It must be another sign of old age.



It's been a tuff day as we did last rights for mom today. I don't know when she'll pass but at least that's done and she was alert enough to comprehend it. I'm sad and happy all at the same time.

Jim

You are a good friend to be rambling on to me, I feel honored Jim. You can ramble anytime. Bill H gave me this good sized Brassia which I suspect he couldn't bloom himself and just wanted it to go somewhere. I will bring it to someone else eventually if it never blooms.

My thoughts are with you and your mom today, Jim. I know when I go, I want to be alert and know what's happening and do it "my way" as much as possible. I'd like to know more about her but please tell us when you are ready to think about it. She sounded like a great mom and friend to you as well. How lucky you both have been. My son and I are just turning a corner on our relationship so it means a lot to hear your son-perspective. Peace.

Neofinetia falcatas Gojyo Fukirin and Higashidemiyako are blooming today.
Here's GF.

Closer. I am happy because I almost lost them in years past.

Here is Higashidemiyako. Love the foliage. It was much larger when I got it but here it is blooming!!

Closer. Starting to have a scent too.

I have no neos so I always enjoy their postings.

Here is Blc Keowee 'Newberry'. It is blooming about three weeks later than last year. Cold winter?

Jim

And the plant.

Jim