Good day! I hope no one played an April fool's joke on you like they did here (snow!).
We came from here. http://cubits.org/orchids/thre...
Pics today so far.
Phal. Taida King's Caroline 'Taida Little Zebra' AM/AOS. White mini Phal NOID. Sarcochilus Elizabeth 'Red Delight.'
Three of five spikes open on Cym Sweetheart 'Spring Pearl'. Cym. sinense is opening.
Hate that snow! UGH. Looks like you got quite a bit.
I did get caught with a April Fools email- From Dramm corporation, that does driplines and so forth for watering supplies. They talked about buying iceberg shelves from the Russians and floating them to the US, and selling the water. It was very realistic until the bottom where they wrote about repatriating any penguins that would happen to ride along, then I finally caught on!
That's great. I just connected to Sherlock Holmes and Groucho Marx on LinkedIn. I had to make up addresses for them to connect ([email protected] and [email protected]). They were accepted....Who knew LinkedIn could be so playful? Public radio is playing a lot of Spike Jones, too.
Name: Fred Rump Naples, Fl enjoying what nature has to offer
Still alive and kicking here in Naples. I pretty much stick to FB and various email lists with my postings but I have to share this plant with you. It may be old hat to everybody but I had never seen a true blue orchid before until today. I went to HD to order 5 pallets of mulch for delivery and this batch of blue phals appeared before me. At first I thought someone had spray painted white phals to look blue as an April fools joke but no siree, they were real. My wife was waiting in the car for me and I was in a hurry but I grabbed a plant and ran out with it.
My wife's first words were, 'how much was that?' I didn't know. I didn't care. This was phal coming home with me. It was 40 bucks but what a beauty.
Apparently Silver Vase, Inc. out of Homestead bred this variety as the world's first blue orchid and they are getting premium prices. It is called 'blue mystique'. You can see at at their web site http://www.silvervase.com/
Good to see you Fred!
I saw these blue Phals at King's Supermarket in the middle of February. I took a double take/my eyes almost popped out and I snapped a couple of pics with my Phone. In defense of Silvervase.com, they are truthful about how the color is achieved.
Iwanagaara Appleblossom - opened today the first bloom of the season. (And I will not call it Jackfowlierara Appleblossom, so there. ) Only just opened blooms are this yellow on my plant, mature flowers have the exact color of Apple Blossoms.
Bulbophyllum patens has really neat blooms. The scent is interesting, envision the scent of Raspberries thrown into a smoky wood fire.
Cischweinfia shehaniae is a nice plant, but the flowering is a bit modest under my care.
Albert,
during the indoor season here in NJ I set the night time minimum temperature at 60 degr F and daytime at 70 degr. F. Right now on sunny days the fan starts kicking in at about 78 degr. I carry all my plants outside in the Spring, they enjoy the Summer vacation. Comes September everything comes back inside.
I have never measured the humidity levels. I water daily, the run-off collects in trays underneath to aid in keeping some humidity. Also - Begonias and a large Fern sit under the Vandas and nowadays a 30 gallon fishtank under the collection of small, more or less mounted species. I also grow Cacti and Succulent on a top shelf and on the shelves against the house-wall. It's a real mix!
Yummy. Love Mini Purple always! I love the reedy stuff on the bulbo too! And the Cischweinfia shehaniae is beautifully modest. My apple blossom has buds. Can't wait!
The rain is gone and the humidity is much lower with temps in the 70s. It was much too nice to be inside so I spent the day pruning the big oak tree out by the lake. The ground was still soggy out there. Good thing becaues the 8 foot step ladder I was on partially sunk and I fell the full distance with the saw in my hand. No harm done apart from a few scratches.
I've been trying to get a good picture of this super Den. nobile hybrid and this is the best I could come up with. What do you think?
Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
) Only just opened blooms are this yellow on my plant, mature flowers have the exact color of Apple Blossoms. 
