House orchids 2011

[Maren]

Christian,

tolle Pflanze. - I've tried for years and never succeeded. Well done.

[shelagh]

Thanks Maren they do look very similar.  I just love the markings.

[christian pfalz]

maren, thanks, every year more flowerstems, this is my absolutly favorite laelia........cultivatet at the "sandwitch methode" with bark of metasequoia....simly and effectiv culture methode.....
cheers
chris

[Houseslippers]

Chris

What is the "sandwitch methode"? I've not heard of that one.

[christian pfalz]

hello,
look here, pieces of bark, and moss.....around the roots of the orchids....




found in the german forum green-24.de
cheers
chris

[Houseslippers]

That looks very interesting, thanks Chris ... I see you have a Phalaenopsis sandwiched as well .... so the roots are tied into a bundle of various sticks and large pieces of bark? Is there some sphagnum moss in there as well?

[christian pfalz]

tony,
this pictures are examples from an german forum, not my plants...
i use for my plant normaly moss or sphagnum moss...the laelia is in normal moss since five years, and grows very well, you see
at the picture.....the idea of the sandwich methode came from mr seeger, botanical garden heidelberg....
cheers
chris

[Houseslippers]

Oh right, so the sandwich refers to the moss/root 'filling' between the bark/stick 'bread'. Well, it looks worth a try, and also looks much better than my few specimens do currently mounted on Epiweb, not the most attractive of mounts (tho the orchids seem to like it so far).

[christian pfalz]

tony, the sandwich methode looks very natural, and itīs very good for the orchid roots.....
cheers
chris

[ThomasB]

The first bud of Lycaste Groganii (L. aromatica x L. deppei) opened today.

[Peter Maguire]

Having paid a visit to the Orchid show at Rady Castle Gardens (County Durham, UK) last weekend, I thought I would show a few pictures of the more spectacular orchids on display.

- The display by the Darlington Orchid Society
- Spectacular slipper orchid on this display, unlabelled, so I'm not even sure of the genus
- Unlabelled Masdevallia, I think it's M. veitchiana. Improbable colour, but it's accurate 




photos (in brilliant, but accurate colour!  The small versions look odd, but the colours change to the correct ones when you open them up - weird)

[Peter Maguire]

Also on the Darlington OS display:

- Coelogyne cristata
- Cymbidium tigrinum

A couple of others that caught my eye:

- Vanda hybrid
- Phalenopsis (no i-d)

These pictures also change to the accurate colour when you enlarge them

[Peter Maguire]

Finally - what not to do with an orchid?
This Dendrobium was on display on one of the stands in an unusual blue colour that I've never before seen in a Dendrobium. The leaves were also heavily tinted blue, so I wonder whether it has been watered with some dye which has coloured the plant. It looked like the multicoloured heathers that enjoyed (?) a mercifully short spell as the 'newest and best trend' in UK garden centres a few years ago.

[monocotman]

Peter,

great photos. Takes me back to times when this was a passion.
the unlabelled slipper orchid is a phragmipedium hybrid using the red species besseae.
It could be anything from several grexes but looks is possibly sargentianum x besseae( named Mem. Dick Clements),

Regards,

David

[Maren]

Definitely a touch of ink there. I have seen other dendrobiums with colour 'enhancement', but they never touched the leaves. Clearly a beginner's job. Did you buy it?