Starting the Year with Orchids

Prize hybrid Cattleya orchid.

 

Yesterday I visited the aptly-named Floradise, a business in Gordonsville that specializes in orchids, in search of some paintable orchids for my botanical art projects. It was a lovely way to start the New Year off, not to mention a welcome respite from winter. Inside this greenhouse it's tropical every day or the year!

 

Another Prize-winning white Cattleya hybrid

They had quite a few prize-winning hybrid Cattleyas, Phaphiopedilums and others with astronomical price tags, among them the beauty you see above, with flowers over eight inches across! The owners have bred some  prize-winning orchids. I learned while reading "The Orchid Thief" that orchid growers are very a competitive lot, and the monetary rewards of breeding a prize-winning orchid are considerable. These prize-winners are sold for hundred-thousands of dollars!

They had an incredible variety of species as well as hybrids, from huge plants with enormous flowers to miniatures, it was hard to take it all in.  I wish I had better photos of them (I missed so many gorgeous ones)!

 

Hybrid Paphiopedilum with Rothchildiana genes

 

Steve, the owner, showed me so many appealing varieties...the fancy ones were unaffordable for me, but others were very reasonable priced, it was hard to choose. Eventually I focused on slipper orchids, the Paphiopedilums, some of which have interesting markings on their leaves, and amazing flower colors.

 

A complex hybrid Paphiopedilum.

 

Yellow hybrid Paphiopedilum

A table full of Paphiopedilums.

After a lot of back and forth I selected this lovely hybrid Paph. identified as Supersuk 'Eureka' AOS x Raisin Pie 'Hsinying' x sib.--quite a mouthful for such a beauty! Here it is in my bathroom after bringing it home. This flower was very similar to the Paph. that I painted at the U S Botanic Garden when I took my first orchid painting class there with Carol Woodin, a decade ago. The coloring of the flower was similar, and the side sepals had the same spots and hairy edges. The leaves of this one have some nice markings too. I hope to be able to do a better rendition of this orchid than my first one.

 

Paphiopedilum  Supersuk 'Eureka' AOS/x Raisnin Pie 'Hsingying' x sib.

 

Floradise had many other orchids that intrigued me. These Masdevallias were fascinating! Steve told me that the red color of one was due to the purple hairs that cover the surface of the petal, which is actually orange underneath. This combination gives them a rich red color.

 

Masdevallia hybrids.

So many orchid species and hybrid varieties to see, it was mind-boggling! Miltonias, Miltoniopsis, all colors and sizes of Phalaenopsis, Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, Vandas, Zygopetalums, Bromeliads...

  

Another beautiful Paph.

Oncidiums in bloom

Table full of orchids and succulents

 

I ended up buying another small orchid--a Jewel orchid (Ludisia discolor) in bud. I'd been wanting to grow one of these orchids, and am curious to see what the flowers will be like. These orchids are grown mainly for their foliage, which is unusual--the veining in the dark leaves seems to glow from within.

 

Jewel orchid (Ludisia discolor)

As my friend and I were driving away, I spotted an unusual shrub with white buds in front of the owners' house--I hopped out to get a closer look, and the lady of the house came by and confirmed what I had suspected--I was looking at an enormous Edgeworthia in bud. She told me they'd been growing it for quite a few years now, and the flowers opened in early spring. Apparently this shrub does well in their Zone 7, but not in my colder Zone 6 garden.

 

Edgeworthia in bud.

  

I hope to get back to Floradise this spring in time to be able to see the Edgeworthia fully open, sketch it and take in its wonderful scent.

December Bloom Day

 

Streptocarpus '7007'

It's the fifteenth of the month again, when we post what is blooming in our gardens and link to Carol Michel's blog May Dreams Garden. December isn't offering any blooms in my outdoor garden, but there are a few in my indoor gardens (which are spread out through my house). The Streptocarpus '7007' above is the best-looking specimen of several I've reproduced by cuttings from one I bought years ago. My other variety of Streptocarpus below is 'Wow' offering just one bloom so far.

 

Streptocarpus 'Wow'

The orchids in the master bath continue to bloom, as well as the African violet (Saintpaulia hybrid). Another orchid that had gone into decline is sporting a new blooming spike--I don't know if this is an indication of its dying swan song or if it's going to come back stronger.  As a devoted gardener, I shall hope!

Orchids blooming in the master bath.

Orchid with flowering spike developing.

 

My indoor collection has expanded over the years with more tender succulents. Among them the Moses-in-the-cradle or Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) is the only one blooming.

 

 

Succulents in my foyer.

Moses-in-the-cradle (Tradescantia pallida)

My Thanksgiving cactus has finished blooming, but has a few more buds developing, so it will probably have another flush of bloom in a week or two. Since I learned from Carol that mine is a Thanksgiving cactus and not a Christmas cactus, I too am on the lookout for a real Christmas cactus specimen.

These African violets are from a set of 'Optimara' hybrids I've had for over forty years. I used to have six different colors but with time, only two varieties have survived. It's hard to keep these healthy, as they are very susceptible to spider mites as well as mealy bug (the plague of my outdoor garden!).

I routinely spray these and other houseplants with insecticidal soap, but it seems that no matter how much I spray, some insects survive and start to multiply right after.

 

Vintage African violet 'Optimara' hybrids.

Not exactly blooms, but this is a view of the balcony overlooking my two-story foyer. The south-facing light here is so favorable, I overwinter some plants along with some exotic tropicals that stay here year-round. The two large-leaved small trees are young mamey seedlings (Pouteria sapote) grown from seeds that a friend sent me. There's a saying in Cuba that a Cuban will walk a mile for a mamey, and I miss this delicious fruit more than anything else I left behind sixty-some years ago. It tickles my fancy to try to grow these small trees even if I know they are not likely to ever bloom or produce fruit.

Plants on the balcony overlooking the two-story foyer.

My Bearss lime, on the other hand, is setting a lot of fruit right now--it has been faithfully producing about a dozen limes or more every year for the past ten years or so. I recently acquired a Meyer lemon tree, but I expect it will take a few years to start producing fruit.

Bearss lime setting fruit.

There is no sign outdoors of any of the snowdrops or other bulbs I planted this fall--wait a minute, it is still technically fall until the solstice on Dec. 22!  But that's about it for December. I wonder what the New Year will bring?