How has it been going? Have I bought any new orchids? Have I lost any orchids? What’s been in flower?
How have my orchids been doing?
Well…the Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis orchids have been doing really well. Plenty of new growths, some beautiful blooms and signs of positive things to some. The others are…struggling…particularly if they prefer cooler conditions. And the recent heatwaves have not helped them at all. Where I live, the temperature climbed up to 37c / 38c – not ideal temperatures for Cymbidiums or Oncidiums.
In a recent post, I rather confidently stated that I thought my only Cymbidium would recover. It proved me utterly wrong. The recent temperatures have been just too high for it and…well it’s not in the collection anymore. However, now I know I will not be adding any more orchids that do not cope with temperatures that Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis enjoy.
Have I bought any new orchids?
No. But…I have been gifted one (squeee!). Having never owned a Jewel Orchid before, I had no idea how to care for it. Luckily, YouTube and MissOrchidGirl came to the rescue and now it seems content in it’s pot, in a slightly dingy corner of our living room. It has started to grow some new leaves which is more than it has done in a little while now. Fingers crossed!
What’s been in flower?
Only three orchids. All of them Phalaenopsis. The Phalaenopsis Liodora is doing quite well, as is the Phalaenopsis Cornu Cervi ‘Red’. Somewhere I have read that this orchid only produces one flower at a time, but as you can see, this one isn’t doing that. Not sure if I read it wrong or not now…?
The other Phalaenopsis is one of my longest standing orchids. This was bought for me several years ago (more than 8 years now), and it has taken a bit of a break from flowering. This is the orchid that features on this blog’s home page. It has produced 6 flowers for me this time around which I’m pleased with.
Are there any future plans?
To buy more orchids? No (but I won’t turn away any that are gifted). I’m focusing more on getting the care right for the orchids I do have. I’ve yet to succeed in getting a Cattleya or Sarcochilus orchid to flower – they have had plenty of time, but clearly something isn’t right with their care. I think I need to do some research into what might be missing with the Cattleya and Sarcochilus orchids.
Repotting: a lot of my orchids also need re-potting which will be a big project. The one I am least looking forward to is a huge Cattleya I have that hasn’t been re-potted in several years. The growths on this have not all followed the same growing patterns, the rhizomes in between the growths are quite long which makes it quite awkward and bulky to work with. If you are interested in seeing how I deal with this orchid, let me know in the comments below.
Happy growing!
Clare
My Orchid Diary 