Orchid Journal

The elusive slipper orchid variant: the sneaker orchid with which to run away from problems

[sneakerorchid]

Oncidium Twinkle White Fantasy

It's actually kinda pink, so I feel ripped off. It took forever for it to bloom. Everyone talks about how nice it smells but it smelled pretty... Meh. Like a musky floraly smell. Repotted it and it was actually two separate plants so it's in two different pots now. Maybe I'll sell one of them. Or both of them.

[sneakerorchid]

Update on Neostylis Lou Sneary. It had three spikes but I was keeping it too dry so two of them kinda shriveled up. The most advanced one I got really mad at and ripped the spike off and felt that most of the buds had blasted but there were still some viable ones at the tip, which made me feel bad for ripping it off. But that led me to repotting it and keeping it more moist, which let it bloom from one of the spikes. Pretty good display. Flowers lasted like three weeks? Smelled fantastic. It's currently doing basically nothing.

[sneakerorchid]

Den. atroviolaceum update. Got this guy to rebloom. It only bloomed on old canes which is weird since it made like 7 new canes in my care this past year. It's still making new canes and still in bloom (it's been like two and a half months but they're starting to fade). She's an OG. My first non phal orchid from my first society meeting almost exactly a year ago

[sneakerorchid]

Bletilla striata

An order placed with a society memeber from Andy's Orchids. I wanted to bring this to my parents place and plant it in their yard because I read they can be grown in the ground and survive frost. It bloomed probably because it's in my warm apartment and triggered spring for it. Flowers lasted maybe a couple weeks. Not many flowers either. Only one of the two growths flowered. They were very very faintly floral scented. I guess I hold onto it for now?..

[sneakerorchid]

Dendrobium abberans (x something I don't remember bc I lost the tag)

Got this guy a few months back in bud from JL. It's still in flower although they're fading now, and has three new growths. Is fragrant but only in early afternoon. Smells like... Some kinda cleaning solution? Not terrible. I'll sniff it once in a while but I'm not itching to sniff it.

[sneakerorchid]

RIP Paph supersuk x raisin pie. One of the office orchids that will die if it hasn't already. I got it to bloom again after making a come back from fungal infection. It was working on two new growths. You'll be missed.

[sneakerorchid]

Update on Leptotes bicolor. It spiked from one of the sheaths that were on it when I bought it. Only one flower and it lasted maybe a week and a half. Wasn't really fragrant. It's pretty but have to say I'm pretty disappointed. It finished one set of new growths from each direction, and is now half way on the second and starting a third set.

[sneakerorchid]

Paph. deperle (delanatii x primulinum)

One of the orchids I got at Pacific Orchid Expo. This one's from Paph Paradise for $35. Got it in bud and now the second flower is opening. The other growth is also growing a new leaf. Not fragrant but very cute. Forgot to take a picture of when I got it. Oops.

[sneakerorchid]

Miss. Buckleberry is in full bloom! I got four flowers. Not too mad about that. It took about a month from seeing the spike to full bloom, which is really fast. Like my Lou Sneary started around the same time and the spike has barely grown and has actually started to blast, which is fucking annoying. Maybe I just suck. Anyways, Miss. Buckleberry smells like cum. Something very musky. It's not terrible (😉) but I'm definitely not a fan. It's a moderately strong odor and can smell it when I'm near the grow area, so it's stronger than the haraella retrocala for example. Jack says he doesn't smell anything but I don't believe him. She's very pretty. I've noticed some roots growing to the outside, so it's definitely growing. Its bulbs are very wrinkly though. Like kinda concerning level of wrinkled. It's been in full bloom for like... Four or five days now?

[sneakerorchid]

Iwanagara Apple Blossom 'H+R'

2 of 2 orchids I got from Mounts. This one from the Palm Beach Orchid Society. They actually had some really good deals and when the guy was talking to me about them, he told me they were mostly from Carmela, which kinda soured them for me knowing how much they probably cost the Society. They were nice people though and let me leave my bag and this cattleya there while I walked around. This guy was only like 12 or 15 bucks. Apparently the guy who owned this not doing well health-wise, which is why this is for sale. That makes me want to really get this guy in blooming state and also just because I've heard a lot about this cattleya. It's supposed to be super fragrant and the colors are supposed to change as the blooms age? I think the "H+R" means this guy is supposed to be a bit yellow with pink around the edges? But there isn't a whole lotta info on that. The tag says AM/AOS, so I guess it's been judged. That leaf on the oldest bulb is yellowing, which is concerning. Same mistake as the prosthechea where I shouldn't have repotted it without active growth. I think cattleyas are supposed to be real assholes when it comes to setback. Bulbs haven't shriveled significantly, so I'm somewhat hopeful? But nothing much has happened with it. I secretly think this thing is plastic.

[sneakerorchid]

Prosthechea boothiana

1 of 2 orchids I got at the Mounts Botanical Garden sale from Springwater Orchids a couple weeks ago. The sale was pretty cool; I heard about it from Orchid Diva on YouTube. There were like 30 vendors? But less than half of them were orchid vendors. Some random things like bird houses, carnivorous plants, and African violets. I was eyeing a lot of the brassavola/leilia types but they were either already in full bloom, too big to bring back, or too expensive. I ended up with this little guy because the bulbs were so cute. It was potted in like stone and bark, but I repotted it into a bark and sphag mixture. It clearly did not like that as it's shriveling like a mofo and leaves are yellowing. My fault I didn't wait for it to start growing new roots before repotting. Apparently blooming size? Hopefully this isn't the first orchid I kill.

[sneakerorchid]

Oncidium Twinkle 'White Fantasy'

3 of 3 orchids from the MOS show. This guy's also from Marlow's for $25. I've heard a lot about Twinkles and this guy looked really healthy. It has three spikes but one of them is growing towards the pot and the tip is kinda broken. I'm gonna leave it but I'm doubtful it'll develop properly. My mom got a pink twinkle that she kept trying to convince me to get because it had like 7 spikes. I didn't realize it had that many but either way I would still rather white and yellow than pastel pink. Hers is more developed, so hopefully she doesn't blast them

[sneakerorchid]

Phalaenopsis belina 'red apple'

2 of 3 orchids from MOS show. This one's from Marlow Orchids, which I'd been meaning to check out for a while now. It was $35 which is quite expensive but another vendor had a belina for 50 and same in Florida, so I just got the bullet. I saw my first belina in SF when Jack and I went to the Flower Conservatory and the smell was divine and the flower was so elegant. This guy came with one spike and quite a few roots on the outside so it seems pretty happy. I asked my boyfriend what color the bottom leaf is and he said it was light green and not quite yellow. I'll keep and eye on the leaf and, of course, the spike. It was pretty cold this weekend, but it looks like it hasn't blasted. I did a little research on this variety after buying it, and Miss Orchid Girl says it's not as fragrant as her normal belina, which would be kinda a shame, but we'll see.

[sneakerorchid]

Angraecum didieri x self

I think that just makes it an Angraecum didieri? Never understood why I'd need to know if it was crossed with itself? Anyways, 1 of 3 orchids I got at the Massachusetts Orchid Society show from Bob Cleveland's Orchids. My mom bought this one for me. It's got three little spikes, so it'll be the first night time fragrant orchid I have in bloom (my brassavola nodosa is showing no signs of blooming any time soon and I regret getting it from JL tbh). It's got some weird knobby roots. Pretty healthy looking overall and it's bloomed in the past.

The show was pretty cool. Went with Jack and my parents. They seemed pretty interested in the displays but I'm pretty sure they were over it by the first hour. My dad is always going on about how expensive and small orchids are. Note this is even after seeing a specimen size vanda with like five spikes. There were like 9 vendors and 9 displays. I could've spent like two more hours there but we had to see my brother's kids before they slept.

[sneakerorchid]

Hartmannii spike update. Not a huge difference but it does appear slightly bigger. Will be pretty exciting to bring this guy to the society meeting

[sneakerorchid]

Lou Sneary buds getting plump!

There are actually three active spikes growing! Two of them are smaller and slower growing than this one you can see though. The media is starting to mold a little which is gross...

[sneakerorchid]

Zygopetalum Blue Blazes 'Barrie Ford' spike!

I had this guy in a clay pot for a couple months and it didn't do much. That new growth on the left is from when I first got it and it still hasn't made a bulb on it. Once I repotted it, it made this spike!