Wednesday, August 17, 2011

New orchids, new blooms

I have 5 orchids in bloom at home right now, which is wonderful. Two of them are new orchids that I purchased while they were in bud. While they aren't "earned" blooms, I am glad to see them.

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Dendrobium 'Little Green Apples'
I have more Dendrobiums than any other orchid genus. I would like to concentrate on species, but I did buy this hybrid 'Little Green Apples' which is a huge plant - easily my biggest orchid plant right now.  I saw a picture of the plant next to a yard stick for comparison, but somehow it seemed even bigger once it arrived in the mail.

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Dendrobium 'Little Green Apples'
This hybrid is made from D. Green Elf x. D. convolutum, and Green Elf is made from D. convolutum x D. alexandrae, which means that the plant is 3/4 convolutum and 1/4 alexandrae, if that makes sense.

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Bpl. Golden Peacock 'Orange Beauty'
My other new orchid is just beautiful, in my opinion.  I really like the color of this one.  And the simple shape of the flowers.  And the speckling.  And the foliage - tall, thick stiff leaves.  Just a really cool orchid.  Not surprisingly*, this orchid is also a hybrid. This one is called Bpl. Golden Peacock 'Orange Beauty.' Why the excessively long name? I don't know. I consulted my handy dandy orchid hybrid abbreviation directory to learn that Bpl. stands for Brassoepilaelia. The parentage is Bl. Richard Mueller x. Epi. vitellinum, and Bl. Richard Mueller is from Brassavola nodosa x. Laelia milleri.

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Bpl. Golden Peacock 'Orange Beauty'

* I am noticing that the more familiar I become with orchids, I am starting to identify hybrids and species as having a distinctly different quality most of the time.  Not always, but a lot of the time.  It's sort of like how someone that knows dogs pretty well can see a dog and know if it is a full breed or a mix, even if they haven't seen that particular breed or mix before.

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