Well, it's been a little while since my last update, mostly because of the sprain to my left thumb I incurred while skiing last month. One of the suckiest things this injury has caused would be inability for me to work, and the reduced amount of money has forced me to drop an order of plants I was going to get from a show next month. Oh well, I think I'll be healed up enough to get back to work next week or so.
As I mentioned in my last update, I recently upgraded to a much nicer and newer phone, so Blogger mobile is now once again of use to me. One thing that I don't quite like is that if I upload multiple images to a post, there is no way for me to arrange them into the usual format I have, were I talk about an image and then show it, and then follow with more text and another image, so I'm still having to use the laptop for these larger posts. However, I may soon start doing single picture updates more often and as they come instead of doing several plants in a huge post.
In other related news, my parents have been planning on selling our current house in order to downsize and all that other stuff I don't want to care about until I have to, and the house plan they are most likely to get is absolutely wonderful for several reasons. One is that in many of the houses we looked at, the upstairs bedrooms had half closets, only 2.5' long, which means my current in-closet stand would have to be adapted to being out of a closet, which I didn't want to do. Thankfully this house has the normal 5' wide closets in the upstairs bedrooms. Since my brother will most likely be moving to Ontario for school this spring/summer, that means I will eventually be getting a bedroom in the basement, which won't be developed when we move into the house. So, this will mean that I will also have the closet in my basement bedroom to use for plants, plus the room upstairs (which will probably be converted into an office. Oh, and like I do now, I may also have an out of closet stand in both the basement and the upstairs office. So, for those doing the math, that means I will have double the space that I have now. But guess what, there's more! My Dad was saying there is a corner in the basement that, due to it's location, is somewhat useless. Now, if you know me, (and my Dad does), you know that if there is any empty space, it is claimed by me for my plants. SO, my Dad had said that they will be able to make that into a room solely for orchids!!!!!! This is a whole, huge, approx 8' x 8' room that I'll have for growing orchids!!!! Since my parents have almost always wanted to sell this current house in order to downsize, I haven't been able to do much tweaking and customizing. However, I have a feeling that they will be staying in this next house for a loooong time, so I think I may be able to have things such as a RO system installed and maybe a drain right in the floor so I don't have to deal with hauling tubs of waste water to a toilet to dump it! I AM EXCITED!!!! Now, to the pictures!!!! Oh, and and I thought I'd mention that the reason this is dated for the 19th is because that is when I had taken the pictures and uploaded them to Blogger. I just happened to finally get around to finishing up this post today.
Well, I could have been showing off an open flower of my cornu-cervi 'Red', but the bud decided to blast right as it became large enough to open. Thankfully the inflorescence appears to be completely active now and it has two buds on the way with more to come.
I'm just now seeing that the white balance on my phone's camera needs to be adjusted a bit. . . these pictures are a little too blue. Here's my Sogo Vivien in full bloom I guess. These are all the buds that the inflorescence originally made, and now there are some new ones coming at the tip, so its kinda being sequential.
Well, I'm happy to say that my Meirs Penang Princess is definitely making an inflorescence and not a fourth basal kieki! I'll have fun breeding with this one for sure! (credit for the photo in the link goes to HIDLIGHTMIKE of Big Leaf Orchid Forum)
My parishii '#1' looks like it will be giving me three blooms, so I am absolutely pumped to see these open up for me. As you can tell by my thumb that I didn't really mean to have in the picture, the plant is very small, and the flowers are going to be even smaller. Regardless, this will be a great plant to breed with to reduce plant size and pass on a large lip, which is something I LOVE!
My invincible Hiroshima Tetratris has opened up two flowers on its new inflorescence while the pod on the other keeps on growing. I'm debating whether or not I should put another pod on it, but I think after this current one is done I'm going to give the plant a much deserved rest.
Another great sight in my closet, my super awesome neon Princess Kaiulani 'Chin Yo' has a few buds on its one inflorescence. The second new one that started poking out of the side the same time this one did hasn't grown at all. . . whatever, at least it's there.
Another plant to put doubts to rest, it's now obvious that my Lea Marie Salazar is also making a spike and not a basal kieki. Since it's days being mite infested are in the past, its newest leaf is looking pretty awesome, so it's good to know this plant is going to make a comeback.
The colour I'm seeing of this is too blue. In reality, the flowers on this are much more pink. This side branch has many buds on the way, so the countdown to getting a pod to stick on this plant has started. Thankfully at the same time it's also providing me pollen to use on other plants. As I feared, this plant isn't looking too hot, so I think it'll bite the dust eventually, but thankfully I have a kieki that is growing roots and leaves, and doesn't have a whole horde of mites on it.
Now this is someting that I am really excited to see. This is one of the first Phals that I bought, and when I bought it, it was very small. I mounted this last July (haha, instead of correcting that I'll add it here. It was repotted July 2011, and then sometime after November 2011 it was mounted. I need to remind myself that I started growing orchids in August of 2010), and all but the two smallest leaves this plant has have been ones that is has grown since I've bought it (a time probably recorded somewhere in the past on this blog). Even if this plant turns out to be something not worth breeding with, it isn't taking up any bench space were it is, and it is one of my first phals.
The bud on my Vio Vio is getting larger, and this plant is definitely enjoying life after the pruning I gave it!
Here's parishii '#2' with a surprise spike. Now that I will have two different parishii in bloom, I might to a sib cross, so for those wanting some parishii here in Canada, they should be ready in two years! :D
And now here's lobbii '#1' in double spike. This leaves lobbii '#2' as the only one of my four Parishianae species to not have a spike, although it does have a basal kieki, so for all I know it could also have a spike hidden, as it is quite large. This lobbii '#1' outdates the other three by a year or so, and the other three came together last summer. Since these plants are so small, I wanted to have two of each in order to let me do more breeding with them than I could accomplish with only one. I absolutely adore these tiny wonders! I plan on putting either Mystic Lake or cornu-cervi 'Red' pollen on it, with hopes of keeping the large lip shape. (Credit for linked photo goes to JimL of BLOF, pollen donator)
And finally, my KS Happy Eagle! Not only is the one mature spike on this trying to make another bud (I say trying because the last three or four bracts the inflorescence have made have been empty), but the main crown is also making a new inflorescence, plus the larger basal kieki also has a new inflorescence starting! I'm happy about this because my bellina passed away from mites, so I thankfully have this complex bellina hybrid to use.
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