Here are some of what I have budded today. The Lc. Mini Song 'Petite' will be a fist-time bloomer and just from the name, I expected small flowers. Not so. This bud is similar in size to the Cat. that have 7+" flowers. The Triple Love plants just keep on budding and these plants started to bud three months ago. The NOID should be identified when she blooms.

Lc. Mini Song 'Petite'

Pot. Triple Love 'NN'

NOID

Cym. Valentine's Love 'Sandbar Perfection'

Nice group of buds , Ken!

Thank you, Lindsey. After only three hr., the Lc. Mini Song 'Petite' AM/AOS has almost opened up. She's not as large as her bud-size indicated, only 4.5" in diameter. She may spread her wings a bit more though.

Looking good, Ken

Ken, thanks for starting this much needed thread!!
Very nice start and healthy looking buds. I am looking forwards to see the Cym in bloom!!

It looks like all my plants of bletilla have emerged..just one so far, with a spike... it will be their first blooming since I put them in a few years ago.

I purchased and sold an awful lot of Bletilla, but brought none to FL with me, Lindsey. Are there certain ones that handle the heat of summer as well as (pretty much) full sun?

Ohh, nice, Lindsey!
Mine take full sun here in NJ and Summer temps in the nineties without a problem. I just flood them daily in Summer here. I have mine against the South facing house wall and I have to mulch them or I would lose them in the Winter.
How does that compare?

They really did well in the SC Lowcountry and it was as hot there as any place in FL during the summer. I thought I had brought some variegated ones with me but I must have given them away because I cannot find them in any of my pots.

Loving all these blooms!

Hello Basil lover!

Ken, I am no expert on bletilla in Florida. These came from Brent and Beckies Bulbs in Va. ( they grew very nicely there) I planted 6 of them a few years ago and this one spike is the first I've seen.

I bloomed lots of those that I had (easier to sell that way or in bud). But they were always potted, protected in greenhouses over the winter, and never put in the ground. I considered them more of a "commodity" than something I would one day plant. I will see if any are available at our Vero Beach Gardenfest tomorrow and Sunday and if so, get a few to put adjacent to the lanai, planting in a nice clump.

Time to wake up this thread. It's Autumn down here in Australia and several of my Cymbidiums are in spike!

Cym. Arachnid 'Magnifique' (not an official clonal name... yet) broke out of the sheath a day or so ago. I purchased this in spike last year as a first-flowering seedling. Unfortunately the end of the spike was snapped off in transit, so I've been looking forward to seeing it in all its glory this year!



Then there's two seedlings I purchased earlier last year that have produced their first spike.

This is Cym. erythrostylum. It is a selfing of 'Blumen Insel' (an alba), so I am expecting white blooms with yellow throat markings instead of the usual pink throat markings. It caught me completely off-guard - wasn't expecting to see it flower until next year!

This photo is from last week and the spike is bit more advanced now; the second photo is of a mature plant (with the normal colouration) flowering at a nursery. I will be particularly interested to see if the bloom size and/or bud count increases next year, as erythrostylum does have a range of bloom sizes and bud counts (and typically they're inversely proportional).


Finally, Orchid (Cymbidium erythraeum var. flavum 'Paradise') X Orchid (Cymbidium erythraeum var. erythraeum 'Lois'). This is interesting because it is a cross between the two different forms of erythraeum (and 'Lois' is an alba, too, so this will be an alba-carrier). Some rumours I've heard suggest Cym. erythraeum var. flavum might be separated back out as a species (i.e. Cym. flavum) as a result of genetic studies, but I don't have any confirmation of that yet. If that does happen, this'll end up being a primary hybrid. It has 8 buds on the spike, which isn't bad for a first-flowering seedling.


I am hopeful of several more plants producing spikes over the next couple of months as we head towards winter. Some of my plants are late-flowering (i.e. Spring), so won't be spiking just yet. Disappointingly, neither tracyanum nor iridioides have spiked this year, despite now being a sizeable plant. Hopefully next year!

Looking great, Joshua! I am glad you "found" an excellent reason to resurrect this thread! The Arachnid blooms will have a lot of drama!

how fabulous, Joshua!
what a show we can look forward to!

Since I was yesterday at my daughter's place to be with the granddaughters ( 12 year old now!!! ), I took a quick walk down that bike path which runs past their property to visit the Cypripedium acaule patch. Many years ago I had stopped to investigate a particular spot on one side which showed a typical companion plant to Cyp acaule, the Wild Lily of the Vally and sure enough the conditions were correct to see Cyps, lots in bloom too that time. Ever since then I have been tracking that stand.
For those familiar with NJ, the location is 15 min. off the Parkway exit 120, South of the Driscoll bridge. Sure enough the Lily of the Valley were up and I was amazed and happy to see lots of acaules emerging. There was even one plant in bud already. Last year the stand extended into the top of the slope, there are surely also some plants emerging amongst the low-growing vegetation, I will check that at the next visit.

I suppose this falls under the "Anticipation" thread... Just added a bag baby that _hopefully will someday look like the Mother plant.

Epc. Lime Sherbert x Bc. Little Stars…. couldn't resist with a yummy name like that.


** addendum First Bloom opened (out of the 6 on spike) & it's Beautiful plus smells so good !