we came from here
The thread "Our Orchid blooms in October 2019" in Orchids forum

Halloween came and went and today is November 1. and with that we start the new thread for the month! Let me begin with Rlc George King 'Serendipity', opening a nice spike just in time.


My old Ceratostylis retisquama breaking out again in a nice flush of blooms. This one doesn't have a regular blooming season, it just blooms every so often as it does here.


And a final pic of the Vandachostylis Prapawan before it goes back to sleep, the blooms are dark blue!


Please all join in and show your stuff and chat away!

Ceratostylis rubra was so much easier to spell and remember then retisquama! I have to look that up and find out what "retisquama" refers to.
Regardless it has always been a favorite of mine.
And what can one say about Rlc. George King 'Serendipity'?! It has to be one of the most gorgeous large pinks out there. Ursula, yours is beautiful!! It has wonderful form, great color and that exquisite tri-colored lip! In your expert hands, it looks better then it did on the day it was awarded!!
Thanks for sharing!

Bill, I would always recommend Fall flowering Cattleyas for someone just getting into Orchids! Especially when keeping them outside for the Summer, I find them easier to grow and bloom in the long run than Phals!

Well I do agree. But in spite of my experience, I consider myself to only be a fair Cattleya grower. I think prior to my retirement, I did not pay enough attention to many of my plants.
But retirement frees up time for most people. In Florida and underlights, I SEE so much more then ever before. Plus I maintain a more regular watering schedule. I think that a proper watering schedule is so important, more so then I ever imagined.

I have one good, south facing windowsill in my home and my "reaquisition list" has bowringiana, skinneri, George King, and Goldenzelle on it. There is no height limit to meet.
Maybe that is the key to good growing. You must learn to recognize what conditions you can provide and buy only what you know you can grow.

Cattleya alliance plants have always done well for me, better than Phal. and certainly better than cool-loving varieties. My problem is that I now have only the lanai and open shadehouse, and everything gets about the same conditions. I'm having trouble dealing with varieties that need a dry dormant period. I can keep them going but not bloom them. My plan is to put some translucent polyethylene under the shade-cloth at the south end of the shadehouse so that rain won't fall on those plants that require dry conditions during the winter months.

That is a really pretty color combination of King George, Ursula. Very nice!

Currently blooming in my greenhouse: Epidendrum porpax 'Alba'. This isn't the side with the most flowers but the side where you can see the flowers.


I noticed this color variation is not in the Database but don't know where it should go. I'll leave it to Australis.

I am pretty sure that without any flush of rose pink, that makes this the 'alba' form of porpax.

Yes, its the 'Alba' form or porpax. Does that mean it just goes into E. porpax?

A couple of first-time bloomers. The photos were taken very early AM and the light was a bit too weak for best photography. I'll redo the photos when the light is better. We've been very overcast all morning due to a cold front moving through. I assume that the Lc. Ann hasn't been registered. This one is from the badly neglected collection I obtained from the old gentleman, and is one of only three that still had a readable label. She's got three stems with three buds per stem.

Blc. Sharon Forsythe 'Orange Red'

Lc. Ann Akagi x Bl. Morning Glory

The label should read Epidendrum porpax var. 'alba'.
Or some people use Epidendrum porpax fma. 'alba'. Fma stands for forma alba or the alba form.

Yes, the label says Epidendrum Porpax var. Alba

Ken, those 'Orange Red' blooms are awesome, looking at that gorgeous frilly lip!

Daisy, nice growing on the alba Epi porpax!

I think LC Ann is stunning but I'm a sucker for anything with Brassavola in it.

Daisy, your Epi. is what I'm trying to achieve with a couple of varieties of mine. I've got a ways to go.

Just opening today in time for this month's parade of blooms is Rhyncholaeliocattleya [Rlc.] Hide Akatsuka:


Jim

As for our weather, we had the hottest October on record (81 degree average) and the forth wettest one (7 inches). My spiny fiber palm is suffering from wet feet and I can't fix it.

Jim

In Lindsey's words, pretty Rum punch? Nice one, Jim!

We had a glancing frost this morning, it was 33 degr F at 8 am and the car windows were a bit frozen.
7 inches of rain in one month! That is certainly plenty!

Love the color!

I will do you all a big favor and make you feel warmer right away!
34 yesterday morning
38 this morning
43 was yesterday's high!
See now don't you feel warmer?!?!
🔥 🔥 🔥

Same in Vero Beach, Jim. Hottest September and now October ever. I think I saw that we had over 18" rainfall in October. That's far above average.