In exchange for helping to prepare the MBG orchids for the upcoming show, I picked up a couple of really nice divisions of old crosses. So exciting!

Bc Fladosa registered in 1906.
C luteola x C Cheerio unregistered cross, but believed to be one of the last crosses by James Fordyce. The tag has his catalog number 3951. If I bloom it, I will send in the registration in his memory.

I feel privileged to own some oldies!

Melissa, lucky you!! they sound wonderful!!

Well, I did not buy them, but my kids gave me two lovely orchids for my b'day. Den crumenatum 'Sparky' X Den. crumenatum which is known as the Thunderstorm Orchid. Supposedly thunderstorms inspire it to bloom. (well that means it should be in bloom most of the summer around here . . ... we shall see! ) It has 3 spikes, one with buds coming along, hope they don't blast.

Second is Neofinetia falcata 'Mendenhall' X Neofinetia falcata 'Amami Island' which I already have but wanted another since it is such a small plant, and I mounted the other one on a nice cork mount that is too big. Figure I can double them up and they'll probably be happy, and make a really nice picture once they decide to get blooming.

(yes, I know Neo is now just a Vanda, right?)

The Dendrobium crumenatum should do well for you!
And btw I don't care if they call it a Vanda, to me Neofinetia falcata is that and only that!! So there!!

Don't hide your feelings about all these name-changes, Ursula! At least you don't HAVE TO redo labels.

Ken, don't you think those little Neos are way too small to be called Vanda?
Maybe I could live with a German diminutive here - Vandalein or Vandachen

Well, Ken I got these orchids from a very well respected long-time orchid grower, Carter and Holmes. This one came with the 'old' name on it and is also called that on their site. They don't seem at all concerned with the silly name changes.

I must wonder if they think it will affect their sales, since some people don't know (or don't care) about new names. If mine came with a label saying "Vanda" I would know, thanks to Jim, that it really is the Neo I wanted, but somebody else might not.

At least for a while (20 years or so?? ) until people get used to the name change, I'd be inclined to put both the old and new names on the label, if I were selling orchids.

I'd be the only one, Elaine.

Andy's puts the alternate name in parenthesis on his site and tags. Of course he has some one to do the computer work for him.

I don't have that "someone", Carol. We are talking labels here, right?

I hear ya! Yes we are talking labels and web site. I think it's easier when you have a bunch of employees, some of who will work for plants.

I can't find any that will work for plants! Perhaps I live in the wrong area.

Those would be the temps that help out at the shows...not the full timers, as far as I know.

Hi guys:

Went to the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show last weekend.

I had ordered a Paphinia herrarae from Ecugenara to be picked up there, mainly to force me to attend and maybe buy a few more plants. I say 'force me to attend' because the drive is about 140 miles one way and can be (and was) absolutely hellacious as it goes straight through Los Angeles. I spent nearly four hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic both ways!

But while I was there it was great! Fantastic representation of growers from all over the world.

After I picked up my Paphinia, I bought three other plants.

First, a Dendrobium speciosum. Not quite sure what I'm getting into here as these guys can get huge! Here's a photo of one in the back of a pickup at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate - yes, that's just ONE plant!


The other two are a bit more normal, but both have interesting names: Bc Golf Green 'Hair Pig' and Rlc. Village Chief Headache 'Golden Baby'. As these were both marketed by a grower from southeast Asia, I think something may have been lost in translation. Like maybe the 'Hair Pig' was something like 'Fuzzy Bear' in the original language, but was poorly translated. No clue what the 'Chief Headache' might have been originally.

There was also a bit of a funny incident while I was buying the 'Hair pig' and 'Chief Headache'. The proprietor only spoke broken English and was obviously having a bit of difficulty communicating. A lady came up to him and started asking questions. As I overheard, she was plainly not at all knowledgeable about orchids - probably had just come to the show to see the pretty flowers. She asked the proprietor what kind of orchids he specialized in. His answer was a heavily accented "Cat-ter-ray-ya." The lady said , "Oh, Cateraya - thank you" and walked away saying to her friend how beautiful the Caterayas were and how she'd maybe like to own a Cateraya one day. She had taken the pronunciation literally !!! I had to stifle my laugh so hard my eyes watered! Priceless! Made the whole drive worth it.

Ted, the name is correct. It really is 'Hair Pig'! I have several of them but mine are still tiny, grown from flask. I lost the majority of them. I am not so good growing plants from flask.

When I label mine, IF any survive that is, I decided to name it Bc. Golf Green 'HP'. This is the photo sourced from the grower.

regarding the Cateraya! I can imagine how hard it was not to crack up.
That picture of the Den speciosum is still awesome, I remember seeing it many years ago. That was some spectacular growing on their part! Even growing it at a "lower percentage", it would be/is still a showy plant.
I love Paphinias, wish I would do better with them, I will certainly enjoy yours in bloom down the road.
The other names do sound funny! Happy growing!

interesting Hair Pig bloom!
Looks a bit peloric "digbyanaish"?

I'm just back from the Tampa Orchid Club's annual auction where I gave a 45 minute class to some 30 enthusiasts just before the auction started. Wow, 4 hours of constant bidding and the plants just kept coming. You never know how many you have purchased until the end. Sometimes you feel like there is a great deal to be had and other times the bidding gets crazy. They had an orchid ready to be named, one of Bill Thoms' Bulbos with the paper work all ready to submit. Some lady bought it for $400 so she could name it after her dog. No matter how old you get, you've never seen it all.

Anyway my buying shoes are cooling off at the bottom of the pool while I inventory my stash.

Stanhopea oculata
L. anceps X Cyr. Rustic Canyon
Stanhopea martiana X Sib.
E. tampensis (alba X semi alba)
Stanhopea platyceras
Stanhopea connata X Self
Fdk. After Dark 'SVO' (I am thrilled with this one!)
Stanhopea nigroviolacea ( thrilled with this one too)
Maxillaria variabilis
Bulb. CrownPoint
Bulb. papulosum
Bulb. Misty Girl
Dendrochilum cayaganense (Ursula, I can't find this name anywhere, can you?)
(Vuyl. Yokara x Oda. Fort Point) x Mtssa. Memoria Donald Christia
Paphiopedilum bellatulum 'Red Bella' (Can you believe I bought a Paph?)
Coelogyne usitana X sib.
Coryanthes macrantha X sib.
Wils. Tiger Brew x (Colm. spacetante x Oda. Rememberance topoa)

Jim

Oh ho, Jim! I see you venturing back into Stanhopea territory there! Lots more interesting things to look forward to.

I've been out on the Bay all day again today, and am falling asleep over the keyboard. Z Z z z z z