Ooo, I just love Sheherezade, Mj. I'm sure the color is just that much richer in person. Those reds are confoundedly tough to photograph. A darker background seems to help mine sometimes.

Jim, the Coryanthes is just amazing. But I am absolutely with Tarev, it's truly an alien orchid.

Our kids left yesterday afternoon and by the time we got back from the airport, my C. gaskelliana var. coerulea2 had popped. It rained some last night and this morning, so the petals are a little floppy, but the lip is a really nice color, a little blue-er than the picture shows. (again, I'll try later when they're dry with a dark background) They smell great already, and the flowers are huge!

Beautiful blooms, MJ and Elaine.

Such a pretty Cattleya, Elaine!
Surely your house will feel empty now!
Regarding crazy blooms like that - if I were to make Sf movie, I would certainly look at Orchids for inspiration.

Mj, how to handle different looking siblings? The name stays the same for both of them, but if you were to take your Orchids to be judged, you will attach a different clonal name to each of the siblings.
Say you name one of them Vanda Dragon Tongue 'Red Spitfire' and name the other one Vanda Dragon Tongue ' Save the Princess'. How is that?

Elaine I think your getting the rain now that we've been getting for the last couple of weeks.

Ursula, doubtful I'll ever go show my Orchids, but if I did I certainly like those names.

I almost forgot ! Our native terrestrial Ladies Tresses (Sacoila lanceolata) are up. Just love these and so fortunate that they grow here. We keep permanent stakes in the ground as the spikes shoot up before leaves appear so that they don't get mowed. Some are up in the main yard but there are some out in the pastures also.

Wow, those are gorgeous, Mj. What a great color, and the flowers remind me of the Sarcoglottis 'hand puppets' a bit.

Speaking of which, Elaine. My Sarcoglottis sceptrodes have all bloomed and those blooms are now finished. Do they bloom again this spring/summer/fall? This is the first time mine have bloomed.

Not sure, Ken. Mine hasn't bloomed at all for me yet. It's a tiny little plant in a 2in. pot and I thought it was dead but turns out it was 'just resting'. It's just putting up its new leaves now.

Jim has bloomed them for a few years, I think.

OK, perhaps Jim can give me that answer. Thanks.

Mine bloom just once each year but the pretty leaves hang on a long time.

Jim

Thanks, Jim.

Mj, your Sacoila looks like a red Spiranthes on Steroids! And - I am glad you liked the clonal names..

A little departure here, my brother up in British Columbia found this wild orchid on his daily walk with his dog this morning. Is it a cypripedium? I just don't know where to start looking for this.

Yes, I scolded him for transplanting it, but he said he scooped it up with a big root ball, took it home to get a picture and then went and put it back exactly where he found it. (didn't have his camera with him on the walk). Then, of course I told him to take his camera to the flower next time . . . hey, he's my brother, its my job to keep him on course.

Hmm, not that easy to id it?

Arethusa bulbosa? What do you think ? Later - no

Looking again, pictures of Arethusa bulbosa in bloom never show those type of leaves, so I am digging some more. Calypso bulbosa ? Sure looks like it?

It sure does, thanks Ursula. I'm going to send him a link to that one, and tell him to look at some other plants to see if there are any with the little yellow beard on the tongue. It may only be there in earlier or later stages of the bloom, right?

Not all the images I looked at had it, either.

I started up the month of May here
The thread "Our Orchid blooms in May 2015" in Orchids forum
please all join us overthere!

Oh dear, and I just caught up with April........