I’ve finally sussed this orchid, and it’s responded with a mass flowering, just coming on now with faintly hyacinth-scented blooms. It’s got an unusual growth habit and wanes slowly if it’s not maintained. The new stems shoot from the base in Spring, grow with handsome leaves for 18 months, then drop their leaves and are bare, but succulent, through their second Winter. They need a slight chill, then in late Winter the bare stems send out flower spikes. The secret to them seems to be that they need to be…
Read MoreMonth: September 2012
Pitcher plants
These pitcher plants (Sarracenia) are an interesting feature for a window planting box. In early spring they send up these uniquely shaped flowers, which get a lot of comment. I’ve got two types; a tall thin pitcher (the classic type, flower below) and a large, low, ‘huntsmans cup’ type (flower above). The flowers come as the last season’s leaves are dying back, so for best effect I would cut all the old pitchers back. I’m a little surprised they do so well in this warm climate, but they’re easy with…
Read MorePhalaenopsis, blotchy purple
Now the spring flowers are starting, on new stems that shot in early winter. The first winter in the mini greenhouse seems to have given big flowers, although a few buds fell. I wonder whether losing buds is due to the occasional over-warm day in there. I like this one for its semi-random, asymmetric blotches.
Read MoreDendrobium kingianum, large form
Although very different in form to the little pink rock orchid, posted a few weeks ago, this seems to be just a different cultivar of Dendrobium kingianum. It has striking tall stems and is beautiful just as a foliage plant. The flowers are only a little bigger than the pink form, and they come a little later. It sends up a new set of stems after flowering. Very easy going. This year it will fill the pot, so I’ll see how it responds to crowding.
Read MoreDockrillia
Dockrillia linguiformis, a.k.a. the tongue orchid, from the shape of the leaves. A local orchid with these lovely flowers at the break of spring. Happy with very little, it grows on a section of wood, just hanging on an East facing wall. Finding the right spot for it took a while, and it slowly declined in various sheltered spots until I found the current one. It probably needs rain exposure and a little shade to do best.
Read MoreIs the end still nigh?
Lately I’ve been given three separate scenarios for our imminent demise. The problem is, these forecasts aren’t usually given like opinions, they carry much more implied moral weight, as if I’m supposed to take them as seriously as the speaker, or woe betide. But are we in for three separate catastrophes? To slightly mangle the German saying; things only have one end, and only the sausage has two. Two of the anticipated endings have vague timelines; ecological catastrophe due to global warming, and global economic collapse due to contagion from…
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