I'm trying something new. I bought some Keiki paste. This is a hormone treatment, that can cause dormant buds to become activated. It it commonly used on Phalaenopsis in order to cause the orchide to make babies. Here are two photos of the developing buds. They have been treated for about a month with the paste, and are developing nicely.






Here is an update on the orchids I am growing from seed. This plant now has a 5 inch leaf. Not bad for three years. It typically takes around 5 years for a brand-new plant to flower, so I'd say we are "on schedule".

Pretty in Pink

Oh those Phalaenopsis! I have two pink hybrids in bloom right now. The one with the red center is the first orchid I ever bought. When I got her home, the roots were not in good condition, and it almost looked like this would be my first dead orchid. However, she survived my neophyte care, and has gone on to do very well. This is the first year I've gotten a branched spike, so there are two rows of flowers at once.

The Amboinensis is just starting to spike. We should have some flowers there in a month or two.

Moving up from the Community Pots

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy, and the orchids have been quietly growing. I've begun to move some of the pre-teens from their community pots to a pot of their very own. Here is one example - definitely ready to have a pot to herself:



This photo shows the community pot she came from. As each plant gets big enough, it too will move to an individual pot.



Here we have a view of the nursery. It is interesting how the plants really grow at very different rates. Clearly they are all in the same environment. Once we start getting some flowers (in a few more years!) it will be fun to see if plant growth rate has anything to do with flower appearance.



A few unrelated photos. The vinecolor Maudie is back in bloom. This plant seems to be particularly happy this year. In the past, the flower has faded much more quickly. Probably, all the humidity we've had in the North East this year has helped.



And one final pic. The Miltoniopsis is just beginning to open a few buds. It looks like I'll get some spectacular water-fall patterns from this plant.

I thought it was about time to show how the orchid teens are coming along. Here is a picture of them, in their community pots. The pots are 5" square, and quite deep. They are mostly filled with packing peanuts, and then a few inches of New Zealand sphagnum moss. I've had a few plants succumb to "damping off". I think I was keeping the moss too wet. Also, top-watering didn't help. So, now I am keeping them drier, and I water by lowering the pot into a container of water for a minute or so. Whatever the moss soaks up from the bottom is what they get. I'm definitely getting better results this way.

Here are two new pics for your enjoyment. The first is the orchid that got me started. I've had it for 4 or 5 years now, and it just keeps getting better. This is a phalaenopsis hybrid of unknown parentage.



This one is special. It is a phalaenopsis amboinensis. The only species phal in my collection. I got it as a baby, and this is the very first flower it has ever made.

The big day! After many months making seeds, and a year germinating in a jar, the first batch of phalaenopsis orchids have now been potted up. Here are two pictures showing the young plants enjoying their new digs (pun intended). They are in New Zealand long-fiber sphagnum moss. I added a bit of KLN rooting enhancer to help them along.

I hope that they all make it. We'll see.





What is pictured above is from one jar of 8, so there will be lots more seedlings in the weeks to come. I discarded a number of seedlings from this jar, because they had not matured enough to be viable. I'll let the next jar go at least another few weeks before I open it, so that the plants can get a bit bigger.

I am surprised that they were not more uniform in size. Some were still just protocorms, while others had leaves in the 3 cm range. I don't know if this is genetics, or environment. Probably both.

It will be very interesting in a few years when we have some flowers to compare. These seeds are all from a hybrid that was "self'd"; i.e. bred with itself. Not generally the best idea, but hey, I'm just getting started.

The Orchid Adolescents

Well I guess I can't call them "orchid babies" any more. Some have leaves around 3 cm long! I'm torn between opening a jar, or letting them continue to grow in their sterile environment. I think I'll open a jar in the next few weeks, and see how it goes. I have a total of 8 healthy jars, so I can afford to experiment a bit.



I previously posted a picture of my yellow oncidium. Here is a shot two weeks later. Most of the buds are ooen at this point.



Last but not least, here is a wine-colored paph. I love the green in the petals - must be a holdover from a Maudea parent.