Archive for March, 2009

Nothing

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Sometimes your orchid just sits there and does nothing. It had those gorgeous blooms that lasted so long, and you’ve followed the instructions for light, water, temperature, fertilizer, humidity, and dormancy, but nada. Same old leaves, same old roots. You’ve waited, and the plant doesn’t get any worse, but it doesn’t get any better either. […]

Dracula

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

No, this Dracula orchid doesn’t bite your neck or sleep in a coffin, but this miniature is interesting in its own right. Dracula means “little dragon” in Latin, and the botanist who named this genus thought that the flowers looked like dragon’s teeth. I think they look more like orange bells, but I’m grateful for […]

Spring Has Sprung

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Happy equinox! Welcome to the first day of spring, unless you’re in the southern half of the planet. In that case, welcome to the first day of autumn. No matter where you are on earth, day and night last 12 hours each. Like all plants, orchids detect the lengthening days and increasing strength of the […]

Native Orchid Conference

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

The Native Orchid Conference (NOC) is a non-profit organization whose purpose, in its own words, is “to foster the study, conservation, and enjoyment of the native orchids of the United States and Canada.” These North American orchids are sometimes less glamorous than their tropical counterparts, but no less fascinating or beautiful. Ranging from Florida to […]

More Orchid Show Pictures

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

We have so many great pictures from this year’s San Francisco Orchid Show that 2 posts weren’t enough. As usual most are Dave’s, but I took a couple of these. The 1st shot shows a nice close-up of Darwin’s Orchid, the same species we saw at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden growing up in a […]

Weird and Wacky Orchids

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

The 30,000 or so species of orchids around the world have tremendous variations in their flower shapes. Some of them have shapes that are truly surprising. Others are so unusual that it can be tough to believe that they’re real. And some have flowers that are just plain weird. Here are some great examples from […]

Pacific Orchid Expo 2009

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Question:  if you put 150,000 orchid flowers in a room, what will you have? Answer:  the 2009 Pacific Orchid Exposition in San Francisco.  You’ll also have Dave and me running around with our cameras, trying to take pictures of as many of those flowers as possible. Here are a few samples: This year’s theme was […]

Arundina, an Orchid Weed

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

If you don’t live in the tropics, you may be surprised that this beautiful flower belongs to a pesky weed. If you live in a rainy area of the tropics, you probably recognize it. It’s Arundina, commonly known by its nickname “Bamboo Orchid.” The small plant in the 3rd photo shows the strong stems and […]

March Orchid Shows

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

I said that March was a busy month for orchid shows, and I wasn’t kidding! This is only a partial listing of shows around the world, from here in San Francisco to Atlanta, Buenos Aires, and Costa Rica. The Philadelphia Flower Show, while not specifically an orchid show, is the largest flower show in the […]