Archive for October, 2024

Researchers Want to Learn the Secrets of the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

Saturday, October 26th, 2024

The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid boasts showy white flowers standing on 2-foot (0.6 m) plants, but it’s not easy to find. Growing among tall prairie grasses, it blends in perfectly. Steve Travers, a biologist at North Dakota State University in Fargo, says “I have a hell of a hard time finding it sometimes. And when […]

Greenhood Orchids with Booby Traps

Saturday, October 19th, 2024

Some orchids can be sneaky. Greenhoods, or Pterostylis orchids, have a surprise in store for small flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. These strange flowers have tricky lips. As an insect enters the flower, the hinged lip snaps shut. This briefly imprisons the pollinator inside the bloom. The only escape route is a tight squeeze past the […]

A Decade Growing Orchids in Pacifica

Saturday, October 12th, 2024

Over ten years ago, Dave and I moved from San Francisco to nearby Pacifica. A decade later, I’ve learned about a lot about growing orchids so close to the ocean. Even though we’re only 10 miles (16 km) from our former home, it’s a very different microclimate. Now at 1/3 mile (0.5 km) from the […]

October Orchid Events

Tuesday, October 1st, 2024

Check out these orchid events across six continents. They’re great opportunities to enjoy incredible flowers, take photos, meet fellow orchid lovers, and buy plants for your collection. October 2 – 14 Central California Orchid Society Show at the Big Fresno Fair, Fresno Fairgrounds, 1121 S. Chance Ave., Fresno, California October 3 – 4 Maitland & […]