No long orchid name to battle here! Adas announce themselves with brilliant color. This mass of orange petals contains multiple flowers, and looks somewhat like a mound of shredded carrots. Fortunately, a solitary blossom also stands out for the camera. Related to Odontoglossums and Oncidiums, this Ada species is native to the Andes. It lives […]
If long Latin orchid names aren’t your thing, you’ll be happy to know that Odontoglossums are nicknamed Odonts (which rhymes with “no fonts.”) The Odont family includes over 100 species and countless human-made hybrids. Many varieties have long-lasting flowers. I’ve had this first one for years, and its brilliants pinks and yellows always take my […]
Last week’s wacky weather wasn’t limited to a mini heatwave; we also had a hailstorm. San Francisco’s mild weather seldom falls below freezing, but winter storms occasionally bring hail. It rarely does damage in our garden. After a powerful storm was punctuated by noisy hailstones, I saw that the leaves of the Brugmansia had been […]
How can an orchid be sinister? Orchid descriptions usually include words like beautiful and elegant, hardly the stuff of Halloween. Ghost Orchids, dead orchids, and weird orchids can spook you, but it’s the creepy Draculas that can scare you. Some Dracula varieties have a strange flower lip which looks, well, fleshy. You almost expect it […]
While much of the Northern Hemisphere is baking in summer heat, San Francisco is cool and foggy. Our mild weather must bear some resemblance to cloud forests in the Bolivian Andes, because this gorgeous Masdevallia has made itself right at home. In the wild, this species grows on mossy branches. In our back garden, it […]
To honor today’s summer solstice, here are a few sunny-looking Masdevallias. While we enjoy long hours of daylight in the northern half of the planet, plants enjoy the ability to photosynthesize a little longer. Incredible flowers like these are the result. Even if you’re having a hectic Monday, I hope you can take a few […]
My own orchid collection has species and hybrids from all over the world, but only one that’s native to San Francisco. It may be less glamorous than its tropical relatives, but this Epipactis, or Stream Orchid, really enjoys the local climate. This species has a large range over western North America, spanning from Canada south […]
Masdevallias come in many magnificent forms, but few inspire more superlatives than Masdevallia coccinea. Its large flowers sit atop stems up to 2 ft. (60 cm) tall. There are numerous natural color varieties, like eye-catching red, purple, orange, yellow, white, or in this case, hot pink. This form also has a contrasting yellow throat. This […]
With a San Francisco rainy winter kicked into gear, the Cymbidiums in the back garden have bloomed right on schedule. About 50 Cymbidium species are native to an area from India to Japan, and south to Australia. They have been symbols of virtue and friendship in China since Confucius praised them 2500 years ago, and […]
My good friend and fellow orchid nut Kim lives a few blocks away. She’s just on the other side of Dolores Park in San Francisco’s Mission District, and our microclimates are very close. Like me, she’s run out of room for orchids inside, so she enjoys cool growing varieties that can stay outside all year. […]
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