AboutOrchids

If we ever found flowers on another planet, could they possibly be stranger than these earthly orchids? Some of these blooms look like visitors from Mars or Neptune.

Despite their alien facades, they’re simply members of the enormous orchid family, which has diversity beyond measure. Their long Latin names, like Masdevallia caudivolvula and Sigmatostalix posadarum, are sometimes bigger than the blooms themselves. They may resemble birds in flight or deep sea creatures, but they don’t look much like flowers.

In choosing photos for this post, out of many years of our orchid show pictures, the Bulbophyllums truly stood out. This large, diverse group of orchids has lots of weird blooms. The last row of photos below shows three Bulbophyllum examples, but there were many more. Don’t these flowers look like they could have come from another planet?

AboutOrchids only dabbles in politics related to orchid conservation, and this post is no exception. If you’re an orchid lover, the only choice for president this November is Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee would be a disastrous decision for many reasons, but the one that’s most important on this blog is saving our endangered planet. That requires science, and Trump is anti-science. This recent article from Scientific American disqualifies him from the job on that single point alone. Fortunately, polls are looking good for Clinton now, but it’s not over til it’s over.

The photos above illustrate three examples of endangered orchid species which need Hillary Clinton to win. These are just a few of many thousands of orchid species which are imperiled by climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and poaching of wild plants. Hillary Clinton has a strong environmental record, and she has pledged to tackle climate change and other problems. If orchids could vote, their choice would definitely be Hillary Clinton for president.

Japanese scientists have discovered a new parasitic orchid species whose flowers never open.  This strange new Gastrodia species doesn’t photosynthesize, instead stealing nutrients from fungi in the soil. In addition, its peculiar flowers stay closed, and pollinate themselves.

Sobralia flowers never fail to impress. Recently I mentioned this plant in a post about Growing Orchids Outdoors in Pacifica. This Sobralia species bloomed for years outside in our San Francisco garden. It didn’t do so well after our move to the coast, so I finally brought it indoors. After a quick growth spurt, it flowered before we left for our recent trip to Colorado.

These big purple blossoms, with sunny yellow and white centers, only last for a few days, the very definition of fleeting beauty. The first three pictures above show my plant’s recent bloom indoors. The remaining pictures below show blooms from past years, when the plant lived outdoors in our San Francisco garden, They include a great photo of a visit by a spectacular Gulf Fritillary butterfly, warming its wings in the autumn sun, and adding even more beauty to a Sobralia bud.

Australia is home to many unusual plants, including some orchids which hide in plain sight. They grow leaves year after year, but rarely flower, until there’s a bushfire. Pyrorchis nigricans, also known as the Fire Orchid or Red Beak, bursts into bloom in the year after a fire. Learn more about these scorched orchids in Australian Geographic.

Orchids may be our favorites, but natural beauty comes in many forms. That certainly includes the stunning fall colors of the Colorado Rockies. Dave and I recently visited Southwest Colorado, and enjoyed awe-inspiring mountains gilded in their autumn foliage.

The bright yellow leaves belong to aspens. In the thin mountain air around 10,000 feet (3048 m), there were a few orange and red varieties, but most were sporting yellow. Contrasted against green conifers and blue sky, the golden aspens easily stand out, whether it’s a single tree or a vast forest. A couple of idyllic mountain lakes, along with Columbines and a Dahlia from local gardens, complete the picture for one of Mother Nature’s best shows.

All over the globe, these events offer great opportunities to see incredible flowers, take photos, talk to orchid experts, and buy plants for your own collection. Don’t miss an orchid show happening near you!

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Orchid lovers know that orchids have different potting needs than most other houseplants. Check out some helpful orchid potting tips from the the Tri-City Herald in southeastern Washington state.

For every hue of an autumn forest, there’s an orchid with that color. The orchid family spans the rainbow, so there are plenty of autumn matches to be found. Vibrant red maple, rich yellow gingko — orchids boast them all, every shade. Enjoy the colors of autumn, and happy equinox.

This orchid doesn’t win any points for being showy. Nobody gasps in delight when they see its flowers, or gushes over its colors. Epidendrum peperomia is a mini orchid species with flowers that remind me of beetles. It’s quite distinct from its larger orchid relatives, like the reed-stem Epidendrums, which flaunt tall clusters of brilliant blooms.

Despite this apparent lack of glamour, this species has its charms. The flowers are relatively large compared to the leaves, and the flower lips feature a rich maroon color. It’s known as an easy grower and easy bloomer, and it can form an impressively large mat of leaves with masses of 1 inch (2.5 cm) flowers.

This Epidendrum is native to a wide area from Mexico through Central America, and south through the Andes to Bolivia. It grows well mounted or in shallow pots. Provide morning sun, regular water, and winter dormancy. Scientists have debated where this species fits in the orchid family tree, so it sometimes appears under older names like Epidendrum porpax or Nanodes porpax. No matter the name, there’s more to this little orchid species than meets the eye.