Friday, April 29, 2011

Dendrobium malvicolor

Dendrobium malvicolor is another delightful miniature orchid.  It is native to Sumatra and is reputed to be very tolerant of different growing conditions.  I grow it cool but it is supposed to tolerate warm temperatures as well.  It is best grown mounted and is supposed to have a dry rest in the winter.

The growths are about 5 cm long and are thin and wiry at the base, thickened towards the top rather like a club.  It flowers in late winter or spring after dropping its leaves and the flowers come in clusters of three to five.  They appear to be white but actually have a pinkish blush especially at the base of the flowers.

The tip of the column is also bright purple, adding interest to the flowers.  Its name, malvicolor, refers to the supposed resemblance between the color of its flowers and those of the mallow plant.  It belongs to the section Pedilonum and has long-lasting flowers, that have a sparkling, crystalline texture, eviden especially in the last photo.



Schoenorchis seidenfadenii

Schoenorchis seidenfadenii is tiny but charming orchid related to the huge Vandas.  It grows in a little fan of thick fleshy leaves and produces an abundance of tiny pinkish flowers in the spring.  The individual flowers are less than 1 cm in size but are born on densely flowered sprays.  It is native to Thailand and Vietnam and is best grown mounted.  It is supposed to be warm growing, but I have it with my cool growing plants where it does very well, growing and blooming reliably.



Masdevallia filaria

For some reason I am especially attracted to the flowers of the Saltatrices group of Masdevallias, perhaps because their flowers are so odd.  The flowers in this group are all tubular, many with a kind of bulging "belly": at the base of the flower.  The flowers often are bug-like or slug-like.


Masdevallia ventricularia is usually much more bright colored.  This is a very pale form, but its 7 cm flowers, large for the size of the plant, have the typical tubular shape and "belly" of the group.  It is from Colombia and Ecuador and is a small plant of about 10 cm.


Monday, April 18, 2011

Koleksi orkid 1- Species & hybrids

This is some of my orchid collections. They are varied from the common types to the rarely seen ones.
Ini adalah sebahagian daripada koleksi orkid yang saya simpan. Ada yang biasa dan ada antaranya yang agak pelik dan jarang dilihat.


A selected Coelogyne pandurata

 Liparis lacerata


 Dendrobium chrysotoxum. A common species

Dendrobium hybrid with splash petals (lupa nama)


A hybrid. Dendrobium Chao Phraya River x Den.Bush Pansy


 Some of my Coelogyne collections


Cattleya hybrid, Lc Purple Cascade.


Some of my Cattleya collections. The plant in front is Rhyncholaelia digbyana. A species.


 Some of my mixed dendrobium species and hybrids, hanging in a row under the car shade.


 Mixed orchids Brassavola, cymbidium, catasetum and encyclia.

.
 Phalaenopsis violacea 'Malayan type'


This one is a bit odd. Trigonidium eagertonianum A species from South America.  
Rajin berbunga tanpa ada musim.


The all yellow Dendrobium farmeri. some says that this is a Burmese type. Quite rare and a bit expensive.  
Pokok ini masih kecil tetapi sudah boleh berbunga walaupun tidak banyak.


 Epicattleya Joseph Roman var. Roman Holiday


 Catasetum pileatum 'yellow'. A species.


Catasetum Memoria Lum Hon

Catasetum yang berwarna hampir gelap 100%  ini amat jarang dijumpai. Saya bernasib baik kerana dapat membelinya ketika ia baru kembang jika tidak, ada kemungkinan ia akan dijual..


Unknown cattleya hybrids


 
Chysis limminghei.  
Spesis yang jarang dilihat. Pokok ini masih kecil jadi bunga yang dikeluarkan juga sedikit.


 A mini Dendrobium hybrid


 Dendrobium hybrid


Cymbidium Golden Elf, a heat tolerant hybrid.  
Hybird ini boleh ditanam di kawasan tanah rendah dan senang berbunga, walaupun bunganya tidak sehebat hybridnya di kawasan cuaca sederhana, tetapi ia tetap cantik.


Bc. Memoria Vida Lee 'limelight'


Aganisia cyanea. Previous name is Acacallis. A species from South America.  
Pokok ini senang berbunga dan ada yang berbunga putih (alba).

More coming soon...



"Bread feeds the body indeed, but the flowers also feed the soul."
-  The Koran

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Jalan-jalan jumpa orkid : Shah Alam


Orchid is a state flower of Selangor..
Orkid adalah bunga rasmi negeri Selangor..



Spathoglottis and Arundina were mixed together in a landscape
Rimbunan orkid tanah ini memang cantik ditanam secara berkumpulan untuk hiasan lanskap kerana pengeluaran bunganya tidak bermusim.



Other view of the same spot..



another view..



Arundina graminifolia aka bamboo orchid aka Tapah weed a species that is
                                         very easy to grow, makes a nice orchid for landscaping.



Arundina close up..



 A path across the garden..
                                                teamed with orchids growing on a tree trunk..
Orkid epifit seperti phalaenopsis dan oncidium dilekatkan di batang-batang pokok..



Assorted spathoglottis hybrids and a fountain. 
Pelbagai warna orkid spathoglottis kacukan..



Phalaenopsis on a mangosteen trunk..



A signboard about the orchids on display..
Papan tanda bermaklumat untuk menambahkan ilmu..



Vanda Miss Joachim on a wooden pole..
Orkid dari jenis monopodial ini disusun di satu sudut..



Orchid information..



Peristeria elata..Panama's national flower.
Orkid spesis yang berasal dari Amerika Selatan yang sedang berbunga.



Phaius tankervilliae among other ornamentals.
Spesis orkid tanah yang juga mudah ditanam..


"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  
My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  
The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, 
and the dreams are as beautiful."
-  Abram L. Urban

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Masdevallia welischii 'Rip Hoff'

Love that clonal name.  Whoever used it had a since of humor - maybe paid too much for the plant.  Hard to imagine that, though, since this is a spectacular Masdevallia species from Peru.  It has 15 cm narrow but thick channeled leaves that take a bit more light than some plants in the genus.  The flower spikes are 35 cm and stand well above the plant.  The flowers are 7 cm from tip to tip, somewhat small for the size of the plant, but remarkable for their color and glandular hairs.  Unlike other Masdevallias with these "hairs," however, these flower have them mainly on the dorsal sepal, which appears to be much darker than the rest of the flower as a result.  The striking orange and red flowers are also darker on the exterior than the interior.