For orchid lovers

[torrap]

Thank you Mike,
Hey, you are in a pretty humid state...I would say why not?

I am a stupid and crazy one to grow orchids in a dry state like CO.
But we have sunshine here like no other state.........and we are 1 mile closer to Sun...........so my orchids are blooming even here.
Unlike our feathered friends they can do OK without a lot of attention.....

 

[Klaery]

Very unusual! Well don't getting it to flower in your climate

 

[Betrisher]

Oh wow, torrap! Your plants are amazing!!! Do they always live inside, or do you bring them in when they flower? All mine live outdoors hanging from our jacaranda tree in baskets (saves the snail/slug thing from happening). Sadly, it doesn't prevent the $*&)*$ cats from sitting on them from time to time. Dam' cats, swingin' away on my Dancing Ladies! What genus is the green flower with the white centre? I've never heard of Psychopsis (busily going to look it up) - is it related to Oncidium (just going by the colours, not the flower shape)?

I do feel lucky living in the land of Dendrobiums! There are so many of them and they're so little and easily overlooked when walking in the bush. When you come upon one in flower, it's like having a sudden injection of chocolate: pure pleasure!

Once, years ago, we took the kids to a petting zoo place north of here. While the rest of the family was taking photos of the kids milking cows etc, I was marching around looking up in the trees, which were *loaded* with all sorts of Dendrobiums in full flower. It was amazing, as I'd never seen so many in number or in variety in the one place before. Well, just as my poor son was falling off the donkey ride, I happened upon a largish branch which had fallen off a tree. It was chockablock with D. teretifolium, D. linguiforme, D. kingianum, D. beckleri *and* a Sarchochilus falcatus! Something made me pick it up and I carried it back to where my wailing son was just getting an ice-cream from his Granny (no harm done). I asked the property owner if I could take the branch and he said (I kid you not) 'You sure you want it? It's only rubbish!' Hah! The orchids flowered and flowered for me every year - until my son and I moved into college so I could finish my degree. Sadly, Mum killed them with TLC. They drowned.

I've always wondered: do you get native orchids in the US? Well, of course you do, but are they mostly ground-dwellers or epiphytes? Do people cultivate them, or are they classified among general wildflowers? We get a whole lot of interesting ground orchids, but they're very very difficult to cultivate (although some manage it). It's so nice to be able to talk orchids here - there must be a psychological connection between keeping them and parrots, d'you think? Pretty colours?

 

[torrap]

Wow, Betrisher........great guess........Psychopsis does relate to onsidium!
The greenish/whitish flower is a Lycaste macrophylla.


I was smiling when you asked about if I grow them outside or inside....hehe. Our 10% humidity, scorching sun in the Summer and Snow with freezing temps in the Winter outside does not allow for such luxury that you have down under. That's why with all my orchids and now birds I hardly have a normal living space for myself in my rather big house.......
P.S. I do think there is something about people who have birds and orchids. I have noticed in this documentary about parrots everyone talking about, the first episode had an older lady with a cockatoo....and she was misting orchids growing in her house......

 

[Terry57]

Your orchids are gorgeous!

 

[JerseyWendy]

OH MY....your orchids took my breath away!!!! I'm literally speechless.

Gorgeous beyond words!!! Thank you SO much for the link. I think I'll go sweet talk to mine a bit, and see if that will help them any. :54:

 

[torrap]

Thank you everyone, you are kind.
Wendy, sweet talk helps....also some people achieve success by threatening their orchids with throwing them outside on a snow....:54:...I am not kidding.....

I just noticed one I missed yesterday, and being scared of retaliation, I better post it here......
004.jpg Photo by minsk80 | Photobucket

Orchids could be worse than parrots with being moody.....

 

[mtdoramike]

Here is a few of my wife's orchids in bloom.

 

[torrap]

WOW, beautiful!
How I envy you for being able to grow them outside.
I bet these are fragrant too. Most Catts are very fragrant.

 

[mtdoramike]

Oooooooh yes, they can really perfume a room or two when we bring them indoors. Being able to grow plants outside year around is one of the good things about living in central Florida. There are only a few days a year when temps drop below 45 with expected frost that we have to bring them indoors