Dialaelia "Snowflake" /noid

Spindle shaped bulb in flower.

Close-up. This flower is "diamond dusted".

A noid, this plant resembles very much Dialaelia snowflake.

Kaleideoscope Phal

Click image for larger view.

This baby opened for me today!! What a beauty!! The sparkles on the petals/sepals is called "diamond dusting".

Keiki hormone paste

This node was already swelled when I applied the paste so may end up producing more blooms instead of a keiki.


This node was totally undevelopped (flat) at the time of application. At 3 weeks post application, one can already see the swelling or growth of tissue that may form a keiki .

This is my second attempt at producing keikis on phalaenopsis using Keikigrow hormone paste. When the hormone is applied to the nodes on a phalaenopsis flowering stem, small plants called keikis are induced to grow. These keikis are exact replicas (or clones) of the mother plant.

Here the paste was applied at two different nodes, one which already had signs of growth before application (growth that would likely have resulted in more blooms). The second node had no active growth at the time of application. Once can already see the development of some tissue which will hopefully form a keiki.

Keiki formation induced by crown rot

One year old keiki in bloom!


Doritaenopsis : keiki (baby plant) attached to mother plant (larger plant).


Mother plant showing crown rot.

Thought I'd share some pics of my doritaenopsis keiki that formed as the result of the mother plant succumbing to crown rot. The keiki flowered at about 1 year of age while still attached to the mother plant. I am hoping when I remove the keiki that a second one will from from the mother.

Orchid division

Well, I had the courage today to finally divide one of my prized orchids (actually, they all are for me). Last year's growth on my odontocidium had produced 2 new growths which were so high out of the pot that they needed repotting. In addition, I was concerned that one of the divisions was at risk of dying as the roots seemed to be drying out.

I was able to carefully remove the healthier growth furthest away from the mother bulb and replanted in a mixture of coarse orchid bark mix and New Zealand spagnum peat moss. The other bulb was left on the mother bulb.

I also removed 2 old backbulbs which don't seem to have any healthy "eyes" left on it. Nevertheless I will give them a try at propagation just in case.

Pink Veined/white Phalaenopsis NOID

This orchid was presented to me as a gift by a friend. The petals are mainly white but are delicately cloured with soft pink tones and the flower has a dark pink lip. This orchid was very long flowering. Image used by permission from the author.

Phalaenopsis "Brother Saragold"

What a beauty I found at our local grocery store! This flower has sepals and petals that are deep yellow gold with fine, concentric rose bars and a dark magenta lip. The yellow and pink gives the impression the flower is orange! To top it off, each flower appears to be "diamond-dusted".

Doritaenopsis "Ever Spring Prince"

A brightly colored Doritaenopsis! My specimen plant succumbed to crown rot but managed to form a nice little keiki for me. The keiki, still attached to the mother plant, has put up this first spike at only 1 year of age.

Peloric Phalaenopsis

This strange looking Phalaenopsis has sepals opening as they should but the petals do not completely open! I find it gives the flower a "daffolil" or "cattleya" appearance. What attracted me to this orchid was the beautiful soft pink and yellow tones as well as the unusual looking flower. The phenomenon is called peloria and it is the result of a mutation.

Pinstripe Phalaenopsis

This pink phal actually has a veined pattern which I find resembles pinstripes. I have yet to coax this stubborn plant to bloom for me. I saved this plant (noid) from certain death when I purchased it and so may take many years to bloom.

NOID Moth Orchid

I could not resist getting this nice pink flowered moth orchid eventhough it did not have a id. tag.

White Phalaenopsis NOID

Almost pure white, this phal's lip has a bit of yellow and minor speckling in the throat. Unfortunately, this orchid came with no id tag when purchased.

Phalaenopsis "Mushashino X Hsinying White"

Another beautiful white phal with yellow and orange throat/lip markings.

Phalaenopsis "Duki Ho's Fancy Leopard"

A nice white moth orchid with cerise lip.

Cymbidium

An orchid I don't have but that is on my wish list. This is my friend's cymbidium orchid in full bloom. A beautiful sight to behold.

NOID Moth Orchid

Put your sunglasses on for this beauty! It is unfortunate that there was no identification for this phal so I classify it as a "noid". One possibility could be "Pink Valentine". The bright magenta color is complimented by a dark cerise lip with a speckled yellow throat.

Miniature Phalaenopsis

The smallest of moth orchids include cultivars such as this one called "Little Brother Amaglad". It is a real gem and a favorite due to its compact size and abundant miniature flowers.

Yellow Phalaenopsis

The flowers of this yellow phal has a waxy texture. The blooms open a lime yellow color that progresses to bright yellow with tiny maroon flecks. Although this moth orchid is not fragrant, it compensates by producing many brightly colored flowers which it sports on sometimes up to three spikes per plant! This orchid is a cross of Phal "Taipei Gold Goldstar" x Phal "Goldberry Carmela".

Phalaenopsis "Paul Tatar" x

My very first Phalaenopsis orchid was purchased as a seedling. I waited 3 years for it to bloom and my goodness, it was worth the wait! The first flower spike had 3 branches and held over 40 rose-scented blooms! Cross is from Phal"Paul Tatar" yellow x Phal "Goldiana".

Phalaenopsis "Brother Mirage Brother"

The phalaenopsis (phals) or moth orchids as they are commonly called are one of the easiest orchids to bloom in the home. This one is a nice speckled magenta on white.

NOID oncidium

This oncidium variety is most likely "Aloha Iwanaga" or "Sweet Sugar". Nice compact plant with loads of yellow blooms. Also called dancing ladies orchid because the individual flowers resemble a dancing lady with a ball room dress.

NOID but possibly Dialaelia "Snowflake"

Unfortunately, this orchid was purchased with a mislabeled tag and so is a no id. It has been suggested by fellow orchid experts that this orchid is a cross between laelia albida and diacrum bicornutum (now known as caularthron bicornutum).

This orchid forms a nice compact spindle shaped bulb with stiff curved strap-like leaves. The flowers open pure white and change to a salmon color at maturity. Slight fragrance is noticeable when the flowers are mature.

Miltonidium hybrid

This awesome orchid is another of my miltonidium hybrids. It is so floriferous that I usually loose count of the flowers (from 50 - 100 per spike)! The flower spike measures over 1m tall and one plant can have 2 spikes in bloom at one time. To top it off, the flowers are immensly fragrant and easily fill a whole room. The cultivar is "Issaku Nagata".

Odontocidium hybrid

flower spike about 2ft tall

Label: (Odo. Durham Supreme x Odo. Crispen)novelty X Onc. Maculatum sp. "Green Selves".

Another of my beloved favorites, this rare (unnamed) cultivar I found by pure chance. I purchased as a seedling and so had no idea of the flowers until it bloomed. What a delightful surprise when this baby put out a spray of exotic looking blooms! Individial waxy flowers measure about 3 inches tall and are star shaped. It closely resembles Vuylstekeara which is an intergeneric hybrid resulting from a cross with Milt Ron’s Rippling Delight ‘Pacific Parfait’ x (Vuyl Mem Mary Kavanaugh x Oda John Hainsworth).

Brassia Spider Orchid

This has to be one of my favorite orchids. The huge spider-like blooms are very long lasting and delicately fragrant too! The numerous flowers can measure up to 9 inches tall and number over two dozen per flower spike. This spider orchid is called Brassia rex and the cultivar is "Sakata".

Dendrobium hybrid

Close up of flowers


Potted specimen in bloom

Dendrobium seed pod

Keikis growing on mother plant

Here is one of my very first orchids, a hardy dendrobium hybrid. This plant bloomed reliably for many, many years and the blooms were more and more numerous with each passing season. This dendrobium started flowering around Christmas and blooms lasted until early to late summer.

Dendrobium orchids reproduce sexually (pollen and ovary) to produce seed pods and asexually by forming small plantlets growing on the mother plant. The plantlet is called a keiki (means "baby" in Hawaiian).

Orchids currently blooming

Here is a close up of a popular miltonidium hybrid (cross between a miltonia and an oncidium) variety named "Pupukea Sunset". This hardy little plant blooms profusely on a compact plant and multiplies very easily. An extra bonus is the fact that the flowers are wonderfuly scented!

Welcome to my world of orchids!!

I will be posting information and photographs of my orchid collection here so stay tuned!