What a Summer!!

It is hard to believe it is almost two years since my last post.  Life if way too busy..... and I'm retired!  My apologies but there are so many tasks at hand.

In Southwestern Ontario, this summer has been a very odd one.  Earlier in the season, early June, we had a very short period of warm temperatures but, until recently, the day and night temps have been very mild and almost cold.  In a way, I like this.  It makes it easier working out in the yard and, for the most part, the orchids I put outside have enjoyed it.  We've had a good amount of rain so the watering has been done by Mother Nature.

Most of my orchids were removed from the greenhouse this summer while I treated my collection for an infestation of mealy bug and scale - bousduval scale - the worst.  I narrowed the source down to one of two orchid retailers - neither of which I would ever expect to carry this pest on their plants.  But there it was.  A sound lesson to isolate new acquisitions for an extended period BEFORE putting them with the rest of your collection.  This scale seems to prefer, though they are not exclusive to, Cattleyas.  There are many plants I just through out because it would be too risky to think they are pest free when the time comes to put them back in the greenhouse.  The mealy bugs had gone for the Paphiopedilums mainly.

As a hobbyist in Ontario, there is very little made available to us for the effectivve control of any pests.  So I mixed a concoction of water, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, ant poison and dish soap - put it all in a pump sprayer and went to town on everything.  I let the spray linger on the plants for about 15 minutes before rinsing them down with plain water and then repeating the process a few times over the days to come.  Everything will be re-examined before going back into the greenhouse and most things will be repotted.

All that being said, I have a lot of work to do before they can come back inside.  On the other hand, I had some nice flowers since I last posted and have included a few for you to enjoy.  Hope to talk again soon.

Ebb and Flow System for Phrags

This past spring, I had the good fortune to be invited to an appreciation dinner hosted by the Toronto Artistic Orchid Association in Toronto.  A tremendous group of very enthusiastic orchid growers from the Chinese community in that city.  I was seated beside Jason Fischer who had been invited as a special guest while on a speaking engagement with the Southern Ontario Orchid Society (Toronto).  During our dinner, we talked about Phrag. kovachii, its hybrids and general culture of Phragmipediums.  One of the things Jason mentioned was that he found many Phrags respond very favourably to ebb and flow watering systems.  So, upon my return home, I looked into how to set up a system of this type.  I found myself visiting a local hydroponics retailer who was very helpful in getting together the necessary pieces and parts.

I have had my system in place for a few months now and the Phrags have certainly responded well to it.  I need to change the water every couple weeks and I am cautious not to over-fertilize in the process.  I run the system 2x a day for about a half-hour each session.  I may try adding another cycle in the spring when the temperatures start to climb.

Winter is Half Over

Early February already and so far, in SW Ontario, we really have not experienced winter yet.  Fine by me.  My greenhouse began construction in June of 2010 and in March of 2011, the contractor I had hired was trying to belabour the project to draw a fatter pay cheque.  My refusal to give him money for nothing led to his abrupt disappearance, literally, and to the task of finding a suitable and capable replacement.  I managed to do so but it was 8 months later.  In the end, things all work out for the best.  This guy is very reliable and trustworthy and a perfectionist at heart.  As a result, things are still in progress and I've had to house my orchid collection in an incomplete greenhouse.  These projects are so much more involved than I ever considered and WAY more expensive.  It will be spring before I can continue - I have to complete the floor, the drainage, the plumbing and the watering system.  Now that I've had a few months of cooler weather I now know I also need to put in a natural gas heater - electricity is far too expensive and we haven't even experienced extreme cold.  I found the perfect heater but it isn't CSA approved and so no one will install it.  The alternative is 4x the cost.

Because of the cost, I have kept the temperature on the low intermediate to cool side.  Not the best of conditions for my Cattleyas and Phals but the Paphs, Madevallias and Pleurothallids are taking it all in.  I have to find a way to cool down the greenhouse efficiently in the summer so that these little gems continue to flourish.  For anyone considering looking for a fogger for their greenhouse, I highly recommend Hydro Fogger (http://hydrofogger.com/home) with a humidistat.  The unit I bought is the small one, more than adequate for my 15 x 20 growing area.  I had the contractor hook it up temporarily, just to ensure the humidity levels are maintained in my absence.  I had been away and the level dropped to 50%.  When I hooked up this unit, it climbed to 85% in less than 15min and it was foggy in there.  I suspect this will serve to cool things in the summer also.

Well, I'll leave you with a few pictures of my Paphs and hope to update again soon.  I hope some of you will choose to follow my Blog - it will encourage me to do this more often.  Thanks Justin.



Fuzzy pest on the greenhouse floor - Looks like a giant Mealy Bug



Waiting for Fall

Well, just as I had feared, the July scorching temperatures were the demise for several of my more heat intolerant Pleurothallids.  I lost a couple Draculas, a Restrepia and a few of my little Lepanthes, including the norae pictured in an earlier post.  Damn!  The greenhouse is not yet complete and I have been forced to move my plants from where they were to the greenhouse.  I am not ready to handle the variation needed to grow all these plants properly - my contractor bailed on me after trying to stiff me for a bill twice the amount we had agreed to for the electrical work.  Now that he is gone, I have noticed a few things he either didn't do or failed to do properly.  This is a guy I have worked with for many years but now I realize that I may have been stiffed all along - it is amazing how little regard some people have for others and the relationships they form.  Oh well, he's gone and it is probably in my best interests (I know it is).

What does seem to thrive are the Cattleyas and Paphiopedilums.  I seem to have been acquiring a lot of these guys in the past months and now I have my hands full.  I bought a bunch of Cattleya divisions (bare root) and now I have a potting task ahead of me.  I also got about a dozen mini-catts from a guy in Hawaii - some are exceptional while others are give aways - but at $8 each, you can't beat it.

In July, our Orchid Society visited Crystal Star Orchids in the Toronto area and I picked up a hybrid compact Cattleya that originated from Sun Valley Orchids.  With the permission of the hybridized, Fred Clarke, I registered the cross as Rhyncattleanthe Memoria Elizabeth Cott - a tribute to a mother and friend who was always supportive.  She loved bright colours - her orange kitchen and fluorescent pink bedroom were testaments to that.  So this opalescent yellow Cattleya with the gold and fuchsia lip is a fitting reminder and tribute.

Back after a Busy Period

The month of July has been crazy so far and today it is, literally, 110 degrees in the greenhouse.  Awwhhh....  Can't wait for some relief.  Some of my Pleurothallids appear to have succumbed to the extreme heat but I have brought them into the basement and will try to revive them if I can.

I have had a few things come into bloom.  One of the ones I am proud of is my Brassavola cucullata.  I bought this as a bare-root plant at a show and it really didn't look like it would do much.  I liked the flower so I thought I'd give it a go.  Well, It has a bloom and a bud and the scent is very fragrant at night.  I soak it once or twice a week and hang it in a south window with lots of shading.  It seems to love it.  Last year I kept it outdoors and it did well.  The only problem was with the squirrels who were intent on nibbling on it.  A sachet of mothballs hung close by thwarted that soon enough.

In addition to the Brassavola, I acquired a miniature Bulbophyllum from Clouds Orchids recently.  It is Bulb. tortuosum.  Tiny plant and blooms the size of a pinhead.  Absolutely fascinating.  You can see from the photo the relative size of the bloom to the staple holding the plant secure on the mount.

Finally, my Paph. Norito Hasegawa finally opened.  Beautiful chartreuse flower on a very long inflorescence of about 2' in length.  The bud was very small when it first emerged from the crown of the plant and the stem continued to elongate and finally stop.  Then the bud developed and I never would have imagined this flower could come from it.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope to post more regularly.



Busy, busy, busy

I have had my hands full for the past week and haven't had a chance to post another entry here.  Have taken some nice pictures and will take more today.  I have been working on a presentation about the genus Pleurothallis and am presenting it on Saturday.  I will be preaching to the choir - at least three renowned experts on the subject in the audience.  Well, it's a learning experience and so I approach it as such.

A couple of friends of mine have encouraged my to get into photography and I recently bought a macro lense.  This is essential if photographing Pleurothallis - many are less than a cm across.  I posted a photo of Pths norae a while back.  Here is another I took - Pths rubella (and it is coming into bloom again).

I will sign off now but look for postings next week.

The Blooms Keep Coming

This morning I was pleased to see a couple of my mounted species in bloom.  The first is Phalaenopsis parishii, a tiny Phal from Vietnam/Thailand.  I have had this specimen for a few years since acquiring it from Clouds Orchids (Niagara region) and it blooms religiously for me.  This year some of the buds blasted because I have the plant hanging in an east window and I think it got too cold there in early spring.  I saturate the roots once or twice a week.  Mounted on cork and supported with sphagnum moss and wire, the blooms are very similar to lobbii.  In fact, some argue they are the same but different varieties (lumpers and splitters again).  Parishii has a similar lip to lobbii but the difference lies in the colour of the lip.  Phal. parishii has a "blue"/mauve lip while lobbii has a brown/butterscotch colour.

Phalaenopsis parishii

The second gem in bloom today is Bulbophyllum elassoglossum, a species native to the Philippines.  I don't recall who I got this from but it's likely one I got at one of the Orchid Shows in Toronto through a Taiwanese grower.  It bloomed for me once before but it happened during a week I was away.  When I returned, the bloom was spent.  This time  have monitored its progress.  The bud appeared quickly but was slow to open.  Orchidwiz (invaluable for research like this) indicates that it likes to be saturated with water regularly.  So last night I set it in a tub of rainwater and Viola!, the bud was open this morning.  Somehow, I suspect the flower is pollinated by a night insect because once I had the flower out of the tub and into the light for 15 minutes, the flower began to close.  I can't find anything about that in my books but I will continue to check.  I have put the plant in a dark area for a bit to see if the flower again extends its sepals and petals to flaunt its beauty once more.  This photo has the flower partly open.

Bulbophyllum elassoglossum