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