Orchids in Puerto Rico in February

[Cindy Adair]

This is my first time ever in Puerto Rico in February.

No, I don't miss the really cold 18 degrees F predicted in Virginia Beach, VA tonight.

It was 72-80 in PR today and we are having a welcome rain for the last hour which should trigger even more orchid blooms! 

Many of my orchids decorate my palms.

 

 

 

[Cindy Adair]

More!

[Cindy Adair]

Although snow is pretty too, much better to be wearing shorts photographing orchids! 

[Silas_Sancona]

As always, a treat seeing all your Orchids Cindy. Even better seeing them growing as they naturally would among the trees. Really like Picture #10, Dendrobium X possibly "Green Lantern?" Curious if you have noticed a particular "season" for various groups of Orchids there yet.

[Ben1]

14 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

Although snow is pretty too, much better to be wearing shorts photographing orchids! 

 

Thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous pictures with us, Cindy! 

 

I can really understand your attitude als I would prefer waering shorts as well 

[Cindy Adair]

On February 14, 2016 at 12:02:25 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

As always, a treat seeing all your Orchids Cindy. Even better seeing them growing as they naturally would among the trees. Really like Picture #10, Dendrobium X possibly "Green Lantern?" Curious if you have noticed a particular "season" for various groups of Orchids there yet.

Thank you!

That orange and white one is Frosty Dawn 'Wings of Gold' which I tied to that now dying citrus tree in June 2009. It is nearly always in bloom. Some species do seem timed to flower at the same time they did inside my greenhouse in Virginia though which intrigues me.

Some genera that I was told needed to dry out or "rest" do tend to bloom after a dry spell ends and I understand some respond to a drop in night time temperatures. I am just happy with whatever nature gives me here. Still not having the slipper orchids in pots bloom as I did in my greenhouse. If a full year goes by I may trade them for more epiphytes?

On February 14, 2016 at 9:55:22 AM, Ben1 said:

Thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous pictures with us, Cindy! 

 

I can really understand your attitude als I would prefer waering shorts as well 

Thank you! Wish I could share my perfect for me weather, but I know some are too hot at 80 degrees.... And some like lots of snow when I would stay inside and look at tropical photos!

[Ben1]

6 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

... And some like lots of snow when I would stay inside and look at tropical photos!

That's exactly what I do at this time of the year even though we don't have snow at the moment. 

 

Looking forward to June when I'm gonna travel to Australia and stay for almost one year in the northern wet tropics. I'm sure I won't miss the European winter. 

 

Is there a nioticeable difference between species and cultivars relating to the frequency of bloom? I would guess the hybrids bloom more often as this should be one aim of many breeders....

[Cindy Adair]

3 hours ago, Ben1 said:

That's exactly what I do at this time of the year even though we don't have snow at the moment. 

 

Looking forward to June when I'm gonna travel to Australia and stay for almost one year in the northern wet tropics. I'm sure I won't miss the European winter. 

 

Is there a nioticeable difference between species and cultivars relating to the frequency of bloom? I would guess the hybrids bloom more often as this should be one aim of many breeders....

Many hybrids are bred for more frequent blooms I am told. 

Congrats on your upcoming year in Australia! Any chance of joining the IPS post tour for a week in Darwin in June? It should be great fun!

[Ben1]

On 16. Februar 2016 um 13:30:49, Cindy Adair said:

14 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

Many hybrids are bred for more frequent blooms I am told. 

Congrats on your upcoming year in Australia! Any chance of joining the IPS post tour for a week in Darwin in June? It should be great fun!

 

 

Thanks a lot, Cindy! I'll post some pics of what I'm going to see. Great chance for me to contribute something intresting here finally.  

Unfortunately I can't join the meeting/ tour. I'll attain in Cairns on June 23th and spend about one week at this area before I go to the family who own a tropical nursery where I'll stay and work for several months.

by the way: sorry for my off-topic writing! 

 

[SubTropicRay]

Simply awesome Cindy!! 

[Cindy Adair]

3 hours ago, Ben1 said:

 

Thanks a lot, Cindy! I'll post some pics of what I'm going to see. Great chance for me to contribute something intresting here finally.  

Unfortunately I can't join the meeting/ tour. I'll attain in Cairns on June 23th and spend about one week at this area before I go to the family who own a tropical nursery where I'll stay and work for several months.

by the way: sorry for my off-topic writing! 

 

Sorry I won't get to meet you in Australia and no worries about off topic writing. That's part of the fun of this forum in my opinion.

3 hours ago, SubTropicRay said:

Simply awesome Cindy!! 

Thanks Ray! Hope to see you in Borneo!

[epiphyte]

Wow!  Really nice!  Have you noticed any seed pods or seedlings yet?   Check out this photo of a Tolumnia and its seedlings in the Dominican Republic.  So awesome!  

Do you have any Tolumnias?  I have several and they are quite wonderful.  I really wish that mine would volunteer everywhere!  Including on myself!  

[Zeeth]

Always nice to see your orchid threads. I love the look of an epiphyte covered tree. I'm fortunate that my climate will sustain a few species of orchids without any extra care, but your collection is just superb! 

[Cindy Adair]

Thank you all! I do have some Tolumnias and in fact I saw one in bud recently so you have reminded me to trek there and take a photo.

I do have lots of seed pods, but not sure if any seedlings yet. Such a jungle around here that I could miss them.

[Cindy Adair]

On February 24, 2016 at 4:39:30 PM, epiphyte said:

Wow!  Really nice!  Have you noticed any seed pods or seedlings yet?   Check out this photo of a Tolumnia and its seedlings in the Dominican Republic.  So awesome!  

Do you have any Tolumnias?  I have several and they are quite wonderful.  I really wish that mine would volunteer everywhere!  Including on myself!  

Since I am generally energetic and determined and also love walking around the farm, I enjoyed looking for my Tolumnia in bud. However I couldn't locate it and rain threatened so I headed for the porch. I was puzzled because I knew I had noted the buds while escorting some visitors along the easier to access paths and I covered all of those without locating the orchid.

This morning I solved the mystery. This orchid I had tied to a tree that extends upstairs to the balcony where they stayed! Sadly the blooms have faded, but at least I found the plant. I do need to do a location map for the orchids (and the fruit trees and the other ornamentals...) like I have done for the palms! I want to have photos by each item also. Especially since my jungle sometimes swallows even aluminum tags.

I will add that to my already lengthy, but fun "to do" list.

Here are a few more February orchids.

[Ben1]

Wow so nice!

Those orchids are even more beautiful when placed in natural environment!

Love the Cattleyas and the one below with the elongated petals. Is it a Brassia cultivar or species?

[epiphyte]

7 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

Since I am generally energetic and determined and also love walking around the farm, I enjoyed looking for my Tolumnia in bud. However I couldn't locate it and rain threatened so I headed for the porch. I was puzzled because I knew I had noted the buds while escorting some visitors along the easier to access paths and I covered all of those without locating the orchid.

This morning I solved the mystery. This orchid I had tied to a tree that extends upstairs to the balcony where they stayed! Sadly the blooms have faded, but at least I found the plant. I do need to do a location map for the orchids (and the fruit trees and the other ornamentals...) like I have done for the palms! I want to have photos by each item also. Especially since my jungle sometimes swallows even aluminum tags.

I will add that to my already lengthy, but fun "to do" list.

I'm glad that your Easter Egg hunt was successful!  It's ok the Tolumnia was no longer blooming...  Next year!  That's a good idea to make a treasure map of your orchids!

Some other orchids I would highly recommend if you don't already have them are Barkerias and Psychilis.  They are my second and first favorite genera.  Neither are very showy but I really like them.  Both of them primarily occur in tropical dry forests... so they are relatively drought tolerant.  Some of their species even grow on cactus in their native habitats.  They can probably handle a decent amount of water as long as they have perfect drainage.  So I definitely wouldn't recommend including any moss when they are mounted.  Barkerias tend to go deciduous during winter... which is kinda important to know... so you don't jump to the wrong conclusion when all the leaves fall off!   

Barkerias used to be my favorite genus but then I started growing Psychilis krugii and I realized that it's a real sequential bloomer.  Beginning around early Spring and lasting until late Fall... as soon as one flower starts to fade.... another starts to open.  It's pretty amazing!  All of my other orchids would put on a nice show for a few weeks and then nothing for the rest of the year.  Although... I'm sure that in the tropics with a longer growing season there are plenty of orchids that will bloom two or three times a year.  But here in the subtropics most of my orchids bloomed once a year and that was it.  So it was really quite a surprise to learn that Psychilis krugii is a real exception to the rule.  Unlike with the Tolumnia... the krugii keeps on blooming!  I think there are other Psychilis species that are also sequential bloomers.  Around a year ago I bought a small Psychilis kraenzlin from Andy's Orchids for a surprisingly good price.  The very few times I had seem them for sale they were super expensive.  Like most of his orchids he doesn't list them on his website so I'm not sure if he has any more available.  Last Fall I saw they were also on eBay for a bit more money... but I couldn't help myself and bought another one.  They are still available here and here.  I honestly have to resist the temptation to buy another one!  

Last year I discovered that the common reed-stem Epidendrums grow relatively quick and easy from seed.... no flasking required!  They are also pretty decent sequential bloomers... but they really don't make the best epiphytes.  Some Epis have been crossed with Barkerias to make Bardendrums.   Here's my friend with his Bard. Nanboh Pixie 'Cherry Moon'.  He was nice enough to share a keiki with me and I mounted it on a piece of wood.  It recently bloomed and I pollinated it with pollen from an Epidendrum secundum.  The pollen took and now I'm crossing my fingers that the pod will fully develop.  Some Barkerias can be quite "precocious".  They can bloom at a relatively young age for an orchid.  For example... Bard. Nanboh Pixy x Bro. sanguinea (Lambara Five Aces) bloomed at 2" to 3" tall 6 months out of the flask.  So it would be ideal to combine the easy germinating, sequential blooming traits of the reed-stem Epis with the epiphytic, early blooming traits of the Barkerias.  Then it would be possible to make a lot more progress in terms of drought/temperature tolerance in a lot less time.  

It would be even better if I didn't have to do any of the pollinating!  Bro sanguinea and Epi secundum are both pollinated by hummingbirds.  So ideally they would do all the pollination work and I would simply collect the pods and sow the seeds.  There are actually several other Cattleya alliance species that are pollinated by hummingbirds such as Guarianthe aurantiaca, Sophronitis cernua and Prosthechea vitellina.  The last one is really striking!  But from what I've heard... it's not a fan of heat... so I'm guessing that it wouldn't do too well in Puerto Rico.  I wanted to buy one for the longest time but didn't buy one for the same reason.  Last Fall I said heck with out and purchased a small one for $18 dollars from SLO Orchids.  A few months before doing so I purchased Golden Peacock ((nodosa x milleri) x vitellina) on eBay from a vendor in Florida.  If it doesn't mind growing in Florida then it doesn't mind the heat.  Just recently another Florida vendor on eBay listed the same cross.  I think that Laelia milleri is also pollinated by hummingbirds so I'm curious if the hummingbirds will also be able to pollinate Golden Peacock. 

Last Fall I also drove down with a few friends to Sunset Valley Orchids.  I bought Epc Kyoguchi (C aurantiaca x Epi aromatica) and two of its crosses.  And a few other orchids as well!    The aromatica really boosts the flower count.  Again I'm curious if the hummingbirds will be able to pollinate the flowers.   

I love hummingbirds so much that I'm honestly seriously contemplating trading all my orchids that aren't pollinated by hummingbirds for orchids that are... or might be... pollinated by hummingbirds.  Then I'd have a bunch of natural hummingbird feeders growing on all my trees!  That would be really awesome!  

I think I've been brainwashed by my hummingbirds    

In any case... it's really fascinating and challenging to try and combine as many of these desirable traits as possible into one orchid.  Here in Southern California the biggest bottleneck is drought.  So drought tolerance is definitely a desirable trait.  But in order to make progress in terms of drought tolerance... it's necessary to germinate a lot of seeds.  Which isn't very cheap if flasking is required.  Hence the desirability of a trait which doesn't require flasking.  And also the desirability of a trait which allows for early blooming.  Then, for less work involved in the pollination process, it's desirable to have the trait which facilitates pollination by hummingbirds.  I guess it's like a very challenging puzzle.

Well... not sure if any of these thoughts and ideas will be useful to you, or anybody else, but I figured that the only way to find out would be to share them!  

[Silas_Sancona]

In honor of this thread, and a treat for Cindy and the other orchid lovers here on the forum, a few from Selby today:

Enjoy

[Cindy Adair]

On February 27, 2016 at 10:14:13 AM, Ben1 said:

Wow so nice!

Those orchids are even more beautiful when placed in natural environment!

Love the Cattleyas and the one below with the elongated petals. Is it a Brassia cultivar or species?

It is actually Miltassia Kauai's Choice 'Tropical Fragrance' although I smell nothing and read that cultivar name is misleading.... By any name I like the Brassia shape and dark color. This is the first time I have been here to see it bloom.

Nice to have three orchids in bloom at the same time in this tree. It got more sun when a nearby large tree got hit by lightening.

 

Epiphyte, Thank you so much for your interesting and informative post! I will click on the links when I have free wi fi again!

Silas Sancona, Your photos are stunning! Thank you so much for them. I have visited Selby I think three times over the last 25 years and always enjoy it. Being a member of Fairchild gardens and the American Orchid Society allows me to get in free too. I should go again soon.

I loved their Medinilla magnifica last time I was there! Mine here has yet to bloom.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

It is actually Miltassia Kauai's Choice 'Tropical Fragrance' although I smell nothing and read that cultivar name is misleading.... By any name I like the Brassia shape and dark color. This is the first time I have been here to see it bloom.

Nice to have three orchids in bloom at the same time in this tree. It got more sun when a nearby large tree got hit by lightening.

 

Epiphyte, Thank you so much for your interesting and informative post! I will click on the links when I have free wi fi again!

Silas Sancona, Your photos are stunning! Thank you so much for them. I have visited Selby I think three times over the last 25 years and always enjoy it. Being a member of Fairchild gardens and the American Orchid Society allows me to get in free too. I should go again soon.

I loved their Medinilla magnifica last time I was there! Mine here has yet to bloom.

Your welcome Cindy,

Think i remember the Medinilla specimen you mentioned there at Selby but don't recall seeing it yesterday. Last year they had ..Can't remember the species but very uncommon and stunning. Unfortunately my old camera erased all my pictures from last year, including last year's visit to Selby. I might have posted a picture of that Med. species here though, anyhow.. Orchids looked great though the species diversity on display was a little less than id anticipated. On another note, There is a monster Salacca on display atm in the conservatory. As big as it is, i don't know how i missed it during past visits. Would post a couple pictures but i guess i have reached my 8mb limit.
 

[Zeeth]

On February 27, 2016 at 18:18:24, epiphyte said:

Last year I discovered that the common reed-stem Epidendrums grow relatively quick and easy from seed.... no flasking required!  

How did you accomplish this? Last year I pollinated some Epidendrum radicans blooms with Encyclia tampensis, and I got a few seed pods, but I never followed up with flasking or anything. I think this might be an interesting hybrid if I were able to sprout the seeds. 

[epiphyte]

On 3/9/2016, 2:16:08, Zeeth said:

How did you accomplish this? Last year I pollinated some Epidendrum radicans blooms with Encyclia tampensis, and I got a few seed pods, but I never followed up with flasking or anything. I think this might be an interesting hybrid if I were able to sprout the seeds. 

That would be a really neat hybrid!  I'd sure love to try growing it!  Here's my sowing technique...

Before I sow the seeds I soak them for a few days in water with a dash of soluble orchid fertilizer.  While the seeds are soaking I prepare some "pots".  For pots I use 500 ml plastic water bottles.  They are taller/narrower than regular pots.  I cut the tops off the bottles, remove the labels and cut a few drainage holes.  The medium I've used is smallish bark and perlite.  Recently I've tried using pumice as well.  Any well drained medium should work though.  I fill the pots a bit more than half way and then place a decent layer of moist New Zealand Sphagnum on top of the medium.  After that I give the pots a good soaking.  Then I go around the garden and collect some bits of live green moss from near the roots of mounted orchids.  I place the bits of live moss on top of the Sphagnum moss on the chance that the live moss might harbor some beneficial fungus.  Next I place the pots in gallon size zip lock bags.  Once most of the orchid seeds have sunk in the water... I use a regular straw to sow them in the pots.  Basically I stir the seed "soup" with the straw.... place my finger over the top of the straw... pull it out... move it over to the pot... and slowly remove my finger from the top while moving it to where I want the seeds.  It's not the best method but it works ok.  I'd like to try using a horse syringe.  Lastly I seal the zip lock bags around half way and place them in my garage under lights or next to a bright window.  

The results have been... mixed.  In all cases there's "action" really early on.  The seeds will swell and turn green.  In some pots though... nearly all of them are quickly wiped out.  I guess some bad fungus was the culprit.  In other pots the seeds slowly get larger and turn into protocorms.  And in a few pots the seeds really take off.  The word that comes to mind is "foom".  That's the technical term for when AI intelligence starts to increase exponentially...    I might be totally misinterpreting the results though.  

As far as I can tell... algal growth should be avoided.  Same with slime!  Which means that the medium shouldn't stay too wet for too long.   I open the bags up if the medium starts looking iffy.  The protocorms seem to prefer high humidity... but they have no problem with a short dry spell.  They definitely don't want a prolonged drought though.  Although... it might be a good way to select for drought tolerance.  

I'm not 100% sure this sowing technique will work with radicans.  I don't think that I actually have a radicans.   I'm guessing that most of the seeds that I've tried sowing have been from secundum.  According to Wikipedia.... this species has the largest seeds in the orchid family.  Sometimes when I open their pods the seeds will have embryos that are already visibly green.  I'm guessing that the seeds have enough nutrients to germinate on their own.  But it does seem like the right fungus will really help speed up the process.      

So far I haven't had much luck pollinating secundums with pollen from other orchids.  According to the RHS website... there are only two intergeneric crosses with secundum as the pod parent...

Epidendrum secundum x Barkeria skinneri
Epidendrum secundum x Cattleya labiata

Epidendrum radicans as a pod parent has a few more intergeneric crosses.  If it is more "crossable" than secundum is... then hopefully it will grow from seed as easily as secundum does.  Epi radicans has actually been crossed with Prosthechea vitellina.  I'd love to try growing this cross!  I happen to have a small vitellina that is about to bloom.  Do you have any radicans in bloom?  Perhaps, if you were interested, I could send you some pollen!?  

I do have a couple of Epicattleya Veitchii.  It's Epidendrum radicans x Cattleya coccinea.  The cross looks a lot more like radicans but with a noticeably larger flower.  So if radicans can grow easily from seed... it will be interesting if Veitchii will grow easily from seed as well.  

[Zeeth]

Thanks for the detailed notes! I'll send you a PM so I don't clog up Cindy's thread

[tunku2]

Awesome Orchid Images

They also have some beauties in Sabah, Malaysia.

Thanks Cindy!

 

[Hirnsausen]

My gosh, your orchids are very beautiful, Cindy! :-)

[Hirnsausen]

Who's interested in orchid seeds? I got some, and I also want some! Seed swap?