Dtps Jungo City in bloom

Dtps. Jungo City

     I apologize for the long gap between updates.  Life got significantly busier, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to return to the old pace of posting every 2-3 days.  In the meantime, I have a large backlog of updates to go through.

     Dtps. Jungo City bloomed at the very beginning of May. I wanted to wait for the spike to come into full bloom, but due to general dehydration issues, the flowers wilted soon after opening.  So these two pictures (the top with flash, and the bottom without flash) are the only ones I've captured.

Dtps. Jungo City (natural light)

     The color on the flowers is almost identical to my Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy blooms.  However, at 2.5" across, the flowers are significantly larger.  I don't know if the wrinkling of the flower petals is a result of underwatering, or just a consequence of this orchids genetics.  I hope I'll find out with next year's blooming.

Phalaenopsis Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall' in bloom

Phalaenopsis Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall', with flash

     The phalaenopsis opened a single 2.5" flower on a short 4" spike, on April 24th.  This makes a 5 month maturation time from when I first noticed the spike in November.  There were originally to be 2 buds, but I accidentally knocked one off a couple months ago.

Phalaenopsis Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall', natural light

     The flower color is a much deeper red than when I had first purchased this orchid in bloom.  However, it is still very much a dark pink, rather than a true red flower.  Taking photographs with flash enhances the red tones, which are much less pronounced to the eye.

Using flash enhances the red tones in the flower

     Nonetheless, bud maturation during the colder months brought out a darker hue in the flower, which I enjoyed.

Last year's bloom had a pinker tone

New growth on vinicolor noid paph

Noid paphiopedilum

     My noid vinicolor paphiopedilum recently finished blooming.  I've cut off the dried flower spike.  Almost immediately after the flower wilted, the orchid started working on a new growth. 

New growth

     Once the growth becomes large enough to be putting out roots of its own, I will attempt to repot the orchid such that the growth is a little close to the potting media.  Right now it's quite a few inches up the stem of the previous growth.

Angraecum leonis repotted

Dehydrated Angraecum leonis in a vase

     After almost 2 years, I am terminating my attempt to grow Angraecum leonis in a vase.  The methods was not intrinsically flawed, so much as I have run out of time to water the orchid as much as it requires.  Grown in a vase, my Angraecum needed daily watering during the cooler months, and would need twice daily watering during summer.  Lately, I have been finding myself too busy to take care of my orchids on a daily basis (hence the recent decline in post frequency as well).   I've been watering the orchids every 3-4 days, and the Angraecum has suffered as a result.  The newest leaf is shriveled.

Newly repotted Angraecum leonis

      I've repotted the orchid into a 5" clear plastic pot, with large bark pieces.  Hopefully this setup will help it better tolerate my lackadaisical watering schedule. 

New growths and a possible spike on Cymbidium Kusuda Shining x Douglas Dillon

Growth or spike?

     My Cymbidium Kusuda Shining x Douglas Dillon has produced a number of new growth starts, one of which is much rounder than all the others.  Could it be a spike?

This one is definitely a growth start

Slightly larger, but also a new growth

   The last two pictures show what I'm fairly certain are starts of new pseudobulbs.  So what about the top picture: growth or spike?

Spotted noid phal in bloom

Spotted Phalaenopsis orchid

     This lovely little orchid is the oldest in my collection.  It's a no-name box store hybrid phal, which has survived with me since 2009, and was the first of my orchids to ever rebloom for me.

Flower closeup

     There are 4 flowers on a short spike (and a 5th bud developing).  Spike maturation lasted 3 months.  The first flower opened on 03/13/13, and all are still blooming strong.  The flowers are 2.5" across.

Surprising blooms from Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy

A severely dehydrated Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy in bloom

     My Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy took a big turn for the worse soon after I treated it for cold-induced root loss.   The leaves turned limp and wrinkled, and eventually yellowed and died.  It now has only two leaves left, and neither looks very strong. And yet, even as the plant itself suffered, it managed to proceed to blooming.

Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy

     Even more surprising than the appearance of the flowers was their look.  They look different from the image advertised on the Hauserman's website when I purchased this orchid, and even more different from images of Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy I've seen online.

Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy as advertised on Hausermann's

     In hindsight, perhaps the Hausermann's picture is not too different (just a yellow hue which changes the colors of the flowers). However, there is a great variety of Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy flowers around the internet with all sorts of different colorations and shapes.  Check these photos out: one, two, three.  Every single one looks like a completely different hybrid, yet all bear the same name.

Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy, by Orchidgalore (Flickr photostream)

     Some of these flowers are solid colored, some are spotted in various patterns.  Some have the more typical phalaenopsis shape, while others like mine have the smaller petals and pronounced lips typical of dtps. hybrids.

My Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy flowers closeup

     The flowers on my Dtps. Yu pin Burgundy are a very deep saturated wine red, with white edging on the tips of the petals.  The flowers are small, only about 1.5 inches across, and their lips are disproportionally large.

Dtps. Yu Pin Burgundy

       The individual flowers didn't last very long, but I suspect that's a reflection of the plant's current dehydrated state.  The first flowers opened on March 12, and the orchid is still in bloom now.