Hello again Hosta Friends :)

I can withhold the pictures no longer ! I apologize for the delay, but I was waiting for one final scape to finish blooming so I could post everything at once. He finally finished this weekend, and none too soon since the alphabet is right around the corner !!!

So, without further ado, and a dramatic wave of the hands, I present to you the second annual:

Ludi Shows off His Orchids . . . Show

::queue the pleasing music::

First up, we have a complex hybrid that’s been given the cultivar name ‘Bob Henley’. The person Bob Henley was a judge one year at a major orchid show, and Norman Fang (the hybridizer) decided to name this hybrid after him. What a treat !

As you can see, ‘Bob’ was a happy camper this year ! I counted 16 blooms total. The oncidium alliance is notorious for putting out these extensive scapes, making for a dramatic presentation. So much so, I had trouble getting the full scope of all the flowers into one picture. So forgive the lighting in the first two, they were taken in the bathroom, but at least you can see the full size. If I were to stretch that arch straight up it would be almost three feet . . . . . . . like I said . . . a happy camper. :)

Here are the same flowers only under my florescent lights to show the true color of the blooms.

This next one was featured last year, but I managed to get better pictures this year. It is another complex hybrid that has been given the cultivar name of ‘Mayumi’.

The great thing about this orchid is that it starts off with a really deep purple like in the first picture, and then slowly fades into the more pinkish color you see in the second picture.

Just before it's going to drop the flowers, the color is almost white and only the little purple spots remain, giving it a splashed effect.

But I wasn't smart enough to think ahead and get all three color stages. :(

Next up, a tiny little guy I purchased from a local enthusiast over three years ago. Unfortunately, I could never read his hand writing (sigh) so I’m not sure what the proper name of this one is . . .

It has bloomed steady since I first bought it … but if you are not careful you might miss the flowers all together. :)

Of course, I couldn’t leave out the girls Helen and Delores. These are my biggest and best Phals and every year they delight me with their smiling faces.

Their names were given by me as ‘pet’ names. I purchased both of these at Trader Joe's almost 5 years ago, so previously they were named “Trader Joe's $15 special”.

Delores

Helen

Here again is a try at a comparison between the bleach-white Helen and my green Phal. Norman’s Jade ‘Green Apple’.

These next two were the stars of the show, however. They’re both species and are not hybrids (I think).

I must admit, I’ve lost touch with my orchids since the hostas took over and my memory is not what it used to be with each plant. But they still look great, so it doesn’t matter what their names are, right ?

And last but not least (God rest their Souls) these are pictures I dug out of my archives. These three plants have long been dead, killed by my very early inexperience, but their memories live on. :)

And sadly that concludes my treasure trove of blossoms for this year. :(

As always, it is such a joy to share, and I am so happy to have found interest here amongst the hosta growers.

For those that have not already seen it, below is a link to my post from last year with a different set of pictures. I tried not to show too many of the same ones this year, but I also wanted to start a new thread since these would have been buried at the bottom of the old one.

Ludi’s First Annual Orchid ShowOff

As always, thanks for looking and I hope you enoyed. :)

Yours,
Ludi

Edit: The link to last year's pictures didn't copy right, originally.

It works now. :)

This post was edited by Ludisia on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 22:47