Lc Issy 'SVO' HCC AOS x C Mrs Mahler 'Mem Fred Thompkins' AM AOS

Lc Issy 'SVO' HCC AOS x C Mrs Mahler 'Mem Fred Thompkins' AM AOS, a wonderfully glossy cross with waxy flowers borne on a sturdy, upright inflorescence.

Stanhopea embreei 'Ruth Marie Christian'

Stanhopea embreei 'Ruth Marie Christian'.  This clone has larger flowers than most embreei cultivars.  This species is native to Ecuador and Peru.

Stanhopea florida

Stanhopea florida is from Ecuador, Columbia and Peru on the Eastern slope of the Andes.  This one is the yellow form.  There is also a white form.

Cattleya violacea 'SVO Splash'

Cattleya violacea 'SVO Splash'.  These lovely little orchids need a decided rest from watering over the Winter, need water only roughly every three weeks during Winter.  This one is growing at Sunset Valley Orchids.

Cattleya bicolor

Cattleya bicolor grows wild in Brazilian central plateau.  There are multiple color varieties throughout its range.  This is a nice, clear green one.

Two Contrails are Better than One!

Two Contrails in the Setting Sun above San Diego, California, looking eerily like missile contrails... Every now and then we have those weird orange sunsets where you just have to reach for the camera. Probably due a fire or two somewhere nearby. These two contrails looked suspiciously like those I saw in the missile interceptor tests a few years back. I wondered, for just a little bit, if that was the last thing I would ever see...but no, they were just jet contrails, as far as I can tell.

Stanhopea wardii

Stanhopea wardii. These flowers were open for about two days and still going strong. The plant is just going gangbusters for flowers. Nothing rare but a whole lot of fun and generally undemanding and with a wonderfully sweet fragrance.  These will grow outside, in a shady spot, in Southern California.

Epiphyllum hookeri

Epiphyllum hookeri. These are normally night blooming but this one was still open and fresh when the morning sun came up! White flowers tend to be night bloomers, being white to be visible in dim light to night pollinators like moths and bats.

Myrmecophila exaltata 'Arnilicious'

Myrmecophila exaltata 'Arnilicious'.  Blue-lavender is the most common color form for this species.  This brownish-orange form is quite rare.  The branching flower spikes are around four feet long.

Cattleya loddigesii

Cattleya loddigesii.  These fairly tall orchids tend to be good growers with firm, fragrant lavender flowers.

Cattleya leopoldii (tigrina)

Cattleya leopoldii (tigrina).  These come in a variety of colors including brown with red blotches, red, cream colored and even green!  This is one of the cleaner brown colored ones.

Cattleya Mrs Mahler 'Fred Tomkins' AM/AOS

First bloom on Cattleya Mrs Mahler 'Fred Tomkins' AM/AOS. This is a hybrid of C. bicolor x C. guttata. An oldie, blooming for the first time for me on a small meristem. This was awarded way back in 1977. You would think someone would have remade this wonderful cross by now! Of course, the plants get kind of large...but, if you have space for a four foot tall plant, it's a beauty!

Blooming in the Orchid Greenhouse...

 Brassavola cebolleta

Cattleya bicolor variety grossii

Stanhopea stevensonii

Stanhopea stevensonii is native to Columbia where is grows in cool, montane habitats.  In cutivation, the flowers burrow out from the bottom of the baskets they grow in, and develop these beautiful, pendant flower spikes.

Epidendrum conopseum

Epidendrum conopseum, also known as Epidendrum magnoliae, is the most Northern growing epiphytic orchid in the Americas.  This is possible because of the warm ocean currents that flow up the Eastern seaboard of the United States.

Stanhopea deltoidea

Stanhopea deltoidea, a native of Peru and Bolivia, where is grows at around 4000-5500 feet.  This is blooming in the greenhouse.

Cattleya schofieldiana

Cattleya schofieldiana, a native of the coastal hills of Brazil, has tall, graceful pseudobulbs, each producing a few, large, gaudy flowers.  This one is blooming in the greenhouse.

Slc Teiko Nicholson x Cattleya aclandiae

Slc Teiko Nicholson x Cattleya aclandiae (blooming in the kitchen).  You can see the C. Chocolate drop influence in the sheen and the color and, if you look good, you'll see tiny red peppering (and of course the lip) from aclandiae.  The color combo really jumps out.  In addition, the Rojo influence gave it a good, strong, upright stem and nice flower arrangement.  Quite fragrant too!

San Diego Judging Center American Orchid Society Awards for August, 2014

 Cattleya (Black Jack x Mark Jones) 'Royal Basin Speckles' AM/AOS, 81 pts. 

 Catasetum Alexa 'Arnie' AM, 81 pts.

Paphiopedilum Catherine Briois 'Seagraves' AM/AOS, 83 pts.

A Quick Visit to the Art Museum

A few shots from a day trip to the LA County Museum of Art:

 A guy who decided that the lamp posts in front of the museum were supposed to be an interactive exhibit.

Ancient Abyssinian wall carving of a  bird-headed demon that is supposed to purify passing people and the surroundings.

 An ivory dragon netsuke.  These were used to secure personal storage boxes (the equivalent of small bags).

A skull rack from a tribe of head hunters in New Guinea.  A grizzly reminder of a more violent past. 

Rookwood pottery.