Orchids

Last March and then again in a recent issue of our Newsletter "Growing Thoughts", I wrote about our fascination and experience with the Phalaenopsis orchid. Well the fascination has grown. I did some research to determine what other orchids we might try and we decided to next try a Cymbidium and possibly a Cattleya.

A friend offered a Cattleya and we picked up a Cymbidium at a local Nursery. I then asked the friend what resources (books) she uses as references for her orchids and she gave me a folder containing all sorts of material on these wonderful plants. And then to Chapters to see what they had and I purchased a book on the topic.

Yesterday, Sheridan Nursery had a seminar on orchids which we attended to broaden our Knowledge and of course there was a variety that we hadn't yet acquired - a Spathoglottis.

Are you getting the picture yet? We seem to have gone a little overboard on the topic but it really is great fun!

Three of our orchids are currently in bloom and at least three others have spikes with buds and are about to bloom. The Phalaenopsis has been relatively easy to get to rebloom but I understand that the others will take some patience but we are anxious to try. The Cymbidium is currently in bloom and it really is lovely. We purchased it with a spike and buds on it. It took a while for the buds to open and I understand that the flowers could last for as long as 10 weeks. I've attached a photo to this posting. One book describes the Cymbidium as a beginner orchid and another says that one of the reasons for it's popularity is that it is difficult to kill - just the orchid for us.