Victory and defeat in the cultivation of plants of the Cattleya Alliance.
I woke today to the pleasant vision of a singular bloom on a very young plant of Laelia anceps. Although the petals and sepals are uneven, it is the picture of floral perfection. Appearing as a candy colored butterfly lit from with. L. anceps is an autumn flowering species, with squat pseudobulbs and a singular fleshly leaf. This species has a wide range of thermotolerance, taking temps from the high 90's to the low 30's.
This is the first of the three varieties of this species to come into bloom. This variety in of interest since it has short spikes and flowers on young plants.
Later that day, two friends and I have took a day trip up to Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. The mountain affords wonderful panoramic views of the surrounding area and it also has a wealth of manzanita shrubs. While on the mountain, I was able to collect, for free, several choice branches of manzanita that will be ideal for orchid mounting.
0 Responses to “Sunday Surprise”
Leave a Reply