First, the ugly.
The first blooms on my phrag. Sargentium x (besseae x Grande) (*I think* — thank the raccoon for that) are deformed things. I’m told it may be a dud plant, or it may be due to the semi-hydro method that I’m growing it in. I’m going to wait, and if the third bloom is deformed I’m going to cut off the whole spike and repot the plant in a different medium.
Time will tell if it’s the medium or the plant itself.
The bad? The bad is my dog. I will elaborate.
This is my lovely cattleya Portia var. coerulea, purchased in spike from John Marcotte last month. One of inflorescences came off, and so I took it with me to Kitchener last weekend as a parental offering, evidence that I am doing something worthwhile with my life 🙂 Well, I stopped at a store on the way, and Jake took the opportunity to jump into the front seat while I was gone. On TOP of the carefully wrapped flowers.
Hi Mom, missed you, here, have a squished orchid.
The Good: Pescatoria Dayana.
I bought this nice-sized plant from John, also last month and just before my close encounter with the deer. When I got it home I repotted it in semi-hydro, and put it in a shady nook just under the cattleya and beside the humidifer. In fact, the humidifier blows on the leaves of the plant, and it seems to love it. A couple of leaves have yellowed at the tips, but I put that down to the shock of the repotting and change of environment. A week or two ago I noticed the start of a spike, and voila! It bloomed this morning. I was actually kind of surprised that the accent colour is closer to blue than rose. I like it very much, though this morning there was a gawd-awful musky/musty smell coming from the grow room, and I sure hope this little fella isn’t the culprit. I was in a rush to get to work this morning so I didn’t stop to investigate.
POLLENATRIX 