Finis (or nearly so) to this Blog

 

 This is just a notice that I will no longer or very seldom be publishing anything on this blog.

I am no longer growing orchids except a few houseplants.

My retirement, health issues in 2017 and a move to eastern Washington have ended that part of my life.

I am leaving the blog with its posts in place.

Homalopetalum pumilio

Homalopetalum pumilio is amicro-minature plant, the tiny pseudobulbs and leaves (in this case) 2 cm tall with a flower that 3-4 cm in size.  It is related to Cattleya and is found from Mexico through Central America into northern South America, Mexico Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru.  It's flowers are a translucent whitish-green or in another former, a pale yellowish-green.  This particular plant is the cooler-growing Mexican form.

Mount Baker Orchid Society Show

February 28 was our orchid society's annual show.  The Mount Baker Orchid Society is a very small society but the show was well received.  I put in my usual display using a purpose built show case and an insert that looks like a lava cliff with water running down it and spent the day helping with the show and taking photos.  Photography at a show is always a challenge because the flowers are massed together, lighting is not always good, and often one has to contend with poor backgrounds, tags and other paraphernalia used for displaying the plants.  These were some of the better photos I was able to get.  We hold our show at a local nursery and so one has to contend with nursery traffic as well.  The photos of my display case were taken after most of the show was dismantled.

Cattleya loddigesii

Encyclia polybulbon and Encyclia cochleata

 Encyclia cordigera

 Laeliocattleya Gold Digger and Brassolaeliocattleya Mem. Ana Balmores

 Oersatedella centradenia

 Epidendrum roseosceptrum

 Burrageara Nellie Isler

 Odontocidium Golden Trident

 Brassia arachnoidea

 Oncidium croesus

Phalaenopsis Baldan's Kaleidoscope

 unnamed Phalaenopsis

 Phalaenopsis Chien Xen Violin

 Phalaenopsis schilleriana

 Phalaenopsis Tyang Shin Orange Crush

 Phalaenopsis Taida Sunflower Diamond

 Phalaenopsis Fusheng's Mystical Dream

Phalaenopsis Old Yeller

Dendrobium Sea Mary

 Dendrobium atroviolaceum

 Dendrobium Proud Appeal

 Dendrobium Mingle's Sapphire

 Dendrobium sulawesiense

Paphiopedilum Hawaiian Illusion

 Paphiopedilum Norito Hasegawa

 Paphiopedilum Fairly Stoned and Paphiopedilum unnamed

Paphiopedilum Royal Anthem Lyric x Royal

  Phragmipedium Peruflora's Spirit x d'alessandroi

 Bulbophyllum appendiculatum

 Dendrochilum glumaceum and Dendrochilum wenzelii

 Bletilla ochracea

 My Showcase

Three Orange Saltatrices Masdevallias

None of these plants had a lot of flowers and since they are all from the same group and the same color I thought I'd do them in one post.  The species in the Saltatrices groupof Masdevallias have tubular flowers, bright colors, glandular hairs lining the inside of the flower and a distinct bulge at the bast of the flower tube.  The photos of the three shown here display these features.  The three species in order are Masdevallia glomerosa, a species I've not posted before, Masdevallia mendozae, and Masdevallia hirtzii, all from Ecuador.  All three are small, the plants growing to about 10 cm with 3-4 cm flowers.