Posted by Just Add Ice Orchids... It's Just That Simple. on Mon, Dec 21, 2009
Have you heard of the "Christmas Bell," the "Christmas Flower," the "Christmas Lily," the "Christmas Star," or the two "Christmas Orchids?" The Orchid Lady shared a list of orchids that have been nicknamed for the holiday, and told some tales fit for a cup of cocoa.
The bright red flowers of the "Christmas Bell" orchid headed the list. Dendrobium lawesii is nicknamed the "Christmas Bell" because it produces clusters of bright red to purple flowers that look just like bells and they appear around Christmas time, as well as several other times of the year. A warm to cool grower that originates from Papua New Guinea, they love to grow on tree branches high in the forests, and grow very well when mounted.
Next on the Christmas list is Artorima erubescens, known as the "Christmas Flower" because it too blooms around Christmas time and loves cold weather. This species is native to Central America and is also known as the "Blushing Artorima." This orchid grows in the cloud forests at high elevations around 3100 meters with fragrant flowers that appear in winter through early spring, but are quite difficult to grow in the average greenhouse because this orchid blooms when the night temperatures are below freezing!
Our next orchid is the "Christmas Lily," Calanthe triplicate, another winter bloomer. It blooms all during the Christmas season--beginning its flowery show in late November and continuing through the end of January. Once called Calanthe veritifolia, it grows in the shaded areas of the forest in the leaf mold and humus that collects under the trees. Although it appears to be growing in the soil like a normal plant, the roots do not penetrate the ground very far. It grows along the top of the surface just under the leaves and debris that cover the ground.
Next time: two Christmas Orchids and a Christmas Star to top it off!
Posted by Just Add Ice Orchids... It's Just That Simple. on Sun, Nov 22, 2009
At Just Add Ice Orchids we specialize in Phalaenopsis orchids. There are almost 60 different phalaenopsis species, more if you include different varieties within each species. But even if you don't, phalaenopsis species come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Known as "phals" or Moth Orchids, not many of them look like moths in flight, as the Latin name implies.
For example, though the Moon Orchid, phalaenopsis amabilis, and P. aphrodite both have large white petals, and could resemble a big white moth. But phal. amboinensis is more like a tiger-striped flower in yellow and brown, and phal. appendiculata is delicately colored with purple. And that's just the variety in the ones that begin with the letter "a"!
Overall, the color range of this genus includes white, pink, lavender and yellow in both solid colors and mixes of stripes and spots. Many new bold color patterns are beginning to show up in the over 50 man-made hybrids too.
For an idea of the wide variety of colors and shapes, check out this Phalaenopsis A-Z photo chart. You'll see that some have thin petals in groups of five that end up looking like stick figures, while others have unusual and surprising shapes.
Moth orchids are monopodial plants, which means they're "one footed" and grow as a single stem with each new growth originating from the apex (top) of the plant. Their growth is characterized by the unlimited growth in length of the stem, combined with the entire absence of pseudobulbs. Leaves are distichous, meaning they alternate in two opposite ranks, and are flat and keeled on back side.
Phals, as they are more commonly called, range from India, through Southeast Asia, north to the Philippines, and South to Northern Australia. The species are epiphytic, which means they growing on other plants, or lithophytic, growing on rocks, and inhabit areas from sea level to 1,000 feet.