Autumn blooms

Well it's almost Happy New Year!  And I've not posted in a while again, so just a quick update on a few orchids that bloomed this past fall.

I'll start with two Paphs.

Paphiopedilum fairrieanum, first bloom.  The shape could improve a bit, but considering my history with Paphs, I'm still pretty happy about it.

And Paph spicerianum bloomed again this year for me.  I love this one, nice compact plant, shorter spike, and really attractive bloom.

Now, a different type.  Maxillaria splendens.  I bought this one a year ago at the Sarasota Orchid Society show, it has been putting out flowers for a few weeks now, and is just finishing up.  Of course it couldn't wait for the orchid show that is next week.  I found last winter, this plant was temperature sensitive, so I do have to bring it in during the colder months.  It is a larger plant, currently in an 8" pot, kept evenly moist, and shaded light.  But the fragrance is spectacular!

 

 

Now a couple Catasetums that bloomed late fall this year.  The first is Catasetum sanguineum, which I've discussed before.  It gave me 13 flowers on this last spike of the year.

 

 

 

And a close-up of one flower.  This plant has a very nice dark lip.

 

 

 







Catasetum callosum, this is a first time bloom for me, it gave two spikes, with 14 and 16 flowers on them.

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy!

Hoya memoria

Hoya memoria  Kloppenb.

Fraterna 17(4): 2 (1-3; photogrs.). 2004 [Dec 2004]

17(4): 2 ( 2004

According to theplantlist.org, H. memoria is unresolved. Although only described in 2004, this species apparently was available previously under a different name, H.gracilis.  Also, there is some mention by experts that H. memoria may have been previously described under another name.

Hoya memoria is a relatively small growing Hoya that prefers to grow down, and does not vine well. I received a cutting of H. memoria in April of 2012 in a trade with another Hoya grower.  It rooted quite easily for me, and in my conditions is an average grower. It first bloomed for me the summer of 2013, about a year and a half from starting it.

 

 

Picture of whole plant, it is normally suspended to allow vines to grow down.

 

Culture:

Potting: I have grown this both in S/H and potted traditionally in a Turface/Perlite mixture.  Both performed well.

 

Light levels: I grow this plant under shaded conditions, or at least as shaded as I can currently provide, in my outside growing area.

 

Watering: H. memoria prefers to be evenly moist in my conditions.  Although a complete drying out of the potting media for a short time does not seem to cause permanent damage, it does appear to grow and bloom better when that situation is avoided.

 

Temperature: I left H. memoria outside through winter for the first time this past year.  No damage occurred to the plant.

Here is a quick glance at the temperatures in my region for January and August, the coldest and warmest months.

January 2014 lows	January 2014 highs
5 nights in the 60Fs	2 days in the 80Fs
10 nights in the 50Fs	11 days in the 70Fs
10 nights in the 40Fs	14 days in the 60Fs
6 nights in the 30Fs	4 days in the 50Fs
Lowest recorded temperature – 35F
August 2013 lows	August 2013 highs
2 nights in the 80Fs	26 days in the 90Fs
29 nights in the 70Fs	5 days in the 80Fs
Highest temperature recorded 94F

 

Blooming: The blooming season of my plant (only two seasons so far) is from mid-summer through early winter.  Peduncles are retained after bloom, and do rebloom. Typically a peduncle will have roughly 25 – 35 buds at a time, flowers last only a couple days.  During the day the flowers have a sweet caramel scent, but at night a musty scent develops. A moderate amount of nectar is produced.  I did have one seed pod that developed autumn of 2013, seeds were potted and did germinate.  But unfortunately the seedlings were wiped out completely by snails/slugs.

 

 Buds a couple days from opening.

 

 Flowers in the process of opening



Flowers completely open, notice severe reflexing of petals





Close-up of open flower



Back of flowers, notice this is the 4th blooming on this peduncle

Roots: Some roots are produced around the nodes in high humidity.  But these roots shrivel and die back quickly when the humidity drops.  Compared to other Hoyas in my collection though, H. memoria has significantly less roots along the stem than average.

Leaves: Leaves are of variable size on my plant, but all are sharply pointed at the apex, and splotched  and smooth on the top surface. The undersides are a pale green and smooth.  New leaves have a slight reddish color to them until they mature. There are two leaves per node, rarely three. 

 

Typical mature leaves 

 

 New leaves developing in the center, notice reddish cast

Hoya rotundiflora

This Hoya may be the sweetest one I have.  The leaves are very interesting, with an unusual shape and the flowers are unusual as well. I once saw them described on a Hoya forum as fluffy pillows, which is a perfect description.  I grow this one shaded, and moist.  Last winter it remained outside, with winter night lows regularly in the mid to high 40s during January, and every so often in the high 30s. But the days usually warm up at least 15 degrees. A colder winter didn't seem to hurt the plant at all, although I do keep it a bit drier when it's cold out. It is in a 6 inch pot, filled with Turface/perlite mixture that I use.

Edit: 9/14/14 - I see my photo link has been broken, attaching different photos.