Orchid Karma :: An orchid blog » orchids

Gothenburg International Orchid Show – the complete haul

Karma — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:21:56 +0000

Alright… here is just a quick rundown of the complete haul from GIOS 2010. Tomorrow I have to pot and mount them all… oh happy times!

(Ecuagenera) Porroglossum muscosum, Porroglossum olivaceum, Masdevallia impostor, Masdevallia falcago, Scaphosepalum swertiifolium f. pink, Masdevallia panguiensis, Masdevallia superbiens, Masdevallia macrura, Dracula chestertonii, Dracula andreettae, Dracula gigas, Lepanthes melpomene, Masdevallia coccinea, Masdevallia [...]

Dreaming of remote Peruvian cloud forests

Karma — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:58:37 +0000

Mmmm… German grower Orchids & More just returned from Ecuador and Peru with a huge shipment of orchids – and there are a lot of really cool orchids on their new list. I just have to get my hot little hands on a few of them! Luckily I am not the only one feeling [...]

A Grande achievement!

Karma — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:39:42 +0000

This has got to be one of my proudest moments as an orchid grower… so far. My Phragmipedium Grande has finally decided to bloom!! I have waited two years for this glorious occasion and I plan to take full credit. Damn I am good! (and modest) Ehm, well… truth be told a few weeks ago I thought I [...]

Installing new floors in the mini-greenhouses…

Karma — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:05:41 +0000

Wow, with a title like that it sounds as if it was a major undertaking… it wasn’t. I just had the dear husband cut the panels to size for me – lol! Then I just plopped the smaller pieces in place.

I am using the plastic grid panels that used to come in fluorescent light fixtures [...]

An orchid with “drulleförsäkring”

Karma — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:58:58 +0000

You just have to love orchids that come with full “drulleförsäkring” (liability insurance for clumsy people, or clumsiness insurance for short). My dear Phalaenopsis Marbella is such an orchid.

This little lady is flowering right now, but it almost was not to be this year. I managed to break the flower spike when watering earlier [...]

Masdevallia guttulata – much more graceful than the name implies…

Karma — Sat, 09 May 2009 11:55:52 +0000

This little gem is blooming now for the first time - for me. I wonder how it got its name, because it sounds as if it should be some hardcore, heavyweight flower, when instead it is quite delicate. The white cone created by the fused sepals is almost sheer and the deep purple spots inside shines through [...]

Spring orchids at the Botanical Gardens

Karma — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:32:44 +0000

It is a wonderfully sunny spring day today so we took a walk up to the Botanical Gardens in Gothenburg to check out the spring blooming orchids. We were not disappointed. There were tons of orchids in bloom and a myriad of intoxicating scents coming from all corners of the greenhouses. I took a few pictures [...]

Clamshell chocolate anyone?

Karma — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:03:10 +0000

Ah, drum roll please! It is time for this years’ Prostechea cochleata flowering. The first bud just opened and there is one more not far behind, plus another set on deck. This particular orchid usually has a few flowers open at once, and when one set is done a new set is ready to open, which makes for very long flowering periods. Last year, [...]

Paphiopedilum Ho Chi Minh

Karma — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:52:04 +0000

Gesundheit! No, seriously… Ho Chi Minh is the name of my lovely easter flower this year. Yes, of course it’s an orchid! I bought this one from Karge at an orchid show a few weeks ago, and now the bud has finally opened. Just in time for the easter weekend!

It is a primary [...]

Scent and the reproductive con-game of orchids

Karma — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:04:50 +0000

A friend of mine was talking about fragrant orchids with her aunt who concluded that she “didn’t know of any that smelled nice, or like much of anything at all.” Well, the aunt is actually incorrect, but I understand why she would feel this way. Most hybrids in the local flower shops were bread [...]