I had a few minutes of selfish brilliance when my 8 months long project slash research slash experiment had brought unexpected and exciting results. Therefore I think it’s fair I called it Rob’s Closed Curtain Cymbidium Growing and Glowering method. Yes, it is a mouthful, and a lot of people are going to rise their brows up or think – What is he going on about this time.   Well if you don’t like cymbidium orchids, or already have a greenhouse or just have your own way of growing them and flowering successfully then congratulations to you – you are welcome to skip this read. For the ..read more

Grammatocymbidiums are an exciting novelty that’s only very slowly found its way into Europe, and it’s still hard to find them anywhere unless you know where to look. They are a hybrid between grammatophyllums and cymbidiums. Making them basically heat tolerant cymbidiums that can flower whenever, without the need of dramatic temperature changes, cold nights, and keeping it outside all year round until first frosts just to have that hopeful flower spike. Oh no! These plants can grow comfortably on your windowsill all year round, and will flower with beautiful cymbidium flowers. Most of them ..read more

April has brought us some unusual events, full lockdown, life threating pandemic, and oddly enough on top of that nice sunny weather. Its nature’s tongue-in-the-cheek i think.  In the growth space there is a few interesting things happening, the biggest one is that neofinetias woke up and are growing rots like mad. Because the living room plant stand where they are, doesn’t get sun till after 3PM, I’m having the LED lights on through most of the morning. However, i have completely unplugged the heat mats as they were drying out the sphagnum moss way too fast and I was really worried it ..read more

The Slc. Jewel Box ‘Dark Waters’ is a hybrid cross of the  Cattlianthe orchid nothogenus, registered in 1962. The parents of the cross are Guarianthe aurantiaca and Cattleya anzac. Hands down one of my top 10 favorite orchids and my favorite cattleya hybrid.  Unfortunately, I find it incredibly difficult to get anywhere close to an accurate photo capture with a digital camera as reds and purples seem to be the troublesome colors.  Ctt. Jewel Box is a classic compact growing red cattleya hybrid. Bifoliate pseudobulbs that are about 4" tall grow along a horizontal rhizome. A terminal infl ..read more

The Blc. White Diamond is one the nicest white mericlone cattleya hybrids available. Although it’s quite rare to find right now. This hybrid has bright, pristine white flowers with a great shape and it holds itself upright when in bloom.  The flowers inherited a beautiful waterfall lip leading to a nice golden centre.The flowers are pleasantly fragrant and last longer than most cattleyas. This orchid is a compact grower and a fragrant bloomer. It consistently blooms off on each new growth, flowers are at about 5 inches in diameter. LIGHT As with most cattleya hybrids you will ne ..read more

The Blc. Mahina Yahiro Ullii AM/AOS was WOW, WOW and WOW when it was first released. It has not only garnered two AOS flower awards, but is also a recipient of a First Class Certificate at the 4th Asia Pacific Orchid Show in addition to garnering Best Cattleya accolades at the 1999 New Otani International Show. The Blc. Mahina Yahiro is a cross between a cotton candy pink Cattleya and a large pink lavender Cattleya.  This wonderfully fragrant hybrid is quite small for a cattleya, producing upright growths on a compact footprint rather than being widely spread or “walking” as is the case w ..read more

The Blc. Chia Lin 'New City' AM/AOS is a good and large hybrid of the Brassovola, Laelia & Cattleya species. This particular hybrid is known for its deep burgundy colour, and beautiful coloration of the lip with a waterfall pattern going into a yellow/orange heart. It will stand out immediately because of the size of the flowers and their deep colours and powerful fragrance they produce. However, it’s not the easiest plant to grow and in some cases it can take up to 7 years from seedling for it to finally produce a flower sheath. This plant as beautiful it is will require some tri ..read more

The Blc. Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' AM/AOS is a well-known hybrid of the Brassovola, Laelia & Cattleya. Cattleya dowiana parent is the largest part of the genetic make-up of the hybrid. This hybrid is known to be very easy to maintain. It stands out immediately because of the beautiful bright colours in the flowers which are yellow with a gorgeous red lip. On top of that the flowers have a lovely fragrance. Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' AM/AOS is perfect for anyone who wants to have an good starter easy Cattleya. It's a real must-have and looks a lot like the Cattleya dowiana, with the difference t ..read more

Neofinetia orchids are a genus of the orchid family, related to vanda family. This genus in total combines of 3 species, three found in China, two in Korea and one in Japan. It is arguably the first orchid ever to be grown with intention as a house plant from the early 1600s in Japan. Furan, the Japanese name for “Neofinetia falcata,” started to be replaced by ‘Fuuki-ran’ meaning ‘the rich and noble orchid’ as the plant quickly became loved by rich and noble people. Many years ago, Fuukiran’s were covered by a gold or silver net in order to protect them and people had to cover their mouth with ..read more

A ..read more