Anticipation

I've been waiting eagerly for Twinkle's flowers to open for a few weeks. Maybe it will be a nice Christmas present. In the mean time, it still looks like this:

Mom's orchid

My dendrobium hybrid had been growing very well so I decided that this year was the year I would bring mom's orchid home at Thanksgiving. And so I did.

I pulled it out of the pot to take a look at the root conditions and found myself with two orchids that pulled apart very easily. There were still many viable roots, it just needed new potting medium and a much smaller pot.

Before repotting, they both got a physan bath and are now making themselves comfortable in their new home. They are both incredibly lopsided, but I guess that's just how dendrobiums grow.

I think they produce purple flowers. It's been almost 20 years since I saw it flower and my mom was very excited by it.

New pseudobulb!

I always take a good look at all of my orchids when I'm watering them. This is just to make sure they all look like they're doing well and some times, you find new growth.

Today, on the Pacific Sun Spot, I saw the start of a new pseudobulb! This is an orchid I got in, I think, 2012. It was a division from someone else's plant and it had 3 pseudobulbs. With the new pseudobulb, it will have 6. I am still waiting for it to flower but I hope this just means I am one step closer to seeing actual flowers!

Phalaenopsis spikes

It's fall and the temperatures are changing. There is a drastic enough temperature difference between night and day to make me have nightmares and for phalaenopsis to start spiking.

Both the Home Depot orchid and the Balden's Kaleidoscope had started growing new leaves a while ago but they have paused the leaf growth in favor of spikes!

Home Depot orchid's spike is happily growing along. I'm trying to be careful since they are delicate when they start. I have managed to snap spikes off with the clip because I was too eager to attach them to the stake so they grow up instead of just out.

Balden's Kaleidoscope is also starting to produce a spike. Very exciting. But then, I also spotted...

can you see on the right side of the stem? I think that's a second spike. A SECOND SPIKE!!!!!

Twinkle likes its home!

When I was watering the orchids on Saturday, I noticed that Twinkle had sent up spikes from the pseudobulbs it grew this year! I'm so excited!!! Again, it's that feeling of "IT LIKES ME AND THE HOME I PROVIDE FOR IT!" This is the first flowering under my care.

Growing time

The orchids had been slowly growing so there hadn't been anything exciting to report. However, this week, I noticed that both phals are starting new leaves!

I do need to get around to repotting them though.

Orchids are resilient

A couple of days after pulling the fan off of the paph, I noticed a little green nub had emerged from the old fan.

Both fans that had grown out of that old fan had to be removed due to crown rot so I wasn't sure if it would produce more growth but boy, has it shown me! I am taking care of it correctly so I am glad to see the new growth!