after a hard week

[Waira]

Hec' my friend, how are ya? I have some orchid porn to share here,... this one is an Aussie native, Dockrillia mortii-?.. not sure about the species,.. Pencil orchid is a common name,...


other species blooming now,....

Epidendrum paniculatum-->

A hybrid, Ascofinettia,...

 

[hecno]

@Waira . We have a native Pencil orchid here , I have one growing , they grow high up in the trees and the flowers are white , In my trees in the yard there are plenty , We now have the Cooktown Orchard starting to flower , I'll post some photos when they open , now hows this , Pumpkins here start to flower at the same time . I have a problem with the Orchid beetle eating the flowers , but this year was the first time I planted a pumpkin and all the Orchid beetles ate the pollen from the pumpkin flowers , not a bugger on my Orchids . Now I will make sure I have a pumpkin growing all the time .

 

[Waira]

@hecno mate, how goes it?
... has that orchard fired off yet? .... fekkin' beetles! --doesn't that just figure? Do they at least knock the flowers up for ya? ... Every year, something knocks up my Den. kingianum's, I get a few viable seeds pods each season,...
... I have some beauties to share my friend, and more to come,... I have a serious penchant for carnivorous plants, but stash is low, and my Aussie native Cephalotus are barelt hanging in, after two years of setbacks,... prior to this, they were brilliant,..past glory--> --- baby Blue Belly

...here's some of this seasons Sarracenia leucophylla flowers, first thing to form coming out of dormancy in Spring,...

... Laelia canariensis-->

...I have another hybrid that just stunning, with 5 spikes on her, but just one open now,... I'll post her when ready, but here's a past preview...

 

[hecno]

@Waira Love them mate , You know a lot of people think Orchids are hard to grow , but they are not , a lot of the time I find people love them do death . Now remember the Amorphophallus Bulbifer . When they die back the stems go soft and if you have a worm farm they go crazy over them , they seem to love them .
I also will have a awesome photo of Dendrobium phalaenopsis taken off one of mine in flower at the moment , It was take by a friend of my sons with his drone , he has it on one of those computer stick thingys , he works for me but just keeps forgetting to bring it in to work , soon as I have it I will let you know .

 

[Waira]

@hecno mate, it looks like the orchid taxonomists have been slap-fighting again... Den. phalaenopsis is now Den. biggibum ... love the rich color!

as promised, some porn! First up is Nageliella augustifolia (central/South America)... this is one of my oldest orchids, about 10 years, and on the same stick still! (Manzanita)

 

[Waira]

Laelia hybrid, Santa Barbara Sunset...

I'm getting excited mate,.. the Gongora rufescens is coming along nicely .... spike has started her downward turn now.....

.... not sure what color form it is, but I'm hugely hoping it's the red/white one--

otherwise, it's the red/gold cultivar---

 

[Eyes on Fire]

absolutely gorgeous guys! I really miss orchids and the like. absolutely beautiful. I would mention the docuawesome show that I watched on Orchids not a few weeks back.

 

[Waira]

@hecno ... what's up my friend? Anything fun and interesting putting on a show out your way?
...I'm with you mate, about the assumed difficulty with growing orchids,... that really sank home when I started working at the species specialty place! I got to try a lot of things at home, and more did well there with nothing more than nice windows, maybe a humidity tray or two than I would have ever dreamed... Some real surprises even to my boss- ... of course, plenty weren't OK at home, but that becomes obvious soon enough, and I knew to get it back to the greenhouses ASAP! Others, like some of my fav' Bulbophyllum's, stunk so foully they were intolerable no matter how mind blowing the blooms- .. imagine a dog turd wrapped in roadkill,... now imagine a row of 18 of them in a greenhouse .... My collection have shrunken painfully so, but still have a nice stash of some the best,.. I love the weird stuff most! Speaking of which, here's the Gongora rufescens open! Sadly, not the colors I wanted, but this genus is filled with endless variation, blurring the species/subspecies/cultivar variant line to the point of ..... Past a certain point, sane people just say bugger it and let the others scrum over names! The flower shape is right I think, but it's a color combo I've not seen before ... the flower shape is deceiving; it actually upside down! The "headpiece" of the bug like flower is actually the lip, the two "wings" are sepals, and the tail shield is the third outer sepal,... the two funny curled fin-looking things are what's left of the true petals... the euglossine bees that pollinate it fit like lock and key into that flower! The pollen sac's are just under the petals, at the end of the "tail", or the column, behind that little end cap piece,... aroma is more odd than good on this one, alas! Most have amazing aromas, spicy like cloves and pungent florals, so unique! In fact, this aroma is needed by the males to attract the ladies, no lie! No stanky, no spanky! ...

:smoking: Oh, @StickMan @FullDuplex @Mossy --- as promised mates, here's a freaky flower!

 

[hecno]

@WairaBloody stunning mate . When I get the time I will be back into the orchards and I can get my boys to climb the trees to get them . There is just something about orchids that get into your blood . When I was younger I used to love taking my kids out bush to find them . We used to camp out bush and I would take off into the hills to find them and have my tree climbing gear , the wife used to say , what if you fall out of a tree Then I would say I'm buggered . Then the bloody dingoes will eat me . Mate I have spent a lot of time with my family in the bush and teaching them bush craft . I am not a alarmist , but I teach my kids how to live and grow things , I believe when they are older they will remember what the old fella said and taught them . I feel sorry for the world they will have . So growing , orchids - cannabis- vegetables - what ever will help them to feed there family . I believe this life skill will help them . And mate I really like this orchid .

 

[Another One Bites the Dust1]

@Waira
Stick is speechless to say the least. I woke up this morning in severe pain, and this is the first thread/post that old stick's eyes lit upon.
Truly stunning my friend! :drool:

I say this with all sincerity, that you made my day.

I wonder if there would be enough interest to start a thread or even a sub-section for flowers,herbs, and veggies.

Peace