Tiny beauty

Here is my Schoenorchis fragrans, blooming right on schedule. Last year, the first flowers opened on June 22.  This year, the first flowers opened on June 22.



It's so tiny and so very cute.

I got this at the 2017 Portland orchid show and this is its first rebloom for me.  Last year it came to me with three spikes, but only made one this year; this isn't too unusual, since it had to acclimate to an entirely new location.  It did grow a lovely leaf this year.

Air plant surprise

I had a surprise yesterday- my Tillandsia ionantha bromeliad is blooming!



I've been noticing it getting redder and redder this spring, which I knew they do before blooming, but never having bloomed an air plant before I was not expecting it to actually do its thing!

What a great surprise.  It must be happy in the corner of my east-facing kitchen window.

Rebutia heliosa

So pretty.  This is Rebutia heliosa, a cactus that originates in Bolivia.  This is repeat bloomer for me, right on schedule since I got it about this time last year.



The flowers are just so vibrant and bright.



There are still lots of buds forming, so this show should last a good long while.  It's so gratifying when a plant blooms again.

Trisetella hoeijeri

I have a repeat bloomer in my big orchid terrarium! 

This is Trisetella hoeijeri, a delightful little mini-miniature orchid. The leaves are about 1.5" tall, and the flower has a 3" spread. (This particular flower is facing the back of the terrarium, so I had to turn it for the pictures.) This is the second blooming for me since I got it a year ago.



The flowers are so cool looking, with their graceful sweep of whiskery sepals.



Even when it's not in bloom, it's a very tidy, pretty little plant.  It seems very happy in its hole in the log.



Compare that picture above to the next one, and you can see how much the plant has grown since October.  And look at the moss!  I will need to trim it back soon, it has really taken off!

Cactus extravaganza, with bonus succulents

Ready?  It’s getting to be cactus time.  Not many words needed.

Mammillaria bocasana roseiflora, second year in my care, second blooming.



Mammillaria zeilmanniana, second year in my care, second blooming.



Matucana aureiflora, second year in my care, second blooming.



Rebutia hoffmannii, second year in my care, second blooming.



Mammillaria backebergiana.  This was blooming when I got it in March 2016, and this is its second rebloom for me. It has grown another inch taller this year, as evidenced by the scarring about two inches down, where the horrible fake flower was glued on the top when I got it.




Mammillaria bombycina, another that I got in March 2016 and on its second reblooming for me.  This one also grows about an inch per year.  The fuzzier, whiter part on the top 2/3 of the plant grew while it was under my care.  I love this plant.



Mixed pot of Easter cacti, got it in bud a month ago and now it's blooming.




Rebutia pulchella, new last winter, first bloom for me.



Echinopsis subdenudata, new last winter, first bloom for me.






Echeveria derenbergii, first bloom in my care.



And lastly, Sedeveria 'Letizia', first bloom in my care.

Five months of blooming orchids

I've had quite a few orchids blooming over the past few months.  Pretty pictures!

First up is a delightful little mini-miniature orchid named Trisetella hoeijeri, native to the cloud forest of Ecuador. The leaves are about 1.5" tall, and the flower has a 3" spread. I got the plant from Ecuagenera at the Portland orchid show in spring 2017, and in October it gave me two flowers.





Next up is Masdevallia strobelii big form (with an unknown hitchhiker) on the left and small form on the right.  These two pots are doing great on my kitchen windowsill, and in November they bloomed profusely.

When they bloomed in December 2016, the the big form (on the left) had five flowers and the small form (on the right) had seven.  This time around they had 26 and 10 flowers, respectively!  Wowza!  Added bonus, they are intensely sweetly fragrant and I could smell them all over the first floor of the house.  I look forward to watching these plants grow.



This is the flower of the big form, smaller and more white.



And this is the flower of the small form, larger and more yellow.  Confusing, I know, with the big/small, small/big!  I love the sparkly glandular hairs inside the tubular flowers.



A super extra special bonus this year was this:



The big form pot has a hitchhiker!  There is a little clump of leaves that are slightly smaller and bloomed these gorgeous flowers.  Quite different from what the pot is supposed to be.  I haven't figured out what species this is yet (it might be the glandulosa x strobelii hybrid named Masd. Confetti), but I love it.  When I repot the plants next year, I'll split this out and put it in its own pot so it doesn't get overrun by the very vigorous big form.



Next to bloom, in December, was this Odontocidium Wild Willie 'Pacific Bingo'. It's mildly fragrant, like lemony plastic.  Big waxy flowers, very pretty.



Then there was the Gastrochilus somai, which bloomed for about a month in November/December.  I didn't take a picture until it was almost gone by, but there were about 12 flowers on two spikes.



This is Dendrobium Enobi Purple 'Splash', blooming in January on a small three-flower spike.  This is such a striking flower.



Next was Odontocidium Brennan Scott Barfield ‘Mother’s Day’.  No fragrance, but lots of pretty flowers on tall spikes.



This is a Paphiopedilum that I got in bud in December, which finally opened this week.  This cross hasn't been named yet, so it's just Paph. (Hidatsa x Nulight) '1-10' x Kaylight '2-09'.  I'm not normally a fan of this type of so-called "bulldog Paph" with the big round flowers, but this one is pretty and Emma likes it so it can stay. I do like the speckling on the dorsal.



I also have had a bunch of Phalaenopsis blooming. They're pretty cheap, and extra color in winter is always good.  'Nuff said.

This is a new one, no name.



This is also a new one, a pretty no-name yellow that Emma got me for Christmas.



This is a re-bloom, Phal. Liu's Triprince.  This is it's third spike for me.



Another new one last fall, Phal. Ox Surf Song.  This has been blooming since September, and the flower in the picture is somewhat old, hence the brownish tones.  Younger flowers are a lovely clear pinky-peachy-yellow.



Another re-bloomer.  No name but pretty waxy green with purple speckles.



This is Phal. Sogo Berry x Dtps. Fuller's Cheese '3496'.  Who names an orchid "cheese"?  Weird name but very pretty.



And this is Phal. Ox Lucky Boy.  Mini white phalaenopsis are so simple and pretty.



There have been at least a couple other phals in flower over the past few months, but apparently I didn't take pictures.  Oh well, I'll get them next time around.

Last up for now is this Pleurothallis niveoglobula, which has been in bloom continuously since I got it in January 2016.  It literally never stops flowering. The tiny white flowers aren't flashy but very cute.



Whew.  If you made it all the way through this enormous post, thanks for reading!