New Plants!

It was my 23rd birthday yesterday and my bf went with me to Parkway Gardens. I ended up with my first air plant and a very interesting Begonia.


The above Tillandsia was $2.99 and is the first air plant I've ever purchased. I've always wanted one or two (thousand) but they're usually sold glued to rocks or some other awful trinket for 10X what a reasonable price would be. Fortunately I finally found one available by itself. The species wasn't labelled but I think it's a Tillandsia fuchsii. Any thoughts?



The begonia I ended up is one that I would never have wanted if I just saw it online. However, there is something charming about this strange begonia and how it seems to almost have a crook-stem trunk. The variety name is Begonia 'Boomer'.



Also saw my first Cordyline australis flower and this lovely Hibiscus.

Cattleya Transplant

Cattleyas are one of the more tolerant epiphytic orchids. Although they require both humidity and high levels of light, they can dry out in-between waterings far more than the average orchid. I looked online and I've found several people with them growing attached to stumps receiving full sun. So... I decided my Cattleya would be happier attached to wood as well.

A few days ago I went out to Cottonwood Community Gardens are found a nice looking piece of wood. It was a little dirty so I brought it home and cleaned it, washing with extremely hot water. After letting the wood dry for a few days (and to make sure there were no insects) I was ready to transplant my orchid.

The Cattleya I bought was originally in a pot with densely packed spagnum moss. This is nowhere near the natural environment of Cattleyas and the roots were far to wet. I thought about simply putting it back in the pot with some wood chips but though placing on a piece of wood would be far more interesting.

It took about 40 minutes to remove the moss from all the delicate roots. Somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 or the roots had actually died and also had to be removed.

After this was complete I placed the Cattleya on the wood. The shape of the wood piece actually held the plant in place relatively well. I was worried it would fall and thought about tying it on but just leaned it against a wall instead. The new roots have been growing well and some have hit the new wood surface. Most of the old roots aren't touching but they'll probably die and they were grown in a much more moist environment. The three oldest pseudostems are a little shriveled but the fourth (which also has a flower spike coming) seems completely fine.

I expect the older portion of the plant will eventually die but the new portion has two pseudostems forming and several more roots. I'm not sure if the flower will make it but at least it's been moved to a better home. I've been misting several times a day but never late in the evening because these plants don't like to be wet at night.

Eventually I'd like to put the wood in the centre of a large water proof tray with some pebbles and water. This way humidity will be provided and moisture will trickle up to the orchid. It should also look great!

Cosy Cattleya

About two months ago I purchased my first orchid, a Cattleya NOID. I'd never worked up the courage to take on an orchid before because of all the horror stories about them being impossible to keep alive. They also tend to be rather pricey which isn't in my current budget. That was until I discovered that they can be half price or even less after they've bloomed. In honour of this discovered I made the spontaneous purchase of a plant I new nothing about (not even the species name).

I've been giving it moderate humidity and about 12 hour of light per day with the top of the plant 30cm (1ft) away from fluorescent tubes. Cattleya like brighter light and this one seems really happy. It's already put out two new leaves and in the picture above you can see the next two already developing.

A few days ago I took a look in between the first two new leaves and noticed what looks like a flower bud! I'm excited that my first orchid is doing so well and already producing a flower. I'm also curious to see what the blooms will look like because the store had a large mix of hybrids.

Does anyone know when to repot Cattleya? It doesn't look ready yet but the plant is growing from the centre of the pot over the side and I just want to provide the best environment possible. What if I stuck some bark with moss underneath it so the epiphytic roots could attach (eventually I'd like it out of the pot)? Also, the leaves are a little dirty from minerals in the tap water. Is this fine or would it be best to wipe them so more light can get to leaves? Thanks in advance!