violet
This favourite orchid (actually all of them are favourites) bloomed all summer long and is now gradually dropping its blossoms. Aren’t they beautiful even as they fade and wither?
September 24, 2015 in Nature, Photoworks by Marja-Leena
by Marja-Leena
Yes 🙂
What more comment could I add to Susan’s, without endlessly repeating myself?
Glad you agree, Susan and Tom!
Do you do anything special to make the blooms last so long? A lot of my orchids go for a few weeks but never for three months.
Nothing special, really, just making sure they stay moist and not too hot. They don’t always bloom for me, and not always that long. I give them a weak dose of fertilizer when not in bloom and maybe that helps. I have had to discard some that are too old and unhealthy looking so I make no claims for expertise. As you know the phalaenopses like cooler weather so I try to keep them away from the hotter windows in the summer. I love the many varieties that you grow in your home in Hawaii.
Very lovely, always enjoy your beautiful scans.
Thanks, Lucy!
The cuttings my dear friend, the Water Rat, gave me some time ago finally bore fruit. These scans, however, are truly lovely!
Ah, your African violets are most lovely too!
I love African violets but can’t grow them here because it’s too warm.
Oh, but you have so many gorgeous tropical plants that won’t grow in colder climates! I recall a friend who lived in Los Angeles visiting us and commenting that many of my houseplants grew outdoors year round down there!
My favorite color(s) – gorgeous. I was gifted one earlier this year – 2 stems, 6 blooms each – bloomed for three months. It was my first – I did not treat it right – now gone.
Ellena, they really are lovely flowers so do try another one, they are worth it and can last many years. Even so, I have lost the odd one.
What a beautiful rich colour in those fragile petals! I had a lovely white one once, given me by my cousin. It lasted 6 months then finally died. Have had others but none has lasted that long. I don’t have the knack it seems.
Orchids can be rather particular about watering and temperature. Were yours the phalaonopsis types? They generally do best in our moderate to cooler climate. I have to be careful of the ones in the west windows in the heat of summer, finding the leaves can scorch. I also have trouble getting some of them to rebloom every year but discovered that a weak solution of fertilizer helps, applied when not in flower.