Thursday, February 24, 2011

Flowering orchid

This epidendrum ibaguense has been in a pot for over twenty years and all I saw in that time is more stalks and leaves growing and sprawling, without a sign of a flowering bud.  When I inherited the pot of orchid the plant was thin and scragly.  Most likely I kept adding compost and water it with seaweed solution.  I gave up expecting it to flower.  The leaves look very healthy and sometimes a stem will break off and I would stick in in another pot.  I was complaining to my friend Carol about my non flowering orchid when I saw hers in bloom.  A few weeks later I saw a bit of red amongst the stems and foliage. There it was, flowers blossoming forth from the peduncle!  The orchid, because it was scrambling all over the place has been assigned to the side of the house, seldom visited.  It sits between the house and the fence and gets the rising sun.  I water it when I water the ferns but I gave up looking for flowers.  I am thrilled and will perhaps stick a few stems amongst the staghorns and elks.  I may be surprised by flowers sprouting from amongst the ferns one day.

2 comments:

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  2. hello, i just bought this kind of orhid, and i also heard from my friend that she never saw the flower of this orchids...may i ask, where do i have to plant this? in a pot with soil, coal or simply hang it without anything? thanks

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