Gilded and Glowing

Though the earth was cold and wet, the sky was clear,
and the sun rose bright, placid, and beautiful.

- Charles Dickens

This wonderful orchid is from Tabbie’s collection.
Here it is catching some rays on Sunday afternoon.
Its scent is soft and sweet.

Kyokko

Neofinetia falcata variety ‘Kyokko’ is in bloom.

Midsummer Night Neos

Blooming Baby Kinginrasha

A small division of Neofinetia falcata variety ‘Kinginrasha’ has decided to bloom. The plant is mounted with moss on a piece of Mopani wood along with a clump of ‘Unkai’ (center) and a small division of ‘Rashaba Yamadori’ .

‘Kinginrasha’ is characterized by its rough leaf texture
and thickened flowers which cluster together, faces pointed to the heavens,
as their tails gracefully curl and intertwine. I find them to be very charming.

Dashed hopes and the beauty of it all

Neofinetia falcata variety ‘Hanakanzashi’ has bloomed.
I had high hopes that the flowers would have three spurs each,
but as you can see, they do not.

Satomi of Seed Engei states, “Hanakanzashi is the variety of Shutenno that sometimes has three spurs when it blooms. The percentage of plants which bloom with three spurs is still unsure, and many of them will flower differently each year. None are guaranteed to bloom with three spurs 100% of the time. That is their characteristic, and growing conditions have a lot of influence
on how they flower as well.”

Despite my disappointment, these flowers are simply wonderful! They are large for the species, show beautiful pigmentation, and smell like heaven on earth! Just look at those long elegant tails! What’s not to like?!

An Evening in the Garden

I managed to venture outdoors today to see what I could see.
A couple of weeks have passed since last I posted here. Health issues have prevented me from doing many of the things I love to do, but I was determined
not to let this blog languish indefinitely without some word from me to you.
I’ll be having surgery in a few days, but keep checking back.
I’ll do my best to return as quickly as I can.

For those of you interested in my Neofinetia falcata ‘Hanakanzashi’ plant,
I’m pleased to announce it has finally decided to bloom. Unfortunately the spike is still very small, so even with a 10x jewelers loupe, I cannot see how many spurs are developing on the buds. I or a friend will post photos as soon as it becomes evident how many spurs each flower will have. This bloom could be a very exciting event, or it could be a great disappointment.
Either way, you will know.

This evening I busied myself with my camera and the flowers which surrounded me as the sun was going down. The light could have been better, and if I’d had a bit more time perhaps the quality of the photos would have been better too.
Still, I was able to capture some images of this beautiful place which takes my breath away no matter how many times I step outside and wander through it.

Two Neos

This evening I snapped a few photos of two very special Neofinetia falcata orchid plants. These are tiny plants, but they would sell for a relatively large amount of money — that is, if I were selling. These are collector items,
rare special varieties which have been developed by the Japanese
over hundreds of years using selection and breeding.

The first plant featured here is Neofinetia falcata variety ‘Houmeiden’ which sports ultrapink root tips and a creamy white coloration which always appears on the topmost leaf. This plant also gets long-spurred flowers which are extremely fragrant. They are in the standard form for this species, and their color is white, sometimes tinged with pink. The first two photos showing the pink root tip were taken as the sun was setting, and the third photo showing the other side of the plant was snapped after the sun had set.

The second plant featured here is Neofinetia falcata variety ‘Kinginrasha’ which has leaves with a rough surface texture. This plant is a bit more difficult to grow than many other varieties of Neofinetia falcata. The flowers are fragrant and have a rough texture just like the leaves. They are white with a pink tinge. They face upward and are thicker than normal for the species. The root tips are reddish brown. ‘Kinginrasha’ is not an inexpensive plant, but it is not as costly as ‘Houmeiden’. All three photos were taken as the sun was setting.

Neoquarium

Here are three rather lousy shots of one of the aquariums I’ve converted
for use as a basement orchidarium in which to grow my Neofinetia falcata plants.
The plants are all doing quite well now. I hope to feature the new growth
and progress of some of these plants in more detail over the next few weeks.
Maybe there will even be some flowers!