Our friend Viv gave me this plant and it was given to her by our other friend Ratih. Sadly, Ratih is no longer with us, so this plant somehow brings a fond memory of her.

Aechmea recurvata is also known as Urn Plant because of the rounded leaves arrangement. Originally it is from Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Northern Argentina (*Wikipedia). The edges of the thick leathery leaves are lined with sharp thorns. Being from Bromeliads family, Aechmea recurvata is very easy to grow and flower in a bright shady area. It will quickly bear many pups, but the removal of these pups will be challenging because of the thorns.

Coelogyne lactea is also known as the Milk White Coelogyne. It is native to Burma, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam at elevation about 1100 meters above sea level.

Each rounded bulb has two leaves, about 20 cm long. The white dainty looking flowers are fragrant with yellow center ( lip and throat ).

Growing conditions:

• Cool growing and suitable for cool areas of Australia.
• Very hardy and rapid growing.
• Prefer brightly lit covered areas outside with no direct sunlight.
• Suitable to grow in hanging pots or can be mounted.
• Dislike frequent transplanting, so repotting and division can be done only when it is very necessary like for example over crowing. Repotting time is immediately after finish flowering.
• Growing media consists of orchid orchid bark chips mixed with pieces styrofoam or perlite to help drainage.
• Apply regular feeding during growing period.
• Need resting period to stimulate flower growth. Resting time is when the new bulbs have matured and reached the size of the old ones and the temperature starts to get cooler. Stop feeding and water sparingly.
• After flower spikes have started to grow, start applying fertilizer and regular watering.

How to pronounce it: see-Lodge-eh-nee

Here in Melbourne it is a rare and pretty orchid plant. The size is much smaller compared to rangy E. ibaguense (crucifix orchid). Hopefully it will grow as easy.

• Epidendrum stamfordianum is an orchid species found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela.
• Small size epiphytic plant that grows on tree branches in dry forest elevation up to 800 m.
• Each slender cane-like stem hold 3 to 4 thick leathery leaves.
• Flowers are fragrant. Sepals and petals are greenish yellow with maroon red spots. Pinkish white colour lips.
• Large number of flowers on multiple spikes grow almost all year round from the base of the plant.
• Best grown in hanging pots or mounted.
• Warm position, brightly lit under cover area. Full light during winter in temperate area (?).
• Growing media medium size orchid bark chips mixed with perlite.
• Watering after media dry, keep in dry condition longer in winter.
• Fertilize during growing season Spring, Summer and Autumn.

Quite a few orchid plants are on sale with much reduced price in Collectors Corner. Though most of these orchids are near the end of blooming time and the blooms are not not as fresh anymore, but it is really a bargain. The flowers are soon wilted away, but they will grow back again next year as the plants are mature. They are not small seedlings where you have to wait up to 5 years to see them bloom.

I bought a miniature Cymbidium and a Dendrobium delicatum x. The saving is quite amazing and I am so glad to have them.

Cymbidium Mary Green ‘Copper Pot’:

Very pretty miniature Cymbidium flowers. Beautiful colour combination of yellow, orange and brown with purple lip. The small blooms cascade nicely. It was really a good bargain.

Dendrobium delicatum hybrid:

This one has bigger flowers than the one I have. I like D. delicatum because it is more robust and easier to flower compared to D. kingianum. Very showy Australian native orchid. I am really lucky to get this one with a fraction of original price. The long canes have up to 6 softer leaves. The flowers have purple tinge and the sepals and petals are thicker (waxy).

I have had this Dendrobium kingianum for a long time and it always flower poorly. Either no flower at all or only very few. The plant always look healthy and it hardly has any keikis at all. Dendrobium kingianum is notorious of having too many keikis.

Anyway, I decided to re-pot the plant this morning as the growing media had gone down which indicated that it has disintegrated. The new growing media consisted of orchid bark chips mixed with scoria pebbles. The roots looked very healthy. I got rid of the old and leafless pseudo bulbs. It went to the same pot with fresh potting media. Hopefully it will flower much better next time.

Dendrobium kingianum is also known as Thelychiton kingianus and the common name is Pink Rock Orchid. Cold growing lithophytic orchid (rarely terrestrial or epiphytic)) which is native to Australia.

• Small size less than 25 cm high.
• Few small flowers grow on thin stem pink to mauve colour.
• Thin leaves up to 10 cm in length.
• The whole look of the plant and flowers are more delicate compared to D. delicatum.

Dendrobium delicatum (Thelychiton x delicatus) was known as a natural hybrid between D. kingianum x D. tarberi.

• Much taller compared to D. kingianum. Pseudo bulbs can grow up to 35 cm long.
• Lithophatic, grow in between rocks and boulders.
• Up to 5 thin leaves up to 20 cm long.
• Cluster of flowers grow on long stem up to 25 cm.
• Flowers are mostly white with purple or pink tinge.
• Flower easier compared to D. kingianum.
• In general D. delicatum looks more robust compared to D. kingianum.

Comparison between Dendrobium kingianum and D. delicatum. Smaller plant on left is D. Kingianum.

Note: The 2 Dendrobium delicatum orchids look slightly different from one another. They could be from different hybrids. Apart from natural hybrids, other Dendrobium delicatum orchids are also man-made hybrids. Natural hybrids mostly have mauve white or creamy colour, while man-made hybrids can be more colourful.

Dendrobium ‘Bardo Rose’ (Dendrobium falcorostrum × Dendrobium kingianum) can look very similar to D. delicatum, anyone knows the difference between the 2 ? Please comment below.

Back in early December 2013, this Dendrobium nobile orchid plant was given to us as a mystery bonus when we bought Sarcochilus orchids. While all the Sarcochilus plants died of scale infestation, the young Den nobile survives.

Last year around this time, it flowered for the first time and now it is blooming again. Eight canes are having flowers and another 5 will be ready to bloom next year. I notice that the canes can bear flowers again from different nodes that never flower before.

This orchid is very top heavy especially when it is flowering. I am thinking about re-potting it into a larger pot after it has finished flowering. Lately, I was trying to find another D. nobile to grow, the one with different colour, but so far it was not available. These orchids are easy to grow here in Melbourne, I wonder why they are not as popular as some other orchids.

I was on the way to Cranbourne this morning and the traffic was almost stopped because of the start of the GP Run near the shopping center. Thousands of motor cyclists gather every year, before travelling en-mass to Phillip Island for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

While waiting, I spotted a sign at the Public Hall. Orchid Show!!! I would never miss the chance to see it and also to see what they were selling there. So many beautiful orchid entries for the judging, but I was more interested in the selling on the back part of the building. There I was overjoyed to see some Dendrobium nobile orchids for sale. It had been awhile for me to try to find these orchids, but they are not available in the shop or in markets. To cut the story short, I bought two plants, one with large purple flowers and the other one with smaller white flowers.

Dendrobium nobile ‘Star Sapphire’ sold by Bayside Orchid Society:

Dendrobium nobile Yukidaruma’ The King’ sold by Berwick Orchid Society.

Orchid Show: Cranbourne Public Hall, 166 – 178 Gippsland Hwy Cranbourne. Saturday 26th to Sunday 27th 9am-4pm.

There are many good things in life come unexpected. While you are searching nothing to be found, but while not in searching lo and behold they are there to find.

Never bought this plant before. They were on special sale at the Collectors Corner. They were cheap so I was tempted and ended up with a couple of them. Originally they were in plastic pots and I re-potted them in bonsai pots. Both have already had flower buds, both pink but I think of different colour shades.

Very easy orchid to grow. Suitable to grow outside under bright shade in temperate climate.

In the middle of Covid-19 pandemic around the world, some countries in Asia make it compulsory to wear facial mask when going outside. But some of us don’t realise that there is a right way on how to wear and handle the masks. If you are curious:

• Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.
• Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.
• To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin. Clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• For reusable cloth masks, wash them with warm soapy detergent thoroughly and hang to dry.

Miris sekali melihat hampir semua kota, tempat-tempat lain serta rumah-rumah di Indonesia di semprot dengan disinfektan untuk menanggulangi wabah Covid 19. Bahkan orang juga disemprot dengan menggunakan bilik penyemprot. Di Australia sini tidak disemprot seperti itu. Disini lebih ditekankan untuk self dan social distancing serta kebersihan misalnya sering cuci tangan dengan air dan sabun. Tidak keluar rumah kalau tidak perlu sekali.

Ternyata banyak ahli mikro biologi dan juga WHO tidak membenarkan atau menyarankan untuk melakukan mass spraying dengan disinfektan. Apalagi menyemprot orang dengan disinfektan. Apakah saja bahaya terlalu banyak atau penyalah gunaan disinfektan? Inilah yang saya kumpulkan dari berbagai macam sumber di internet:

Bahaya terhadap manusia secara langsung:

• Kalau terkena kulit bisa menyebabkan iritasi kulit bagi mereka yang peka.
• Kalau kena mata bisa menyebabkan iritasi mata.
• Kalau terhirup, bisa merusak paru-paru
• Disinfektant juga menyebabkan iritasi lapisan lendir (mulut, hidung & mata).

Bahaya secara tak langsung:

• Saya termasuk kelompok orang yang percaya bahwa penggunaan disinfektan yg berlebihan justru ikutan membunuh bakteria/mikro organisme yang bermanfaat buat kesehatan kita dan juga lingkungan.
• Dirumah, pembersih yang mengandung disinfektan hanya cocok untuk ngepel lantai, untuk wc dan kamar mandi.
• Khususnya mereka yg punya anak kecil yg mulai merangkak/belajar jalan, ngepel lantai juga jangan pakai pembersih yang mengandung disinfektan. Apalagi membersihkan meja kursi dsb atau semprot sana sini dengan disinfektan . Sebagai gantinya ngepel dengan air dicampur pembersih organik yang tidak mengandung disinfektan/bahan kimia lebih cocok kalau ada anak kecil merangkak dilantai, atau memakai steam mop (mesin pembersih dengan uap air)
• Anak2 mulai dari kecil harus di biasakan/di-expose pada tempat bersih tapi tidak steril. Terlalu steril (minus bermacam bakteria/mikro organisme) menyebabkan anak akan tumbuh tanpa memiliki daya tahan tubuh yg semestinya. Jadi ringkih sering sakit dan menderita allergi. Bahkan juga dikaitkan dgn hiperaktif pada anak.
• Jangan menggunakan hand sanitizer kecuali kepepet karena tak bisa cuci tangan dengan air dan sabun.
• Terutama anak-anak jangan membuat mereka terbiasa dengan hand sanitizer atau tissue pembersih yang mengandung disinfectan dengan alasan yang sama seperti diatas. Biasakan cuci tangan dgn sabun biasa.
• Banyak teori yang menyebutkan bahwa terlalu banyak penggunaan disinfektan dan antibakteri bisa menyebabkan bakteri bermutasi dan kebal. Contohnya banyak kasus TBC (tuberkulosis) yang tak bisa disembuhkan karena bakterinya jadi kebal, obat tak mempan lagi untuk membunuhnya.

Bahaya secara psikologis (sehubungan dengan pandemi Covid 19) :

• Karena semua tempat sudah disemprot disinfektan dan tangan sudah memakai hand sanitizer, banyak orang yang jadi percaya sudah bersih dan kebal tak akan tertular Corona virus. Mereka bisa canderung mengabaikan upaya lain yang dianjurkan misalnya physical atau social distancing yang justru sebenarnya lebih bermanfaat untuk menanggulangi penularan Covid 19 ini.

Indoor plant lovers will not miss to have Calathea plants in their collection. Though some say that it is not easy to grow, once you have the right condition, it will be easy to grow. Calatheas come in many shapes, sizes and colours. This one is Calathea ornata or Pinstripe Calathea.

• Brightly lit indoor position with no direct sunlight.
• In hot climate can be grown outside away from direct sunlight.
• Minimum temperature 10 degree C.
• I use well drained potting mix with addition of peat moss. Potting mix for acid loving plants is also suitable.
• Cover the surface of soil with moist sphagnum moss.
• Feed fortnightly with house plant fertiliser from spring to autumn.
• When the soil is dry to touch, it is time to water.
• Cut dry foliage off.
• Clean leaves to get rid of dust and to make them look shiny.
• The plant can be easily divided when it has filled the pot.

Unusually cold autumn here in Melbourne Australia had made the Cymbidium orchids behave differently this year. One is blooming right now in early June, while before it flowered in August. Some are in buds and others are still having tiny spikes growing and I think quite a few will not bloom at all this time.

This is the one that is flowering now. No-id yellow green Cymbidium with dark red spots. Two spikes and the petals and sepals are narrow.

Winter 2020 here in Melbourne Australia was very cold and the Covid 19 lockdown made it even worst. It took so long for the flower buds to develop and eventually to open. Was is the impatient me or the chill had actually made them slower to grow? Well eventually many have the flowers blooming and few more to come.

From all these images most are of unknown variety (NOID) except 2 which are Cymbidium Maluka ‘Baby Pink’ and Cymbidium Vogelsang ‘Eastbourne’ x So Bold ‘And Bountiful’ (Please click the photos to know which ones).

For those who love green orchid flowers will like this one. Cymbidium Lowio-grandiflorum is a primary cross between Cym. lowianum and Cym. hookerianum/C. grandiflorum (Thank you Josh for confirmation).

This year it is having 3 long arching spikes, the best so far.

Cymbidium NOID: Small cascading flowers, very dark red maroon colour. Amazingly pretty.

Cymbidium Memoria Marvin Gaye ‘Royale’ : This one was given to me by Rika

Cymbidium Bullbarrow ‘Our Midge’ :

Cymbidium Artistic Impression ‘Snowdrop’ x Ruby Eyes ‘Red Baron’ :

Cymbidium Claude Pepper x Sensation:

More orchids flowers are still in buds, few more Cymbidiums and also Dendrobiums.

I have Dendrobium delicatum for many years and last year I bought a different variant with slightly bigger flowers. Now both of them are flowering and the fragrance is so sweet.

Both have white flowers, but the one with bigger flowers grow more compact while the other one has longer canes. Many Dendrobium delicatum with pink or red flowers are said to be crossed bred by human, while the white ones can be from natural cross between D. kingianum and D. tarberi/speciosum.

I have no luck with my Dendrobium kingianum, not that it died, but it is very hard to flower (Is it too cold here in Melbourne ?). So I am very glad to have these D. delicatums which are very easy to grow with more showy blooms and always flower every year plus the beautiful lingering fragrance to die for.

For comparison, this is how my Dendrobium kingianum looked like. It flowered several years ago. The photo was enlarged, D. kingianum flowers are actually much smaller compared to D. delicatum with only few blooms on each stem.

About one year ago I repotted this Dendrobium kingianum (Thelychiton kingianus). I was not really happy because it almost never flowered. The leaves look good, healthy and green but it hardly flower at all. Now after about one year, it still has no sign of flowers. What do I do wrong?

I just read many articles online about requirements on how to grow this Australian native orchid. I think I don’t use suitable potting media and also the wrong position which is too shady.

In the wild D. kingianum orchids grow on rocky terrains and crevices, so it is lithophyte. They tend to grow in areas where they have strong sunlight. If the place is too shady, they will hardly flower.

I decided to change the potting media from mostly orchid bark chips to 75 % of mixture of pebbles + scorias and 25 % of bark chips. After repotting, I will place it in a brighter location where it will get direct morning sun. I will see what will happen……

The Oncidium alliance, dancing lady orchid has started to fill out the pot. Yesterday (25/09/2020) I divided and repotting it. The roots looked very healthy. It made two divisions and I also save a couple of old bulbs. Three pots altogether.

Dendrobium nobile ‘Star Sapphire’: One year later after been bought at the Orchid Show in Cranbourne, it has grown more canes and now is flowering nicely. Love the shimmering purple colour.

Dendrobium nobile Yukidaruma ‘King’: One of the two that I bought at the Orchid Show. The flower colour is white with dark purple/maroon throat. It has suffered a set back as two of the mature canes were eaten by slugs. So far it has grown another new cane and a nubin. Not so sure what the nub will be, hopefully it will be flowers.

My first Dendrobium nobile, 5 canes are flowering with some buds are still unopened. Not as prolific as last year, but it is still nice. Some new mature canes are ready to bloom next year. Time to divide and re-pot later after finished flowering. Note: I just found out that this one is actually the species (Dendrobium nobile Lindley 1830) , the flowers are matched.

Interesting facts about the species (from Claessen Orchid.com):

…….. The Dendrobium nobile was first described by John Lindley in 1830. A couple of years later, the plant was brought in bloom for the first time at the nursery of Loddiges Hackney, England. It’s one of the most popular Dendrobiums and appears in Southeast Asia, the Himalaya, Malaysia, South-China and Japan.

The long, upstanding, fleshy stems can vary from 30 to 75 cm long. The flowers can be 6 to 8 cm in width and the colour can vary a lot, depending on the origin of the plant. In general, the petals and sepals are coloured white to lightpink with a dark pink to purple spot at the top. The lip is white with a large dark purple spot in the throat with a light yellow edge.

A fun fact about the Dendrobium nobile; it has been used in the traditional Chinese medicine for ages! The stem of the Dendrobium nobile is used as cure for symptoms like abdominal pain, headache, dry mouth and abscesses in the mouth……..

I was planning to buy more of these orchids at the show, but this year there will be no show at all due to the Covid 19.