I talked to Heather who runs Top Hat Orchids in Richmond, CA and she recommended I attend last night's meeting of the Cymbidium Society of California. Even though I don't have ideal conditions for growing Cymbidiums, she mentioned that there was going to be a great speaker and she was certainly right! Pierre Pujol is a grower who has become very successful as a grower just within the last 5 years, creating his own hybrids and quickly moving from his home to a large greenhouse. I won one of his plants, the Cymbidium Phar Lap 'Agua Caliente', in the raffle at the end of the evening. Then, just as sweet as ever, a woman named Helga gave me the big plant with the long flower spike, Cymbidium Lowland Tiger 'New Horizons'. The people at the meetings are always very nice and love to give me advice. I understand that I'll need to keep these plants cool at night to provide a dramatic change in temperature from the daytime. This actually isn't too hard since I can open all the windows in the living room and let it get quite chilly while we stay warm in the bedroom at night. My biggest challenge now is finding a place for them to get enough sun.
In other news, my Laeliocattleya has bloomed and I couldn't be happier! I was so nervous that after losing 3 buds, she just wasn't going to flower so I was jumping for joy when I saw the first bid start to open. She now has two open flowers and they are so great. I really love orange flowers and the way they contrast with the green leaves.
In other news, my Laeliocattleya has bloomed and I couldn't be happier! I was so nervous that after losing 3 buds, she just wasn't going to flower so I was jumping for joy when I saw the first bid start to open. She now has two open flowers and they are so great. I really love orange flowers and the way they contrast with the green leaves.