A link to this blog showed up on eBay the other week...

I guess it's not really stealing when you provide a link to someones picture, and don't actually rehost it. You are only kind of using it without permission. Seeing as how this person literally just provided a link to this blog to show a picture of the potential blooms of a Grammatophyllum scriptum var. kiilani, and didn't actually use my picture I just laughed. Here's a screen shot of the event, as this eBay auction is long over.

LOL  Why? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Why my picture? It was only of 2 flowers. They typically bloom with much more than that, but I had some bud blast as it was shipped in spike. There are so many better pictures of what this orchid has to offer than mine. This is just funny and strange to me. If this person had contacted me and asked to use the picture, I would've said yes, maybe on the condition I could watermark it, but I guess this is much easier...

Not a big deal, which is why I edited out some things, including the sellers username from the sceenshot. I just found it amusing, this being my 1st experience with my pictures being used to sell plants online, something I know many of you that put your pictures up publicly online have experienced.

Click here for a working link to the post in question. Is it because I mentioned to someone in the comments that these pop up for sale on eBay from time to time? Or is that just a wacky coincidence?

Laelia ghillanyi flamea and a few other new additions

So I've been hunting for a rupicolous Laelia to try ever since I heard Roy Tokunaga of H&R Nurseries speak at a local orchid society meeting earlier this month. Although the lecture wasn't specifically about rupicolous Laelias, seeing pictures of those tiny bright flowers and cute little plants growing in the crevasses of rock faces inspired me to try these supposedly difficult to cultivate orchids. I ended up picking this Laelia ghillanyi flamea I found on eBay, as there were none for sale at the meeting. To my luck this one came potted. Any other plant and I would've asked for it to be sent bare root, but from what I've read, these hate to be repotted. The mix appears to be charcoal, tree fern fiber, and some type of white rocks (not perlite) that I'm not familiar with.

Laelia ghillanyi flamea with my hand for size reference

While Roy Tokunaga brought an impressive variety of beautifully grown orchids to sell at the meeting, another tiny beauty was the one that needed to come home with me, Cattleya aclandiae. This is another supposedly difficult to cultivate species. C. aclandiae is a dwarf Brazilian species that grows near the ocean, receiving windy days and little rain, so it likes to be grown on the dry side. I potted this one in LECA to give the roots something to wrap around and a wood slat basket to help it dry out easier. Why can't I be drawn to easy to grow species? I'm forever picking the most difficult before I even realize what I've gotten myself into. Of course I did the research on how to take care of it after I got it home.

Cattleya aclandiae 'Richter's Best' x 'Black Hole'

I also picked up this seed grown Myrmecophila brysiana at the meeting, with three new leads. Myrmecophila is quickly becoming one of my favorite genus of orchid, but due to the expense and rarity of buying mature plants, seedlings it is. One day I'll have flowers to show off, and I just can't resist picking up another species of Myrmecophila to add to my collection.

Myrmecophila brysiana 'Orange Tart'

One of my favorite things about growing plants as a hobby is there is always a new way to challenge yourself and your skills. You can even be the best at what you're currently growing, but a new addition can send you back to beginner status and you have to learn all over again. It never gets old, boring, or too easy to me, which is probably why it's the only hobby that I've stuck with for so long.

I hope you all are having a great week, and your plants are growing well! Sorry the updates haven't been as often recently, but you know how things go, sometimes you get so busy you rarely have time to sit down at all. 

Nepenthes bicalcarata

Some of the latest pitchers of one of my favorite Nepenthes, N. bicalcarata:

So much dew, it's getting moldy 

Stanhopea wardii?

I bought this as Stanhopea wardii when I first moved to Florida. Now that it's blooming it smells like Stanhopea wardii, but doesn't look much like the other pictures online of this species. My husband nailed the smell though.... it's white TIC TAC® candies, really strong like a whole crate of them cracked open on a hot sidewalk. I sent pictures to the place I purchased it from to see if they can ID it, and they said it was wardii, so I guess that settles it? There are a few Stanhopea species that look fairly similar such as occulata, dodsoniana and whittenii, plus hybrids. The smell seems to give it away though.

Either way, I friggin' love it!

The buds ended up growing up and over the side though, not down, which is why they're a little oddly placed.

Mmmm, TIC TACs....