E.F.G. Orchids Haul

I don't live close to any orchid nurseries, despite living in Florida. I do live close to a garden center that gets it's plants from nurseries that carry unique things. Every so often they get in plants from E.F.G. Orchids in Deland. I love seeing those blue tags at a store down the street.

Once or twice a year I'll make the trip out to Deland when I feel like really spending some money. E.F.G. Orchids is fantastic. As in, always has good choices, always has decent prices, always friendly and helpful staff great. It's probably great that I don't live closer or my wallet would not look so great.

Keeping with my species Phal binge, with one or two deviations...in this box is:

• Phalaenopsis schilleriana....in spike
• Phalaenopsis stuartiana (yellow form)...in spike, (Phalaenopsis stuartiana var. nobilis)
• Phalaenopsis bellina...with a keiki. I'm hoping this one blooms a little different than the one I already have, F5 from Ooi Leng Sun.
• Phalaenopsis "Golden Coffee"
• Angraecum sesquipedale...needed one of these, why don't I already have this?
• Ansellia gigantea var nilotica
• Fdk. After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl'

Phalaenopsis schilleriana

Phalaenopsis stuartiana (yellow strain) 

Phalaenopsis bellina

Looking at it from the back, there's a keiki.

Let's talk for a minute about Phal, Sogo Yenlin "Golden Coffee(?)" Coffees(?) Coffey(?) Striped Coffee(?) I asked about these as they had a variety of labels and sizes. I've seen them labeled all those ways elsewhere. They all bloom the same. Apparently they are all the same.  The most info I could get about them is these were from I-Hsin labs to a distributor in Apopka, to E.F.G. Apparently a lot of people have been finding them at their local Lowe's too. I bought this one because the variegation is the strongest I've seen on these. The numbers on the tag is the same as my Coffee as well. No amount of Googling has turned up a definitive answer for the right name for these guys.

Striped Coffee and Golden Coffee

Fdk. After Dark 'Black Pearl' has one of the blackest flowers I've seen. There is no such thing as a black flower in nature, but brown, red, or purple so saturated it looks black. The darker color also has to do with cultural conditions, or so I've read. Warmer temps will bloom a lighter burgundy. Nothing else with "black" flowers grows well here, (or not for me anyway) so I had to try it. I'm hoping our nights are cool enough now for it to flower dark enough to look black. Like real dark black, blacker than space.

Angreacum sesquipidale. I was just watching an orchid haul video the night before I went to E.F.G. where a woman had found one in those Better-Gro bagged orchids and I got jealous. I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something by letting me find one the next day. Have I been good?

So, I originally recorded a video haul, because I love watching other people's hauls and unboxings on YouTube. Plus it really shows you the quality of plants you can expect. I can't hold the camera steady and am coughing because I'm getting over a cold still, so it turned out crappy. Maybe next time.