Chapel Hill/Carrboro's supplier of locally grown orchid plants
October means flowers!
Generally I am not a fan of autumn; it means that winter heating costs begin and that orchid plant growth slows down due to lower temperatures and a limited amount of sunlight from shorter day length. But it also means the blooming season for fall Cattleyas has arrived, and this year I have more blooming size plants than ever!
I often get the question “in which month do you have the most orchids in bloom?” The answer is always overwhelmingly October.
Because my greenhouse is filled with more Cattleyas than anything else, there are always many many in bloom this time of year. By now orchids in the Oncidium alliance are mostly done flowering for the year, and Phalaenopsis are just beginning to make spikes that will bloom in late winter and early spring, but Cattleyas are really at their peak. Add to that a few flowering Cymbidiums and Dendrobiums and it is no wonder I enjoy the autumn so much!
Don’t forget that our Saturday orchid open houses continue through the fall and winter months.
Below are some pictures I took in the greenhouse this week.
Blc Red Crab ‘Kuau Miau’
Pot Hisako Akatsuka x Slc Jungle Jewel
Lc Kristi Matsuhara ‘Paradise’
Epc Joseph Roman ‘Roman Holiday’
C. labiata var Suave
C. Chocolate Drop ‘Volcano Queen’
C. Chocolate Drop ‘Kodama’
C. Chocolate Drop ‘Chiffon Yellow’
C. bowringiana ‘Superba Augusta’
Blc Yen Corona ‘Green Genie’
Pot. Love Triangle ‘Bob’s #12’
Pot. Love Triangle ‘Bob’s #11’
Blc Jeremy Island ‘Carmela’
Blc Cumberland Beauty ‘Regal Jewels’
(Blc Sunset Sails x Oconee) ‘Paradise’
Blc Mem. Crispin Rosales x (Oconee x Purple Magic)
Cym. Kusuda Shining x Annie Kelley
Author: Bob
Bob has been growing orchids since 1985 and commercially since 1989. He has had several orchid articles published in the AOS Bulletin, AOS Culture Guide, and in Orchids Magazine. He currently resides in Chapel Hill, NC and runs Carrboro Tropicals, Chapel Hill's only provider of locally-grown orchid plants.
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