Paphiopedilum glanduliferum

Top:  The developing flower spike about a week ago.

Below:  The flower today.

This time round the plant produced two flower spikes in response to a sudden rain after the long dry and hot weather recently.  I saw the developing flower spike one morning a few days after the rain in the middle of the dry spell and i thought oh no! because the rain only lasted a day and the dry spell contimued.  I thought the flower spike might dry up in one day or two if the rain did not persist but luckily it survived long enough to take full advantage of the recent cool rain.  The flowers are very well developed this morning and the second flower spike is pressed against the netting but i'm not going to shift the pot around this time.  I'll just leave it to nature.  If a snail or slug comes along then so be it (they always use the netting to move around).

Dendrobium prenticei

Also known as Dendrobium lichenastrum var. prenticei, this is a small Dendrobium native to north eartern Australia.  It is a very interesting plant because the leaves are succulent and only about 3-4 cm long, so unlike the typical Dendrobiums with their long canes or drooping flat zig-zag leaves. This Dendrobium is almost cactus-like.  But the flowers are small and cute.  This plant has yellowish flowers but D.prenticei can have flowers ranging from pink to yellow and spotted or stripped.

Coelogyne usitana

In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful coelogyne with strong contrasting colors.  It is a medium sized, warm to hot growing Coelogyne found in Philippines.  I am growing it together with Coelogyne speciosa in a basket hung on the branch of my Longan tree.  This gives the plant good ventilation and the leaves above provide natural shade.

Very difficult to get a frontal shot of this flower.  No choice but to hold it up.

Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi 'Red'

I bought many unflowered plants of cornu-cervi 'Red' hoping to get lucky. In the end only a few of the plants turned out to be pure red. Most have varying degree of uneven coloration. Among those that are not pure red, a few of them are actually very beautiful with glossy red surface and delicate patterns of red over the entire flower like this one.

Phalaenopsis Princess Kaiulani 'alba'

This is a plant from Taiwan. Very similar to some of the Princess kaiulani hybrid created by local breeder Mr. Law MH using Phal. amboinensis flava crossed with bellina alba. Most of the flowers have bars of darker yellow on a background of lighter greenish yellow. It is also possible to find a few plants which produce pure greenish yellow flower without any bars. These plants are more valuable to collectors.

Phalaenopsis Spica

This is a very beautiful Phalaenopsis Spica which i bought from Mr. David Lim, a well know Singaporean breeder of quality phals. This plant flowers very frequently and is quiet resilient to diseases unlike many modern hybrids. This plant was selected from a batch of hybrids grown in his Jalan Kayu home about 10 years ago.

Many plants today are raised in greenhouses before being sold to the public. They are quite weak and if grown in the open spots soon develop on the leaves.

Dendrobium truncatum

This is a Dendrobium species that i have been growing for about 10 years. It is very free flowering and has an interesting "onion shaped" pseudobulb about 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. It is a miniature Dendrobium very suitable for HDB balconies or mounting on tree trunks. The flowers are small (1 cm) and short lived (abt 2 -3 days) but has beautiful purple markings on a white background. Truly lovely flowers that blooms frequently making up for its short lifespan. Sometimes beautiful things are not meant to last.