Field of Science

Showing posts with label bamboo orchid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bamboo orchid. Show all posts

Friday Fabulous Flower - Dendrobium


Spring is slowly coming along outside and most of our houseplant orchids are in flower.  After being outside until the cool fall, the combination of day length and temperature just prompts them all to flower.  This is a Dendrobium, a bamboo orchid, probably D. anosmum, but when a genus has more than 1000 species, and many are in cultivation, not to mention hybrids, a plant of uncertain parentage just gets an educated guess.  Flowering occurs along the old stems that sort of cascade from their hanging basket, so the floral display is pretty large, the flowers are large, 3" across, and a couple of dozen flowers is not unusual.  Unfortunately these won't last as long as some orchid flowers.  You can sort of see that they are rather thin and delicate, almost membranous, so a real annual treat.   

Friday Fabulous Flower - bamboo orchid

Yes, the FFF is going up on Saturday, but Friday was an impossible day; it's getting to be that time of the semester when everyone wants everything and students are beginning to worry, some with good reason, that their efforts may be too little too late.  The bamboo orchid at home has burst into flower, and without question this orchid is like roses, a quite ungainly and rather ugly plant that produces some fabulous flowers.  This particular orchid is one that really likes being outside for the summer season hanging from a tree limb or a pergola or a shepard's hook.  So for most of the year it's an ungainly thing, and then it flowers and you understand why you bother.