tisdag 27 december 2011

Dendrobium Nora Tokunaga

No a Vanda but a beauty!

This primary hybrid between atroviolaceum and rhodostictum, flowers for 2-5 months at the time.



tisdag 20 december 2011

Vanda insignis

Blume, Rumphia (1849)

ORIGIN/HABITAT: Indonesia and Timor. Plants are found at low altitude with little shade.

LIGHT: 37450-53500 lux (3500-5000 fc). Plants require bright light but may need some protection from direct midday sun. In the habitat there are heavy clouds that reduce the light. Some midday shading is appropriate for cultivated plants, especially in summer. Strong, continuous air movement makes healthier plants.




TEMPERATURES: The temperature is hot all year, 27-31C during the days, and nights average 23-24C.

HUMIDITY: 80-85% throughout the year.

WATER: Rainfall is moderate to heavy all year, but conditions are slightly drier in late spring and summer. Cultivated plants should be watered heavily while actively growing, but the roots should be able to dry fairly rapidly after watering.


FERTILIZER: Use 20-20-20 or 15-5-15 CAlMag. Recommended strength is 13ml / 10 liters of water, applied weekly when plants are actively growing. I use 1ml / 2 liter of water at every watering when plants are actively growing.

LEAVES: Up to 30 cm long an 2.5 cm wide.

INFLORESCENCE: 15-30 cm long.

FLOWERS: 4-7 per inflorescence. Flowers are waxy, long-lasting, strongly fragrant, and is 5.0-6.5 cm across and 5.0 cm high.

söndag 11 december 2011

Orchids in Singapore



Some shoots from Singapore. A bit shaky and unfocused at times so bare with me I am just learning. :-)

torsdag 1 december 2011

Vanda frankieana, a new old species

It took approximately 140 years to describe this new species. Already in 1866 this new Vanda species was found and was to be named Vanda crassiloba. But the species was never described. Over the years, various researchers have begun to describe the species but this work has not been completed.

The researcher Destario Metusala from the Indonesian Institute of Science and orchid expert Peter O'Byrne from Singapore has now taken hold of this species. As the name Vanda crassiloba was never registered they decided to rename the species to Vanda frankieana as a tribute to Frankie Handoyo to promote his work on conservation and cultivation of orchids.

Vanda frankieana grows in Kalimantan on Borneo. The species bears 1-5 stiff, waxy flowers on a short inflorescent. The flowers are 3.8 to 4.4 cm wide and 3.6 to 4.2 cm high and the color is bright yellow with red-brown spots and a white lip. The species grows slowly and is approximately 50 cm high when it is fully grown. The species was found flowering from November to March.

Many thanks to Frankie Handoyo for letting me use his pictures!


The species was described in the Malesian Orchid Journal Volume 9 2012.