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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Openings, Week of December 12

Pleurothallis gargantua in closeup. The flowers measure 1" across by 3" long.
Now is a great time to catch an amazing flush of flowers on the Pleurothallids in the Tropical High Elevation House.

Pleurothallis gargantua planted in the ground in the Tropical High Elevation House. 
Pleurothallis marthae can be grown as an epiphyte or as a terrestrial.
A yet-to-be-identified Pleurothallis growing epiphytically on a cedar tree

All of the Pleurothallids pictured above belong to my favorite section of the genus Pleurothallis, the Macrophyllae-fasciculatae, colloquially known as the clamshell Pleurothallids.

Not all Stelis are micro miniatures. This species produces flowers 1/2" diameter--huge for a Stelis.
I love it when the Pleurothallids steal the show!


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Openings, Week of November 28

Last week brought the tremendously successful opening of Garden Lights, Holiday Nights. But that wasn't the only opening at ABG last week.

Maxillaria scalariformis
Opening in the Tropical High Elevation House starting last week is the Panamanian orchid, Maxillaria scalariformis. Opera lovers familiar with the famous Milanese opera house La Scala will know that scala means ladder, and thus the epithet scalariformis refers to the ladder like arrangement of the leaves on the stems.


Of the twenty or so species of Maxillaria in the HEH, Maxillaria scalarformis is one of my favorites. The flowers and the leaves are suffused with a lovely deep rose blush. So gorgeous.
We received our Maxillaria scalariformis about four years ago. Clearly this plant deserved a prominent spot at eye level. Since there was no room on any of our epiphyte trees at the time I simply wrapped the root ball in a mixture of moss and tree fern fiber and wedged it in a rocky crevice where it has been growing happily ever since.

Phaius flavus x P. tankervillae
Phaius are very much underutilized in conservatory landscapes in my opinion. Like Peristeria elata (the Dove Orchid) and Warrea warreana, two other tropical terrestrial orchids, it makes a very striking back-of-the-border element, with bold upright spikes that reach 4' in height.
Phaius are among the most forgiving of orchids--they grow vigorously under intermediate to warm conditions in just about any good quality soilless medium. The only serious strike against them is that they are very attractive to scale insects. Phaius tankervillae (the Nun's Orchid) and various intergeneric and interspecific Phaius hybrids are readily available in the retail trade. The hybrid photographed above in the Orchid Display House has the most extraordinary foliage--in the lower right hand corner you can see the glowing yellow spots on the deep green leaves.

You can enjoy both of these plants in flower for the next couple of weeks.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Holiday Transformation in the Conservatory Lobby

We have created a total of eleven topiary trees this holiday season, three of which hold center stage in the Conservatory Lobby. Jason Cameron, our Facilities Engineer, made three magnificent frames that are eleven, nine and eight feet tall. The frames were wrapped in coco fiber sheeting secured with zip ties.
Volunteer Leslie King and FOC Horticulturist Sarah Carter attach Tillandsias  to a topiary tree.
We then glued about 3500 Tillandsia (small bromeliads) directly to the coco fiber. Sarah created a different design for each tree.
Cryptanthus 'Ruby' are arranged in a spiral pattern on tree number two.
These particular Tillandsia species do not have an extensive root system. Once the glue has set we will mist them two or three times a week.
Sarah and I at work on the topiary trees in the Conservatory Lobby
The Cryptanthus (Earth Stars) contrast nicely with the Tillandsias and complement the color of the Poinsettias in the beds below.
Floriculturist Holly Cooper nearly finished with our third tree.
The Garden Lights, Holiday Nights Volunteer Preview is tonight. See you there!

Thank you to Sarah Carter, Holly Cooper, Matt Richards, Jason Cameron, Julia Rittenhouse, Leslie King all of whom contributed to this very labor intensive project!

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Three Bears


Three very special guests have arrived to spend the holidays with us, bringing a fairy tale touch to the Fuqua Orchid Center. Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear dressed in their holiday best are dancing in the Formal Bed of the Orchid Display House.

Papa Bear sports a nifty holiday tie. Quite the chubby hubby. Look at that belly! Baby Bear appears to be toddling rather than dancing, but that's okay.


 Love his tail!


Mama Bear has the best dance moves. 

Come meet them at our spectacular Garden Lights display opening this weekend!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Holiday Transformation, behind the scenes

The Grand Opening of Garden Lights is this weekend and our staff  has been working like mad to prepare the holiday display in the Orchid Display House. Sarah has been filling in the ground cover in front of the reflection pond. She has created a meadow-like effect with Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' and foxtail fern.
Matt is pictured above installing an arrangement of glorious blue Vanda hybrids, always a show stopper. 

Volunteer Amanda Middlemass putting the final touch on the new occupants of our Formal Bed (more about them in my next post).

Last week visitors stood in line to photograph the blue Vandas. If you look carefully into the center of the mass of Vandas you can spot the tail end of a Vanilla imperialis vine with two magenta trimmed flowers.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff this week as we race to the finish. The Grand Opening is this weekend!

Holiday Transformation

They're here! Volunteer Joanne Justice with the first wave of Poinsettias
The Garden Lights display that is engulfing the Garden in a blaze of light and color swept into the Fuqua Orchid Center this week.

Sarah Carter prepares the Freedom White Poinsettias for installation
The centerpiece of the Orchid Atrium will be an 18' tall Poinsettia tree.

Matt Richards reaches among the mass of irrigation tubes.  Each of the 544 plants receives its own irrigation tube.
Matt and Sarah are creating a swirling spiral of creamy Poinsettias within the all red tree.


The effect is lovely but difficult to create. Poinsettias shatter easily and require careful handling.




Yes, it is hot neat the roof of the greenhouse. Fine work, Matt and Sarah!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Pod Cast


Pollinating Phalaenopsis violacea
You may already be familiar with this cast of characters, but do you recognize them five months into gestation?

and five months later
Pescatorea lehmannii
An orchid fruit or "pod" is more correctly called a capsule.
Promenaea rollisoni
Notice the remains of the flower at the far end of the capsule.
Phalaenopsis violacea, Sumatran form
The information relevant to each cross is recorded in three locations: on a vinyl label, on a paper form and on an Excel spreadsheet accessible on our computer network.
Laelia purpurata
A piece of pink flagging tape helps us find the capsule among all the plants in our greenhouses.
Bollea coelestis
Dendrobium dearei
Compare the size of the swollen ovary of the pollinated flower to that of the adjacent flower.
Dendrobium uniflorum
Pleurothallis titan with open capsule
An orchid capsule can take anywhere from one to six months or more to ripen. We look forward to seeing these orchids in our lab!




Monday, November 7, 2011

Previews and Openings

Dendrobium glomeratum in the Orchid Display House
I'm nominating Dendrobium glomeratum, along with Dendrobium dearei and Dendrobium unicolor, in the category Most Dependable Flowering Orchid. Our plants flower almost continuously.

Laelia anceps variety in the Orchid Display House

Maxillaria sophronitis cloaking a tree stump in the Tropical High Elevation House
Mat-forming orchids like Maxillaria sophronitis are terrifically useful as an element in a tropical landscape. I've taken many divisions from our hanging basket and pinned them to different vertical surfaces.

Coelogyne mooreana in the Tropical High Elevation House
Four of these Coelogyne flowering simultaneously are producing a wonderful lemony-vanilla fragrance int the Tropical High Elevation House.
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