More More More Seedlings Galore!
A large chunk of my online ebay orders were from Carmela Orchids, based out of Hawaii. I stumbled upon their ebay page and ordered from there before finding out about the separate website, which is probably for the best. I'm starting to run out of space here at home! Uh-oh!
This haul was all cattleya intergeneric seedlings so chances of lovely fragrances among the flowers will be high. Cattleya type orchids seem to be doing well for me in semi-hydro with little to no stress induced from repotting. With any luck, these seedlings will adapt well and continue to grow into healthy, mature plants under my care.
Half of these orchids (Leona, Gloria, Verona) will be on a heat mat under an LED grow light supplemented with ambient sunlight from a nearby window. The other half of these orchids (Shinai, Tuscany, will be grown in front of a window without a heat mat.
(none of the photos below belong to me, they were provided by the Ebay vendor as a flower reference)
(none of the photos below belong to me, they were provided by the Ebay vendor as a flower reference)
Blc. Rustic Spots 'H & R'
The orchid that started this whole haul, this gorgeous flower is one of my favorite kinds- one that changes color over time. Tuscany will have blooms that have more hints of fuschia on the outer edges of the petals, sepals, and lip of the flower that gradually fades into the orange color pictured above. I am excited to see how this flower looks in person, as the pictures usually don't do the colors justice.
She has a multitude of seedling pseudobulbs and has a brand new a larger-sized, more mature pseudobulb. She was labeled as being 2 years from bloomings size which looks about right.
Blc. Lawless Romeo 'Juliet'
This gorgeous contrast of golden yellow against a bold, deep red lip was absolutely stunning. The petals and lip are ruffled, creating a lovely, frilly effect on the flower. Those hints of yellow on the inside of the lip is just so perfect. I love this flower. Verona, a little play on this hybrid's name, is also supposed to be fragrant which is just icing on the cake with this beauty.
She looks like a very healthy orchid with great roots and half a dozen pseudobulbs. Her newest mature bulb is looking a bit larger than the rest which is great and she is supposed to be 2 years from blooming size.
Lc. Mini Purple var coerulea 'Shimanai'
A very interesting departure from the brassolaeliocattleya hybrids is this lovely little beauty, a coerulea type orchid. Shinai was an instant addition to this haul as I have quite a weak spot for "blue" type orchids and this was no exception. She is a fragrant, compact grower that will hopefully have a blush of that purple color all over the flower's petals and sepals as pictured above as a reference.
This orchid in particular was a huge seedling and the main reason I will be purchasing from Carmela Orchids again in the future. All of these plants, not just Shinai, was in great shape with extensive and healthy root systems. Shinai came with over a dozen seedling size pseudobulbs and is currently three new leads. I do suspect that she is a couple of seedling plants that kind of grew together and ended up being a rather bushy plant. I am so thrilled to have her and I can't wait to get her to mature size and blooming in about 1-2 years.
Blc. Majestic Light 'Glory'
Another showstopper with golden flowers is this darling orchid. This orchid is a compact grower that has large, fragrant and slightly ruffled petals. The flower is a bright, sunny yellow with splashes of creamy, pastel yellow. The frilly lip is a pastel pink color that fades into the deeper yellow down the throat. She will bloom in clusters of 2-4 flowers that are about 4-5" across.
Gloria was one of the larger seedlings I ordered, coming in a 3" pot. All of her pseudobulbs still look pretty small, though she has one she is maturing that is her biggest so far. She is still supposed to be 2-3 years from blooming.
Blc. Hawaiian Leopard 'Mei Ling'
I'm such a sucker for these type of wild, spotted blooms it seems. That color contrast between the yellow, orange, and fuschia is just irresistible. Combine that with the spotted, star-shaped flowers and equally spotted, fuschia lip, and I'm a goner. This bold beauty has a good chance of being that color changing type of orchid that I love so much, and from what I've seen in pictures, the petals and sepals seem to fade and wash out to a creamy white color. The photos seemed lovely but I'll have to see for myself if the effect is attractive or not.
I won't have too long to wait it seems, since Leona was listed as being near blooming size which means she'll probably bloom within the year with proper care. I imagine the repot will certainly set back that time frame a little but cattleya-type orchids seem to acclimate to semi-hydro with little stress. She is a healthy plant with half a dozen seedling pseudobulbs and two, much larger newly maturing growths. She was perfectly timed for a repot, so I imagine she might bloom before the end of the year after all. Only time will tell!
Blc. Dick Smith 'Paradise'
Talk about wow-factor with these flowers. If a flower could be over-the-top, it would be this showstopper. Her ruffled lip is mainly a bright, golden yellow with a splash of magenta on the tips and then edged with a salmon pink. The peloric trait of these flowers means the petals mimic the lip of the orchid, which is exactly the same in color and texture which is complimented with solid salmon colored sepals. Her blooms will come in groups of 1-3 flowers.
Paradise still has 2-3 years before she will be blooming size so I will be waiting a while to see those amazing flowers but it will be worth the wait. She came as a healthy plant with five seedling pseudobulbs and one larger, newly mature bulb. Her roots looked great for the repot so I think she will adapt nicely, especially since she'll get a little help from the heat mat.