Paphiopedilum Velvet Spot x Lancer: A beautiful orchid

Today I'm going to tell you about an amazing Lady slipper orchid. It's Paphiopedilum Velvet Spot x Lancer. This wonderful huge flower is a firework of colors and magnificence of forms. You must admit that the plant is a real miracle in a flowerpot. Also this green person is an excellent "model". The flower of Paph. Velvet Spot x Lancer is very photogenic:

Paphiopedilum Velvet Spot x Lancer

I think that plants are food for imagination. When l admire the flower I imagine a medieval castle. I hear sounds of a lute and a harp, I enjoy creations of minstrels. Blooming Paphiopedilum Velvet Spot x Lancer looks like a noble knight. The flower has a big white top petal with a yellow center and unusual vinaceous patterns. Another petals of this orchid and the labellum are dark red with green-yellow borders. Also two lateral petals have a patterns at the bottom. This Lady slipper orchid has got the light green leaves.

Paph. Velvet Spot x Lancer is starting to bloom

Paphiopedilum Velvet Spot x Lancer care is similar to another hybrid Paphiopedilums care. The Lady slipper orchid doesn't need bright light. It can grow at a shading place. This plant prefers humid air, regular watering and draught protect. A hybrid Paph. isn't a capricious houseplant. Even the beginners can cultivate this beautiful orchid.


On the pictures: The orchids in The Flo Orchidarium.The photos were taken by me.

Paphiopedilum Lippewunder hybrid care

Do you like big slippers? Don't say "No"! I'm going to show you Paphiopedilum Lippewunder hybrid. It's an amazing Lady slipper orchid with a huge flower. A Paphiopedilum Lippewunder hybrid 's "shoe" is glossy, colorful and chic. I call this flower "the pirate who laugh" because its labellum resembles the smile of a sea robber. Please, look at the photo:

The orchid who laugh

Flowers of this paphiopedilum are green-yellow with a big labellum and dark red stripes and patterns. Orchid sellers often publish this paphiopedilum's photos with a ruler that to show size of the phyto-slippers. Flowers of Paph. Lippewunder hybrid may reach 7,87 inches (20 centimetres)! I have taken photos of this orchid without a ruler. However the flower is a giant, indeed:

Paphiopedilum Lippewunder hybrid

If you want to buy this orchid in a orchidarium or in a flower shop you have to know that Paphiopedilum Lippewunder hybrid care is not difficult. Slipper orchids lovers say that this hybrid plant adapt to home conditions very easy. Also this lovely plant grows fast. This information is a motivation to buying of this Paph., isn't it?

 Paph. Lippewunder hybrid is a nice and gorgeous orchid

The orchid prefers bright diffuse light, humid air and room temperature. We must use soft and warm water for watering this flower. Also we have to protect it from draught. A right soil for this paphiopedilum is small chunks of bark. You may add coco chips to this soil as well.


On the pictures: The orchid in The Flo Orchidarium. I'm author of the photos. 

A Thanksgiving cactus care: Why does a Christmas cactus not bloom?

A Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera) is beautiful even without the flowers. The plant looks like a big green crab thanks to its unusual stems-"nippers". However we grow this phyto-alien for its blooming. A Schlumbergera's flowers resemble colorful lanterns. Usually this cactus flowers in December. Also we call this houseplant a Christmas cactus. Today I would like to devote my post to a Thanksgiving cactus care. I'm going to answer the question: "Why does a Christmas cactus not bloom?".

A Christmas cactus (A Thanksgiving cactus)

In truth, getting a Thanksgiving cactus to bloom is easier than getting desert cacti to flower indoor. The "green crab" doesn't need direct sunlight and doesn't demand dry wintering in a cool room in contrast to its desert "kin". However sometimes a Christmas cactus doesn't want to bloom. Our green friend has a few reasons for that:

1. The plant is too young. If you grow Schlumbergera from a cutting, you ought to know that the cactus is able to bloom in 2-3 years (sometimes in 4-5 years!) after the rooting.

A Christmas cactus looks like a big green crab

2. A dark place. The plant isn't able to bloom if it grows in the shade. A Christmas cactus needs bright diffuse light.

3. Lack of rest period. Schlumbergera needs short rest period when daylight hours shorten. In October/November we ought to diminish frequency of the plant watering. Also in this period we ought to locate the cactus in a room having temperature 59-64 degrees Fahrenheit (15-18 degrees Celsius). In other months this green person prefers room temperature.

Schlumbergera

4. Transposition. We shouldn't move a Christmas cactus when the budding starts or else the plant may shed the buds.

5. Dry air. Also the plant shed the buds and the flowers if air is dry. The "December cactus" adores humid air and likes spraying.

5. Soil depletion. The cactus may refuse to bloom if the soil is emaciated. In this case, please, transplant the houseplant. Thanksgiving cacti like mellow soil.


6. Over-watering. Another reason of a Thanksgiving cactus unblooming is over-watering. Of course, we should water this plant more frequent than desert cactuses. Nevertheless a bog in the pot is inadmissible. We must water the plant when a topsoil is dry. Also over-watering of the cactus produces abscission the segments of stems.

A Miniature rose: buying and adaptation

A rose is called Queen of flowers. In order that the queen governs at your flower kingdom you ought to choose a healthy plant. Today I would like to share my experience of how to buy a Miniature rose and adapt it at home.

A Miniature rose: buying in a flower shop

My red Miniature rose in a pot

1. A rose's flower is a unearthly beauty, indeed. However first of all I look at the leaves and the stems. They should not be dry, yellowed, rusty and dark. These symptoms indicate that the plant wither. The rose care will be very difficult in this case. Unfortunately, the plant may die. I never buy a wither rose though I grow six this plants at my home (I'm rose fan!). Especially I'm afraid of a white "flour" on the leaves. It indicates on rose powdery mildew. Usually I choose a rose with green healthy leaves.

2. I always try to buy a Miniature rose with shoots. This green queen is a powerful and viable.

3. When the weather is frosty even the short distance between the shop and your car may be fatal for a Miniature rose. If you going to buy the flower in winter, please, ask the seller to pack up the plant. If the soil is dry it will be perfect condition for transportation of houseplants in cool season. The rose's roots will not freeze in this case. If the soil is wet a good package is able to defend the roots of cold.

A Miniature rose: adaptation at home

My white Miniature rose in a pot

1. Some of rose lovers advise to make a mini hothouse for a Miniature rose after the buying. I never do it. I think that a healthy plant doesn't need hothouses. On the contrary, a rose without this "device" accommodates to home conditions better than a plant in a mini hothouse, IMHO. Also I never cut off the fresh flowers and buds.

In the shopping day I locate my miniature roses at a shading place. Of course, I water and spray the plants. Gradually I train my green friends to bright light during 2-3 days.

2.  Then I locate the flowers at light place. I continue to water and spray my green queens daily.

My red Miniature rose is flowering

In period of adaptation a Miniature rose might shed leaves and buds. Don't worry about it! If the stem stays green, the queen in a pot doesn't wither. The green person will grow and flower.

3. In 2-3 weeks after the buying the roses are ready to transplantation. We should to transplant our green friends without fail because usually in shops Miniature roses grow in peat soil. 


This kind of soil is unsuitable for our new flowers. I will tell you later how to transplant a Miniature rose.

Top 8 Christmas houseplants and flowers for you

What is the best Christmas gift for a plant lover? It's a lovely green friend in a flowerpot! Today I would like to show you excellent houseplants and flowers for Christmas. 

Top 8 Christmas houseplants for you

Poinsettia (a Christmas star plant)

 1. A Christmas star (Poinsettia). 

This charming plant is a wonderful natural decoration in a pot. A Christmas star care is not very difficult. However this "winter" houseplant is a southerner. Poinsettia's motherland is Mexico and Central America. Therefore a Christmas star doesn't stand cold. It prefers room temperature. Also a red "flower" of the plant is a perianth, indeed. Poinsetia's flowers are small and ordinary (however testes differ). Please, don't throw out the plant after blossom fading. A Christmas star can flower in next year. 

A Christmas cactus

 2. A Christmas cactus or a Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera). 

As you know, this popular splendid plant blooms in winter. Sometime it may flower on Christmas eve. Therefore the succulent called a Christmas cactus. Schlumbergera is a real cactus. Nevertheless it likes a regular watering. Also this green person adores spraying. A Thanksgiving cactus prefers a moisture because Schlumbergera's habitat is tropical rainforests.

A Lucky shamrock

3. A Lucky shamrock (Oxalis).

The unpretentious and beautiful plant is an amazing Christmas gift. A Lucky shamrock is a natural clock in a pot. This green person opens the leaves in the morning and closes theirs in the evening. Also the plant closes its green (or violet!) richness if light is too bright.

A Winter cherry

4. A Winter cherry or a Jerusalem cherry (Solanum).

The main decoration of this gorgeous houseplant is colorful berries. Usually they ripen in winter. Therefore Solanum also known as a Winter cherry. Unfortunately a Christmas cherry's berries are toxic. I don't recommend to eat it.

A ivy

 5. A ivy (Hedera helix).


It's a traditional Christmas houseplant. You can buy the plant with dark green or variegated leaves. A ivy care is very easy. The green friend prefers cool but may grow at room temperature. Also Hedera helix likes regular watering and spraying.

Coelogyne cristata

6. Coelogyne cristata.

Usually this amazing orchid blooms in winter. It's plant for hanging baskets. The flowers look like white Christmas garlands. Coelogyne cristata isn't a capricious orchid. The "winter orchid" care isn't difficult even for a beginner. 

A Christmas pepper

 
7. A Christmas pepper (Capsicum).

There is an another one traditional natural Christmas decoration. This pepper isn't for salades. The fruits are inedible. A Christmas pepper is a very unpretentious and gorgeous houseplant.

A Christmas tree

 8. A Christmas tree.

Certainly, our Christmas favourite is a Christmas tree. A conifer's odor is a scent of winter holidays for me. We can grow a Christmas tree in a pot. How to realize it, I wrote in one of my posts above.




I wish you a Merry Christmas!