Journal: January Catch-up!

Hi guys,

I've had a little lapse in my journal intentions this holiday season due to some personal matters, but I'm here now and I'll try my best to play some catch up. I may have separate posts for some of the following.

What's happened since November? 

- My dendrobium sweet pinky Love bloomed! 

- My Paphipedilum Claire de Lune spiked and bloomed!

- Dendrobium mini snowflake bloomed!

- My Burragarea Nelly Isler Swiss Beauty bloomed!

- My two twinkle orchids bloomed!

- Vanda goodness! My Rhynchocentrum Lilac Blossom is blooming!

- My Oncidium Pacific Sunrise 'Hakalaui' is spiking!

Personal note:

I'm steadily becoming _that_ person at the office. 

Dendrobium mini snowflake. Photo credit: Jessica Champagne.  Check out those faint purple spots! This orchid is one of my recent favourites, all my other dendrobiums are nobile but those one I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Definitely on my list to get a similar one... maybe abberans? 

Intensive care update: 

I had 6+ orchids which I considered under extra care to intensive care:

• 2 cattleya intermedia orchids which arrived in quite poor very poor conditions (no good roots). Signs are promising!
• My "Luna" orchid, which suffered a bad case of crown rot before of my previous poor watering practices (and for this one, the crown was leaving away from my view so I didn't not even see the rot until it was too late.) I've done my best to help her stop the rot, but unfortunately her crown is ruined. Well, guess what, she's grown a basal keiki!! My first basal keiki, great news in this case.
• 1 Phalaenopsis which I had brought to the office for a bit and DID NOT like it there. I brought it home and then it started showing a weird yellowing then red and dying of certain leaves from the tip very quickly. I acted quickly, cut off a significant portion of those leaves before whatever the infection was spread and now it seems to have recovered! 
• 2 orchids which suffered bad rots this summer (when I didn't know yet watering best practices), bad me, I gave up on them a while and put them outside on the porch, where one of them also got scales!  Anyways, after two months I felt too guilty and brought them back inside, where one has good roots and is showing promising signs, but the other one I'm sad to say is not recovering so I am having to say I give up. 

Orchid Society:

I'm determined to go to the Feb. meeting of the Victoria Orchid Society, which will be my first time. I tried to go for January but unfortunately the meeting is about 1hr + away from my home so it didn't work out w/ my sister visiting in town.