Cacti and Succulents

Some of the cacti are flowering right now. One of them I am sure what it is, but the other two I am not sure what varieties they are. The Agave attenuata plants grow along the driveway. All of these are from our new place.

Mammilaria hahniana :

Marine Fossil

I found this rock in my front yard. At first I thought it was some kind of sea shell, but looking closely it seems like a marine fossil. A strange formation of what looked like some kind of sea shells. Anyone know what kind of rock is this? If it is a fossil, is it a marine one???

Cymbidium Orchids 2023

Here are few of the best flowering Cymbidiums this year:

Cymbidium Mem. Marvin Gaye ‘Royale’

Cymbidium Mary Green ‘Copper Pot’

Cymbidium Lowio-grandiflorum

LC Wakayama ‘White Wedding Song’

It bloomed two spikes each with a couple of flowers this year. The blooms only lasted around 4 weeks. Our living room has two large windows facing east and west so it is always bright and the orchid loves it.

Alocasia ‘Pink Dragon’

The bloom is quite small compared to the size of the foliage. At first I thought it was a new leaf growing, to my delight it turned to be a cute little flower. Another flower bud is growing near it, another surprise.

I keep this Alocasia ‘Pink Dragon’ indoor near a bright west facing window. It gets a lot of sunshine in the afternoon. Once in a while it gets light seaweed fertilizer.

Coelogyne lactea Orchid

I bought this orchid about 4 years ago. I just love the look of the small white flowers. It was grown in spagnum moss, so after finished flowering I split it into two and replanted them in two new pots by using orchid mix. The say that Coelogyne orchids hate to be disturbed and it will take a long time to recover. Well only recently one of them grew flowers.

Transplanting Kalanchoe Copper and Silver Spoon

My favourite Kalanchoe plants are Kalanchoe orgyalis (Copper Spoon) and K. hildebrandtii (Silver Sppon). These two plants were brought from our old place, and I just had time to transplant them in the tiny front garden in our new place.

Kalanchoe hildebrantii (Silver Spoon)

This one was still in the pot. It has been growing very well.

After transplnting:

Kalanchoe orgyalis (Copper Spoon) : After over one year left in the pot, it has grown taller and a little bit lanky. I will wait to see what is going to happen after transplanting. If it is still leggy, I have to trim it hard to promote new leaves.

Den. Speciosum var Pedunculatum ‘Genesis’

I bought this Dendrobium spesiosum var. Pedunculatum ‘Genesis’ at the Native Orchid Show in Mt. Waverley. It has 3 spikes with flowers still in buds when I bought in September 25. To my horror it started to have bud blasts, especially on the smallest spike. Not all the buds dropped, some are managed to open.

I was thinking why this is happening. Maybe, it is not used to the new place as perhaps before it was grown in a controlled temperature in the nursery?? It is supposed to be an Australian native orchid that is easy to grow here in Melbourne area.

New Dendrobium Orchids

I went to a Native Orchid Show in Mt. Waverley and bought a couple of native Dendrobium orchids.

Dendrobium Rose Flare ‘Newbold Chunky’: I love the colour of this hybrid.

Dendrobium speciosum var. Pedunculatum ‘Genesis’ : Dendrobium speciosum var. Pedunculatum is a smaller variety which is more suitable for our small garden.

Cymbidium tracyanum False Surprise

Tuesday May 22, 2012:

Looking closely at the new C. tracyanum orchid plant, I realise that it is a big and robust species. The flower spike is tall almost 1 m long with 15 large flowers. The arching leaves are also long and thick. The big bulbs have already crowded, so after flowering I will move the plant in a bigger pot. Compared with all our other cymbidiums, it is the biggest one. I just read about this plant and it is actually native species of Southern China, Northern Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

Other than strong perfume, the flowers are weirdly pretty. The striped petals are mixed colours of yellow, green and dark brownish red. While the spotty white lip is kind of hairy. I keep it inside the house now to fully enjoy the sweet perfume and the exotic beauty. I read that quite a few hybrids available and I am not sure which one is mine….. it could be Cymbidium tracyanum ‘ Atlantis’.

Here in Melbourne, Cymbidium tracyanum orchids are rarely available. I feel so lucky to be able to buy one.

May 2022: