Journal May 6, 2017 - Another orchid for the collection

Another hybrid orchid was added to my collection today: Ryc Mem Darlene T Atkins x Higher Ground.   The plant, shown above, was purchased at the Northeastern Orchid Society meeting held today in Colonie, NY.

A representative from Woodland Orchids in Charlotte, NC was the guest speaker today and she brought several hybrid plants for sale.  Woodland does not sell from their greenhouse or ship plants but sells only at orchid society meetings so I could not pass up an opportunity for an unusual hybrid.

All of my plants are grown in ugly plastic pots that do not lend themselves for display when the plants are in bloom; it would be nice to be able to bring the plants into the living area to enjoy the flowers while they bloom but the plastic pots present a problem.

To make the plants more presentable I purchased a few inexpensive pots for display only.  To accommodate different sized and shaped pots I purchased pots quite a bit larger than the pots that the plants are grown in.   The plant and growing pot are placed in the display pot and the area around and on top of the plant are filled with expanded clay pellets.

When the plants are watered the water runs right through the clay pellets and out through the drainage holes on the bottom of the pot.  When the water stops dripping from the pot the plant can be put on display again.  When the plant is no longer blooming it is a simple matter to remove the expanded clay pellets and reuse both the pellets and display pot for another plant.

This year I have decided to grow banana peppers in the greenhouse rather than cucumbers.  At this point, I am not really sure how I will support the plants so I added bamboo canes for now.