April 2016: Kidnapped by Orchids

Loyal readers might well wonder where the heck I’ve been the last few weeks! But if you saw my office, yard and garden, you’d know instantly. It’s spring, so everything is blooming, needs repotting, or is in some way shrieking for my attention. It seems the only time I’m not wearing (very dirty) garden gloves lately is when I’m at the keyboard.

I tried to take a photo of the four orchids all in bloom in the office at the moment, but couldn’t even fit ‘em into a single photo! So, I’ve chosen a beautiful Pleione formosana to show off.

I can’t take a bit of credit for getting this plant to bloom – it already had a bud on it when I brought it home from the Oregon Orchid Society show and sale, which I attended mid-April in Portland. The group puts on a small but very nice show, with good, short lectures for beginning orchid-lovers and a terrific array of vendors selling plants from across the Northwest.

The Pleione will be a tricky orchid to grow in a hot Idaho summer, because it likes cool temperatures and isn’t a fan of bright, full sunlight. I’ll most likely have to keep it indoors in the air conditioning.

The other odd thing about this plant is, you’re only supposed to water it when it’s growing – from spring to fall. Then, it sort of hibernates; its leaves turn yellow and fall off. As hard as it is to stop watering and watch it look pathetic, I won’t give up on it! And maybe this time next year, I can post a photo of another bloom, grown "against the odds" in Idaho.