Friends, I have attended my first ever orchid show here in Milwaukee's Michell Park Domes..... it was amazing. the real-life blooms are even more stunning than photos. prize winners stunned me again and again with their deep deep colors and flawless cultivation. i saw a lot of vandas and phalenopsis and phrags too, with some cattleya's, though not as many. never having seen i cattleya in bloom, i was fairly stunned by the size of some, and ever more pleased with the intense fragrence surrounding them. i nearly resisted the urge, but in the end came home with a mini catt, SLC. Love Castle 'Kurenai,' with purple blooms and do i detect a hint or orange in there too? the catt's were potted a lot tighter than mine, which i thought were pretty comfy -- mine is in at least a 7 inch pot and the one i brought home today, about the same size, is in a 4 incher. for this reason i think i may repot mine in the spring, in hopes that a tighter pot will help encourage more growth.
i was amazed to see some plants with creased leaves (too much sun, right?) with ribbons on them anyway, and thought they must've been pushed hard to bloom.
i was incredibly stunned by the variety of SMALL orchids. the magnifying glass laying out next to some did give me a little chuckle, but the plants themselves were quite charming.
all in all it was a little more than i could take in at once. the growers were overwhelmed too, it seemed, and i had only a little time to chat, but i learned a lot by proxy: watching how plants potted, in what medium, how dark their leaves were, which varieties were most common. i did expect to see more catt's, maybe thier cultivation is harder than i thought, or else they're just not as popular among collectors.
anyway i am THRILLED
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/ima...gnt/cheers.gif with the experience and feel as if i have been re-hooked.
now i just have to make sure i can keep things in good shape over our FasT approaching winter. i am considering a lamp above the plants. heat worries me too -- i have no shortage of radiators to keep them near, but the temp doesn't fluctuate at all and i worry i won't get cool temps to promote flowering. well, i guess i'll figure that out in the upcoming weeks.
-colin