sillykeiki

[sillykeiki]

Alt text: An orange neocaridina shrimp stares directly into your soul with black unfathomable eyes. Suddenly, you don't fancy eating shrimps or prawns anymore.

[sillykeiki]

Clowesetum Jumbo Circ Red

First time bloomer, young plant. Pendant flower spike with ten blooms. Sadly, the flowers are small (not more than 4 cm wide) and have a light scent like freshly cut grass. A little disappointing.

The frilled labellum is nice, though.

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Catasetum Green Dragon

Second time flowering for me, this time without thrips!! Mildly fragrant in the morning. Very floriferous: as the first flower spike is blooming, he is preparing a second one at the base, see the next picture.

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Sinningia leucotricha seeds

They are so tiny!

[sillykeiki]

I bought new plants at the cacti & succulent expo!

- Snek ( Avonia papyracea )

- Football ball ( Tephrocactus geometricus )

- Pet rock ( Pseudolithos migiurtinus )

- Upside down pinneaple ( Copiapoa hypogaea var. Barquitensis )

[sillykeiki]

You have no idea of the happiness and the peace of mind that I get every time I see my Catasetinae orchids growing back and recovering from the thrips plague...

I lost 4 of those orchids, along some others from different groups, but they are growing nicely now.

Rest in peace, my beloved Cycnoches Mass Confusion. You were the reason Cycnoches became my favourite group. I hope your new 'Big Green' cultivar performs as well as you did.

[sillykeiki]

This Sunday I'll be giving a talk about the Catasetinae subtribe of orchids. It will take place in the Library Eduardo Vargas of Madrid and will be streamed live on YouTube and I am super excited about it, aaaaaaaa!

It will be in Spanish though. If you know Spanish and are curious about orchids, you can ask for the link in a private message.

[sillykeiki]

Nepenthes maxima

Third pitcher is becoming huge and sexy and has not even opened yet!

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Nepenthes maxima

First pitcher since I bought her last december. It's coming out beautiful.

[sillykeiki]

I have lost three Catasetinae so far to the aftermath of the thrips plague. I have been repotting the ones that show signs of activation. Still a few more to go.

They are late and weak compared to previous years.

This has been such a disaster...

[sillykeiki]

Also, as it is a piece of wood that is made with the though of having food on it, it doesn't have any harmful varnish or chemicals that could potentially poison your food, so it won't harm your plants either. Food safe = plant safe.

Platycerium superbum

Growing at an alarming rate.

[sillykeiki]

Thank you. Yes, I shower it. About once a week. Sometimes I mist with weak foliar fertiliser. BTW, it's just a regular cutting board, hehehe.

Platycerium superbum

Growing at an alarming rate.

[sillykeiki]

Platycerium superbum

Growing at an alarming rate.

[sillykeiki]

Platycerium superbum

I bought it last december and I mounted it today on a cutting table. I think it came out quite nicely.

[sillykeiki]

You cannot have thrips if you don't have leaves for them to suck on and put their eggs, and if you don't have roots or substrate for them to pupate and hide, right?

Right?!

[sillykeiki]

Removing/changing all substrate, cutting leaves, cutting roots, submersing what little is left of the orchid in alcohol, detergent, then hydrogen peroxide.

Repeat for more than 50 orchids.

It's exhausting and I have barely started....

If this doesn't work I'm setting the whole collection on fire and then killing myself.

[sillykeiki]

None of my orchids is going to make it this season.