Some updates of Phals

Here are some update photos of my currently blooming Phals.

First is my Vivien 'Sogo' cross, which I think looks like it has a bunch of butterflies on it.

Next is 'Pauline', who continues to put on one heck of a show.

And next is my White Phal NOID. I love those tiger stripes! This one has several branches like my Vivien Sogo-- I expect an impressive showing.

Last but not least-- a group shot!!

Phal Balden's 'Kaleidescope'

Here is Balden's 'Kaleidescope'-- the first time this plant has ever bloomed. I love this flower-- it is so odd, busy, colorful and captivating all in one. It isn't your run-of-the-mill white phal with some added color here or there. That's not to say I don't love my white phals, because I do. But this one is just unique and strange.

Sogo Vivien x Dtps. Taisuco Jewel

Yesterday I posted a shot of my Vivien cross just beginning to open-- well last night she finished opening! Love the stripes on this one. This years bloom (so far doesn't seem to have as strong of striping on the lip as I remember it having last year. Below is the comparison.

Last Years Blooms

Current (2010) Blooms

An Update: 'Pauline', A NOID, Schilleriana, Another I can't remember, & 'Vivien'

Its been several weeks since I first spotted spikes on both my species, 'Schilleriana', and Balden's 'Kaleidescope' and both spikes are roughly 6-8 inches tall now. As seen here:

This is a terrible pic of this next one--

And my Schill continually amazes me because even while sporting new roots and a flower spike, I still get a new leaf coming in.

Next I have a 'Vivien' cross just now opening. This one sports stripes on everything-- petals, lips, you name it. If its a part of the flower, it has a stripe!

Next is a grocery store save-- a NOID-- but what I might call a standard white. It has yellow-green hues near the spotted center and really has a classic "moth orchid" look and feel to it.

It has loads of buds-in-waiting and it'll be fun to see it full of blooms within the next few weeks. This particular plant does a lot of branching, too. Where with some phals you get one long and arching inflorescence, this one may have only one spike, but many branches. It gives it a really nice effect.

'Pauline' and the NOID together, as seen below. 'Pauline' has several flowers open now and they look very good and healthy. She continues to grow her established buds, but for now, it looks like the spike has finished growing. That is how I bought her, too. A shorter spike but large and long-lasting blooms. I wonder if this is as big of a spike as she'll get. Either way, it looks great.

A Miniature Phal, 'Zuma's Pixi"

Its only a guess as it came with no ID tags-- and pinpointing an exact name of a hybrid is near impossible based on just how many people hybridize these plants. However, I believe this plant is close to the Phal 'Zum's Pixi'. I especially like this phal because of the slight white picoteed edge.

Its spike bears a flush of inch or smaller blooms with a nice deep purple to light purple. This plant has been put into hydroponics already though I'm not certain it was totally ready. We'll see how it goes!

Dancing Queen-- A Full Court!

Dancing Queen is one of the best of the Hippeastrum family. And this season, my small clister (a group of attached bulbs) did not disappoint. Four scape for a total of over 16 flowers, nearly all at once!

Here is an example.

Dancing Queen, though not one of my first hydroponic experiments, is in hydroton now and was very quick to grow new roots in the new environment as seen below.

Phal 'Pauline'

I'm excited to say that I've managed to rebloom another one of my grocery store saves a few days ago with the blooming of Phal 'Pauline'. This, like many other phals, is a basic white but I like this one a lot because of the slight blushing that starts from the center and works itself outwards, fading to pure white. It also looks rather fake-- so much of the flower is delicate and has almost a milky/creme softness to it that, as my friend Ryan from Mesa said, it looks like someone painted it. The flowers grow rather close together, which gives it a sort of flush of color feel. However, the flowers are also rather large-- so unfortunately, you don't get to enjoy each flower on its own like you might with other phals but it is nonetheless one of the nicest blooms I have ever seen.

It is planted, like my other phals, in semi-hydroponics and has done very well. This particular plant was planted in a heavier soil-type medium when I bought it and I feared the roots would rot quickly. At the time is was showing new root growth so I planted it in s/h immediately upon taking it home. I believe because the roots were used to being so moist already that its transfer to s/h was no problem at all as it never lost its old roots, they even grew new branches of roots, and new ones grew as well. Over all, very lucky find and the plant did extremely well as it grew 3 or 4 new leaves during the short time I had it and before its current spike began to grow. Now onto the photos.

This first photo is of the flowers when I first bought the plant-- very nice flowers-- but the new ones look even better.

And here is the first bloom of the current spike-- by now, roughly 4 more have opened up.