The spring rush - 4 orchids in bloom

This is a bit of a show-off post, but I can't help it.
A few days ago I was presenting you the first time blooming red orchid - Sophrolaeliocattleya Jewel Box 'Dark Waters'. I had to wait a few more days for another one to open more so that I could shoot them all together.

It doesn't happen often to have so many different ones in bloom in the same time.
Some orchids bloom only once a year in a specific season, other can bloom at any time as soon as a new growth matures. I am pretty sure this time next year the combination will be different too.

Here they are!

The big red one is still doing well. I read that Cattleya flowers do not last long. This one is open for over 2 weeks already and still looks great.

This little orange one is Procatavola Golden Peacock. This one can bloom few times a year. This time two canes were in bloom, both with two flowers. The other set of blooms is on the other side of the pot.

This is the one that was opening the flowers last. Some buds are still waiting to open.
Dendrobium Comet King Akatsuki is it's name and I haven seen a Dendrobium Nobile type with larger flowers yet. They do resemble those big and fluffy ones that Cattleyas can produce too.
Besides that damn lovely colour it also has a very nice fragrance.

Another Dendrobium Nobile - Dendrobium Nobile Kumiko Spring Dream also with very fragrant flowers, but smaller than the purple one. This is also my oldest orchid that is still alive and it is a damn beast! There is probably 15 canes in the pot at this point and many of them in bloom. I will have to repot it this year and remove the old ones. Probably will split it too to have it more manageable. It just gets too big.
But it is a very easy to grow and blooms like mad every year.





Both Dendrobiums bloom only once a year in late winter. They do need colder temperatures in late fall and winter to produce the buds. During the summer they just produce new canes that will bloom the next season.





This is one of the canes that fit in the shot.





Next up will be the miniature Pahalenopsis that finally decided to bloom and started to grow some nice flower spikes :) But that is still a few weeks to go.