Albert's Greenhouse

One thing you may have noticed about this blog, if you've been reading it for a while, is that I don't talk that much about orchids. Sure, I have a tropical greenhouse, and I do grow a few ( mainly Coryanthes, Stanhopea, Cirrhopetalums and a Cymbidium ), but I'm no orchid nut.

Still, I do go to orchid shows, and it's not just to smell the pretty flowers.

It turns out that many of the people who grow orchids also grow other intersting things. Well... interesting if you happen to be me.

I went to the San Francisco Orchid Society Orchid fest the other weekend. It's the smaller cousin of their big spring Pacific Orchid Expo ( which I've tried occasionally to attend on the weekends - the line's way too long for someone with my level of patience ). It lasts two days, has a bunch of vendors and a few show plants, and has the advantage of being only moderately well attended.

So I was able to park. I was able to walk up to the door, pay my $3, and waltz right in.

I found a couple of orchids. I picked up a paphiopedilum, a random species orchid with rugose leaves, and two other very interesting little plants: Platycerium madagascariense and Streptocarpus dunnii. These were plants I had my eye on for a while, but for various reasons had been unwilling to pay enough to obtain.

Platycerium madagascariense was going for about $80 + shipping on E-bay, and there were suddenly quite a few small ones available. I picked mine up from an orchid vendor at the show for $25.00+tax. It's a really pretty staghorn fern with rippled shield fronds, and apparently it's not too easy to grow. The advice out there seems to indicate that it likes more water and humidity than other staghorns, and there's some theory about cloud forest conditions that's contradicted by some growers. Time will tell if I can provide it good conditions.

Streptocarpus dunnii actually wasn't on my desired list, but Streptocarpus grandis has been on there for years - and the two plants have a very similar growth habit. Many years ago, I actually acquired and germinated some seed, but I must have kept it too moist and too dark for too long because I was never able to proceed past the seedling stage with these plants. The attraction of these plants is that they grow a single, long leaf ( up to about 3 feet long in some cases ) for their entire life. They are gesneriads, related to some extent to your standard african violet. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my seedling alive now that I have a little more knowledge of its requirements for good drainage and bright light.

The final benefit of the orchid show was that I dragged my wife ( a non-plant-obsessed person ) along to see the pretty flowers and help me carry things. And she found out that the spring orchid show has a preview gala event ... with wine ... and hors d'oeuvers. And she may not be plant-obsessed, but she likes a good gala, so it looks hopeful that we'll make it to the big show next year.