New Themes

All Andrew's Plants has moved to AllAndrewsPlants.wordpress.com

You can find this post here on my new site for the full post and to leave comments.

I've created a few new themes for my blog. I was hoping to be able to put together a CSS Switching option where you could choose your own but it does not sound easy in blogger with the widgets etc. so at least for the time being it'll have to be only one at a time.

Here are the options:

Clematis.

Clematis 'Rebecca' is one of my favourite new plants (and one of the most common Keywords that people find this blog from Google).





Heuchera.

Heuchera 'Obsidian' & Calamint. The pairing was a happy accident, these two plants have worked together well since they found themselves as neighbours.





Hosta.

Hosta 'Striptease' was one of the first Hostas that caught my eye. Nice green colours with this theme.



Opuntia.

Opuntia macrorhiza is easily one of the most unusual and interesting plants in my garden.



Phalaenopsis.

Phalaenopsis. Classic, elegant, long lasting. My favourite NOID.



Osteospermum.

Osteospermum cv. is one of my favourite annuals. I had one last year and will almost certainly be getting the same one this year as well.



There will be a poll in the sidebar open for a week though odds are I'll have already changed the theme by then.

Comments encouraged. If I were to change the theme from time to time to cycle through these how often could it change without bothering you? Or do you prefer fewer changes with the theme?

And don't forget to visit my 100th Post to tell me if I should buy a Cactus or an Orchid.

100 Posts

All Andrew's Plants has moved to AllAndrewsPlants.wordpress.com

You can find this post here on my new site for the full post and to leave comments.

Ending March off on a high note this is my 100th post. I couldn't have imagined having this much to say but I guess I've managed to come up with a lot of things to talk about.

I decided to get myself something nice to mark this milestone - but I haven't got it yet. It'll either be the Echinocactus horizonthalonius or the Epc. Yucatan I've also been considering. I still haven't really decided. Thoughts?



Astrantia major 'Dark Shiny Eyes'

At this point I've used the tag Hardy 16 times and Tropical 65 times. April starts tomorrow and there will be much more coming up in hardy plants over the summer, tropical... not so much - shouldn't be any new tropical plants being bought, basically just interesting things the plants I already have will be doing. Of course there will be just as much going on outside, especially at work.

And... yup. Actually that's about it. I'll have a new plant probably Saturday or at least I'll have made up my mind by then. And otherwise I should start to have pictures of things going on outside coming soon.

Sarcoglottis sceptrodes in bloom

All Andrew's Plants has moved to AllAndrewsPlants.wordpress.com

You can find this post here on my new site for the full post and to leave comments.

There are many orchids grown for their leaves. In some cases, such as Ludisia discolor the flowers are nice, just not the showiest part of the plant. When someone says that Sarcoglottis sceptrodes is grown for its leaves... they mean it.



Sarcoglottis sceptrodes in flower.


Sarcoglottis sceptrodes closeup.


Sarcoglottis sceptrodes closeup, from another angle.

The plant is 23" from the top of the pot to the tip of the spike. I'm not sure I'd use ugly to describe the flowers. Certainly not beautiful, but interesting for sure. They have become slightly more yellow with time but nothing significant.

Wish list addition: Paphiopedilum Winged Flight 'Elektra' HCC/AOS

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I saw this image at the AOS home page (it's not there anymore, hasn't been for a long time now) and the only other site I found any picture of this form has made it impossible to link even to the page the picture is on and has made it pretty clear he doesn't want people to look at it (hint - Google image search the name exactly as it appears in the title).

It is the result of a cross between P. Berenece & P. lowii which apparently scored a 78 (80-89 inclusive out of 100 would have made it an AM/AOS (Award of Merit/American Orchid Society vs Highly Commended Certificate - See here for more on AOS awards)) and was named "Elektra."

Paph. Winged Flight is a simultaneous multifloral, which is pretty self explanatory - multiple blooms all open at the same time. These can put on a fantastic show though a sequential may last longer (at the expense of each individual flower not lasting as long).

I'm mostly using 'Elektra' as an example here - It's a fantastic looking Paphiopedilum But it's not the only really nice looking Paph. Yes I would like to have an 'Elektra' but it's more the idea that I love.


Paph. Michael Koopowitz 'Norma' HCC/AOS is a good example of a very dramatic simultaneous multifloral Paph that's also been awarded.

Many of the most dramatic Paphs also happen to be Simultaneous bloomers. I like the horizontal petals on Paphiopedilum Winged Flight a lot though the long twisted petals of P. Mount Sander (for example) are undeniably stunning as well. Both the horizontal and vertical petals give a very graceful very formal look to the flowers and really on any given day I might prefer one or the other.

I suppose what I'm getting at is that there are a lot of really cool Paphiopedilum cultivars and I don't have any of them. A good Paph is a pricey Paph, my collection will not grow fast but a Paphiopedilum that will send up multiple spikes each year each with multiple blooms (or even just a single spike with multiple blooms) is a Paph worth buying.

Wish list: Echinocactus horizonthalonius

All Andrew's Plants has moved to AllAndrewsPlants.wordpress.com

You can find this post here on my new site for the full post and to leave comments.

I'm considering buying this Echinocactus horizonthalonius. It's supposed to be one of the only (if not the only) Echinocactus that will bloom when small, young and in a pot. It must already be a few years old too from the size of it. The flowers are large and pink in the spring. Fragrant too apparently.

The thorns are pretty cool looking for the rest of the year it isn't in bloom.



Echinocactus horizonthalonius

Very tempted... It is expensive but it looks like it's already a few years old so maybe it's worth the price.