Today we visited the “Cymbidiums in lockdown” winter show with our friend Ash. I’m not a massive Cym fan, but I do have a few warmth-tolerant miniatures that I really like. I much prefer these to the big standard types because they take up less room and can be brought indoors easily when in bloom. I hadn’t planned on buying any orchids today, but still managed to walk away with three. I got one Cym, Cymbidium Cooper Point (a Golden Elf/erythrostylum cross) , and two miniature Vanda falcata hybrids. Miniature Vandas perform so well for me indoors, so I had to snap up these two new varieties; Fuchs Ocean Spray (yellow) and Hsingying Starlight (lilac).
After removing them from the bark mix, I just placed them into some empty glass tumblers. When they get bigger, they will go into a tried and tested gherkin jar.
After the orchid nursery, we swung past the Woodvale lily farm to pick up some spare aquatic planting mix. While I was there I also bought some clumps of an unidentified submerged aquatic plant growing in one of the ponds.
After some google searches, I have tentatively identified it as water thyme (Hydrilla verticillata), a native of northern Australia. I have just potted it into a plastic dish in the same way as my other aquatics and placed them on the floor of the pond. I need more weeds to provide refuge for my small fish, so this is a great addition.
