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Olé! The "Bull Horns" are Blooming!
 A Riot of Color
All over the Caribbean islands, the Schomburgkias are showing
off their "picador-like" lances in lavender, peachy,
yellowish or dark mahogany. The ones we see most of in St. Croix,
Schm. humboldtii, has miniature cattleya-like lavender flowers.
Unlike most other Schomburgkia, its sepals and petals are hardly
ruffled, but their substance is rather thin. Schomburgkias have
big fat, but sometimes hollow pseudo bulbs that ants like to
take over as their domain. (Photo © Greg Allikas Schomburgkia
humboldtii)
Not a Native
We find them mostly on trees in St. Croix, but not in the
wild. Contrary to popular local belief, they are not native to
the Virgin Islands, and you will find them growing mostly where
people had a garden. It is an "imported" product, and
like most of the people here, they liked it here, established
themselves in many gardens, and grew and bloomed here. Consequently,
many think of them as "local." No such thing -- they
are "transplanted." Schomburgkias grow with lots of
light in exposed situations on trees. If there is too much shade
from the tree foliage, they do not bloom.
Sulky, Spoiled Brats
Schomburkias usually resent being repotted or relocated or
have any of their growing conditions changed, and will sit in
their new locations, as if sulking, and will not bloom for two
or three years or more. Because of their dislike of repotting,
they are ideal for naturalizing under our sunny, breezy conditions.
They seem impervious to diseases, fungus or insect damage, but
hurricanes will do them great, sometimes fatal harm. Their blooming
season is usually May and June.
The Colors of Summer
 Lots of yellow, often with red
added as an accent, especially among the Brazilian bifoliate
cattleyas and their hybrids (the ones with two leaves and smaller
flowers than unifoliate cattleyas). Added to the rounded shape
of the little senoritas from Brazil, the Oncidiums, the Brassia,
the Miltonias are sending their sun colored flowers in a great
diversity of shapes. The Dancing Ladies, the Spider flowers,
is the vernacular used to describe the summer bloomers and most
of them are in brilliant yellows, the color of sun-filled summers.
(Oncidium croesus © Greg Allikas)
Beauties from the Orient
 Trying their best to outdo these
"Latin" beauties, their "oriental" counterpart,
the stauroglotis type Phalaenopsis and the Doritis are also coloring
our shade houses. The Stauroglotis, with their star shape, often
yellow, flowers and the Doritis, with their erect spikes of usually
lavender blooms opening all summer long delight us with their
splendor. Of course, from all over the Pacific and Australian
region, the ubiquitous evergreen and ever blooming Dendrobiums
keep the color palate aglow. (Above from the AOS web site:
Dendrobium Megan Neifert 'Hanalei', JC/AOS (Walter Oumae x bigibbum
var. compactum), grown by David Neifert. Photograph by Sadao
Okuhara)
We Need You...
Members and readers are encouraged to submit articles for
publication on our web site and in our monthly newsletter. You
don't have to be and "orchid guru" to participate.
Be creative and write a story about what got you "hooked"
on orchids, write a poem, submit a picture of your greenhouse
or favorite plant. Tell us about your orchid woes and what makes
you glow! Everyone has a story to tell - and we'd like to provide
a forum for you to do just that! Contact our editor and publisher,
Mauricette Brin
Thru the Vanilla Vine is a monthly
publication of the St. Croix Orchid Society, Inc.
We are located in St. Croix, US Virgin
Islands |
