Orchids Mounted on Palm Tree Slabs

I have been growing a variety of orchids on pieces of palm trees that I have collected. I have found that the orchids thrive on the palms. Some have attached themselves in as short as 30 days, and others 90+ days. As of right now the first mounted orchid is growing 2 spikes. This Encyclia tampensis was laying on the ground at my property. An old branch had fallen and I grabbed it before any of the hogs could get them. That was a few months ago. And it is growing like crazy. Already attached to he palm it has lots of new growth and the 2 spikes. And I also have a few others that have some new growths but no spikes yet. 1 is another Encyclia tampensis and the other is an unknown waiting for a flower to ID.

Encyclia tampensis , Wild Florida Orchids Blooming

After lots of anticapation the time has come. Almost all of the spikes on this Encyclia tampensis, Wild Florida Orchid are almost in bloom. It is putting on a spectacular show. I have a few pictures tonight and will try to get so better close ups this week. Here are tonights pictures of the wild orchids.

Encyclia tampensis or Butterfly orchids Flowers Beginning!

These Encyclia tampensis or Butterfly orchids are beginning their show. The flowers are beginning to open and they are stunning. This is the first time I have seen this orchid bloom and the showing is going to be very impressive. Just days away. Here are a few teasers of some of the first flowers to open.

Wild Encyclia tampensis or Butterfly orchids First Flowers!

It is getting very close to an amazing display of wild Encyclia tampensis flowers. These butterfly orchids are showing their first flowers. Here are a few pics of the first flowers to appear.

Wild Florida Encyclia tampensis orchids in Spike! Update

Today on my lunch break I stopped by my property to check up on the Encyclia tampensis orchids. They should be close to blooming. These guys are almost there. Maybe another week or so and we should have some really good pictures of these flowers. But in the mean time I took a few more pictures of the orchids in spike growing on 1 of the old oak trees. I also got the best side of the resident gator today. The backside, he was under a tree sitting in the shade, but facing the other direction. His whole body was out of the water today so I was able to get a good size judgment on him and he is every bit of 6ft if not more. My cheap camera has a crappy zoom and of course he is always on the other side of the water. Then 1 last picture of a lizard sitting on the flowers of the silver saw palmetto. (patiently waiting for the seeds on this 1).

Encyclia tampensis or Butterfly orchids in Spike

I have an update on the clusters of Encyclia tampenisis , or Butterfly Orchids that are growing on my oak tree. While I was at my property exploring I took a few pictures of the orchids growing. It was a little difficult due to there location, but if you click on the first picture and look I can count at least 5 spikes in that 1 clump. Along with some new ferns opening up. This is very exciting for me because I have never seen them bloom before. The first neighborhood picture is across from my property, and the second shows the back of my property. Then I have a few other shots from the neighborhood of a few Cardinal Air Plants in bloom.

Wild Encyclia tampensis Butterfly Orchid

Update. I want to thank all the people that have filled me in on all the information on my find. They have been identified as Encyclia tampensis or Butterfly orchids. Now the best part is i went back this past weekend and found that there were 5 seperate orchid colonies on that spot on the Live Oak Tree. 2 of the colonies are over 12" wide and at least 7" across. 1 colony is 8"wide and 5" across. and the last 2 are new baby colonies that are just a few bulbs each. I was told that they should bloom in my area in May and June so new spikes should be on there way pretty soon and there are "zillions of different color forms ranging from green-on-white to orange to nearly solid red-bronze and they're all nicely fragrant"(thanks Settled Soul ). I am very excited to see what colors come out this year. I will have updates on the progress of these colonies and all the blooms. So check back for future updates. I am very excited I am reading up on the process of growing new babies from these and am going to talk to some neighbors and try to repopulate these butterfly orchids in our little spot of paradise.

Wild Florida Orchids

Today I had a chance to get over to my property for a quick checking. What did I find on the first live oak I looked at. Well besides over 20 different air plants there were some big wild Florida orchids growing on the trunk right at the bottom of the tree. So I snapped a few shots for all of you. I know orchids 2 days in a row but this was very unexpected. WOW I only got to look a the first tree. There must be at least 8 more huge live oaks on the property so maybe there will be a lot more. It is against the law to collect any FL orchids but this tree will be in the front yard 1 day when I finally can afford that dream house. I am very excited about the find a the potential of how many more there could be. I hope to make it back this weekend. The first shot is a view from the street, then from the orchids and then some of the air plants. Unfortunitly I just missed the orchid blooms, but some of the air plants still have blooms. the pics are still spectacular.