Life of a Sydney Rock Orchid flower

Published on by bushboy

I have a few pots of Sydney Rock Orchids that were my mothers. The name comes as these plants can be growing found on granite rocks from Victoria to Cairns. In the wild they have mosses or ferns covering the roots. My orchid has Hares Foot Ferns growing in the pot in the garden and it does quite well. These are Dendrobium speciosum.

This is the story of their life. The flowers last for a few weeks and look rather spectacular as the racemes flow into the garden. These photos were taken over a three week period.

The racemes start in the joint of the rather stiff and leathery leaves

The buds are sent downward into the garden

I think the new buds look a bit like chilies

When the flowers open they are a wonderful white with subtle spots inside

Looking from above you can see how far the racemes extend from the plant

After a while there is a blend of old and new flowers

The new flowers are bright and open while the older flowers become yellow and close

They close a bit more every day as they age but still retain their yellowness

Eventually they close completely before dropping into the garden

Rain and going away for a few days prevented me getting any further photos and now there are just some dead sticks where once the was wonderful flowers.

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