You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is 52".



--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

Good work Ray, so it's about 11yrs old +- ?
Do you happen to have a varietal name as it looks just like my guy.
I was at our local show here in Orange County & they are still a hot
item & are
going for $150 for 4 or 5 pseudos.
Cheers Wendy
"Ray B" wrote in message
news:d2irj.335$gg1.0@trnddc01...
You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is
52".



--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

Sorry, Wendy. The tag is buried somewhere among all the pseudobulbs. I
won't know until I finally decide to break it up, but now that it's gotten
this big, I hate to do it.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Wendy7" wrote in message
...
Good work Ray, so it's about 11yrs old +- ?
Do you happen to have a varietal name as it looks just like my guy.
I was at our local show here in Orange County & they are still a hot
item & are
going for $150 for 4 or 5 pseudos.
Cheers Wendy
"Ray B" wrote in message
news:d2irj.335$gg1.0@trnddc01...
You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten
years of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the
left is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right
is 52".



--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

Great job, Ray! Don't know that I'd have the same amount of patience!

Diana

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:nGnrj.1005$qw4.266@trnddc02...
Sorry, Wendy. The tag is buried somewhere among all the pseudobulbs. I
won't know until I finally decide to break it up, but now that it's gotten
this big, I hate to do it.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Wendy7" wrote in message
...
Good work Ray, so it's about 11yrs old +- ?
Do you happen to have a varietal name as it looks just like my guy.
I was at our local show here in Orange County & they are still a hot
item & are
going for $150 for 4 or 5 pseudos.
Cheers Wendy
"Ray B" wrote in message
news:d2irj.335$gg1.0@trnddc01...
You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection,
Rod Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half
tall, 2 growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some
ten years of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the
left is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on
right is 52".



--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

On Sat, 9 Feb 2008 05:39:21 -0800, Ray B wrote
(in article d2irj.335$gg1.0@trnddc01):

You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is 52".

Good growing, Ray!


Tom
Walnut Creek, CA
Nikon D200

Congratulations, Ray. For a first blooming, that's a beauty.

Re your reply to Wendy, about breaking it up: In the wild they grow to huge
plants. Ross Harvey, to whose website I referred you, talks of dividing his
with a chainsaw - and he's only half joking!

I'm not very knowledgeable on id-ing the sundry varieties of speciosum and, once
line breeding comes into play, who knows anyhow. But to me it looks rather like
variety hillii, which grows in SE Queensland & NE New South Wales. Comments
from the other Aussies?

On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:39:21 GMT, "Ray B" wrote:

You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is 52".
Dave Gillingham
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To email me remove the .private from my email address.

How nice! I've been lusting after one of these. SBOE has a few hybrids
that may be easier to bloom, but still...nothing beats 'em when the bloom!

K Barrett

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:d2irj.335$gg1.0@trnddc01...
You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is
52".



--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

Doesn't hillii have shorter more stout pseudobulbs???

Kye.

"Dave Gillingham" wrote in message
...
Congratulations, Ray. For a first blooming, that's a beauty.

Re your reply to Wendy, about breaking it up: In the wild they grow to
huge
plants. Ross Harvey, to whose website I referred you, talks of dividing
his
with a chainsaw - and he's only half joking!

I'm not very knowledgeable on id-ing the sundry varieties of speciosum
and, once
line breeding comes into play, who knows anyhow. But to me it looks
rather like
variety hillii, which grows in SE Queensland & NE New South Wales.
Comments
from the other Aussies?

On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:39:21 GMT, "Ray B" wrote:

You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is
52".
Dave Gillingham
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To email me remove the .private from my email address.

Not really. See tha attached pic of what I *know* to be speciosum var hillii.
You may be thinking of var speciosum, var curvicaule, or var capricornicum - in
relative terms tha last is definitely short & stubby - p'bulbs only to 18" or
so. But so thick that one of our members refers to it as "a speciosum with
muscles" or " speciosum on steroids".

Graham, in your vast archives of our bushwalk photos, could you repost a photo
of a nice big hillii blooming in nature?

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:22:13 GMT, "Kye" wrote:

Doesn't hillii have shorter more stout pseudobulbs???

Kye.

"Dave Gillingham" wrote in message
.. .
Congratulations, Ray. For a first blooming, that's a beauty.

Re your reply to Wendy, about breaking it up: In the wild they grow to
huge
plants. Ross Harvey, to whose website I referred you, talks of dividing
his
with a chainsaw - and he's only half joking!

I'm not very knowledgeable on id-ing the sundry varieties of speciosum
and, once
line breeding comes into play, who knows anyhow. But to me it looks
rather like
variety hillii, which grows in SE Queensland & NE New South Wales.
Comments
from the other Aussies?

On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:39:21 GMT, "Ray B" wrote:

You may recall my previous statement that "I don't grow dens" and Dave
Gillingham's urging that I really should.

Some time after "the big freeze" that wiped out a 20-year collection, Rod
Venger gave me a D. speciosum seedling, barely an inch and a half tall, 2
growths. It has now progressed to a :fist bloom seedling", some ten years
of abuse later.

As a reference, it's in an 8" basket, the double-spiked growth on the left
is 27" tall, and the width, tip if spike to opposite leaves on right is
52".
Dave Gillingham
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To email me remove the .private from my email address.

Dave Gillingham
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To email me remove the .private from my email address.