With trimmed bush...
Uploaded for: Echeveria gibbiflora
My Echeveria gibbiflora is trying to win the Guinness World Book Record for tallest Echeveria. I'm guessing that it's around 8 years old because it blooms once a year and I counted around 8 bloomings.
A few years ago I attached a small division of Dendrobium discolor x canaliculatum to the Echeveria. So happy together? So how is the weather? Which orchid would you have chosen?
On the left you can see Kalanchoe beharensis epiplus Encyclia cordigera.
This is the first year that I've attached orchids to a few of my Aloes. I'm pretty sure that, out of all the succulents, Aloes have the most potential in terms of hybridizing to create some super awesome hosts for orchids. Right now there are some species and hybrids that are good hosts... but none of them are super awesome hosts. They are either too slow and/or don't have enough suitably sized and accessible branches. If I had to pick the best one it would probably be Aloe tongaensis. It's relatively fast but still not nearly fast enough. And it's just a bit large for taking to shows.
A little while back I pollinated my Aloe tenuior with pollen from several different tree Aloes. Aloe tenuior is a relatively fast grower that makes somewhat upright branches. The branches are on the skinny side though so I tried crossing it with Aloes that have much thicker branches/trunks. Pods formed and ripened, I sowed the seeds and now I have four seedlings. From the getgo they looked stouter than tenuior but I couldn't be quite certain that they weren't selfings. It's been kinda driving me nuts. Their stoutness might just be a function of somewhat different culture (more sun, more water, fertilizer, etc.) but I'm leaning towards the idea that they are hybrids. With what though?! I didn't keep track of which pollen went in which flowers.
This last weekend my friend Michelle and I walked around my front yard comparing one of the seedlings with its potential pollen donors. We narrowed the list down to these two Aloes...
Aloe dichotoma
Aloe Hercules
Woah! It would be pretty wild if either of these two Aloes really was the pollen donor! And normally I wouldn't jump the gun like this but I really want to encourage anybody and everybody to try and reduplicate these crossings in order to provide some evidence for, or against, the possibility of compatibility. Of course with the main goal being to create/proliferate some super awesome hosts for orchids.
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