A Visit to Meke Aloha Orchids

On Friday, July 1, 2022, Michael Manna and I visited Meke Aloha Orchids in Sarasota, Florida. Michael had been particularly keen on visiting because of his deep interest in Schomburgkia species and hybrids. He was in luck because the owner of Meke Aloha Orchids, Paul Storm, is, as far as I know, the world's foremost grower and breeder of Schomburgkia species and hybrids. While Michael went gaga over the incredible diversity and variety of plants at Meke Aloha Orchids, I took photographs. Unfortunately, I did not, with a single exception, record what I was photographing. So, the following do not have names but I will revise this post to include the names should they become known to me in the future. However, I hope that this will give you an idea of the diversity of plants that Paul is growing and a visit to the Meke Aloah Orchids website is well worth it for anyone with an interest in Schomburgkia species and hybrids.

 

Schomburgkia hybrid.

 

Cattleytonia hybrid.

 

Encyclia species or hybrid.

 

Encyclia species or hybrid.

 

Schomburgkia hybrid.

 

Encyclia species or hybrid.

 

Schomburgkia hybrid.

 

Schomburgkia hybrid.

 

Broughtonia sanguinea, an orchid species native to Jamaica. The flowers are typically red but can range from pure white to pink, orange-red, red, scarlet, and even yellow.

 

Image and text © 2022 Rufino Osorio

Zeuxine strateumatica – Lawn Orchid

Zeuxine strateumatica growing in a lawn and living up to its common name, lawn orchid.

Zeuxine strateumatica is a small orchid native to tropical and warm-temperate regions of Asia. It is now well established elsewhere, including Puerto Rico, much of Florida, and parts of Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas. It readily grows in lawns and in landscaped areas covered with bark mulch. It appears to be naturally short-lived and is very difficult to transplant from the ground into a pot; however, if seed is gathered up when ripe in the spring and scattered among potted plants, a few lawn orchids will usually show up in the pots the following winter or spring.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Cypripedium acaule – Pink Lady's Slipper

 

Michael Compagno, an attorney at the South Florida Water Management District, took this striking photograph of the pink lady's slipper in June of this year while hiking a trail in Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. The plant grows in a wide variety of conditions, from lightly shaded to full sun and from wet to dry. However, it has three absolute requirements: highly acidic soil, freedom from the competition of taller plants, and rather cool summer temperatures. Here it is growing with a rich assemblage of plants that includes Clintonia borealis, Cornus canadensis, Coptis trifolia, and Trientalis borealis.

Image © 2011 by Michael Compagno. All rights reserved. Used with permission.