The Magic of Flowers

I wanted to show you my blooming orchid. So many beautiful flowers.......





And my Christmas cactus doesn’t seem to realize that it’s already the end of February—it’s still blooming with delicate pink flowers. 

Wow

It really is blooming very profusely!
My orchids have great blooms too, but none of them have this many!

Wow, now that’s what I call a spectacular display of blooms!!

WOW, that’s beautiful!!!!

Love, Inge

Wow, Petra, that’s absolutely beautiful! Mine has purple flowers and lots of them, too, but it probably can’t compete with yours. I love orchids, too, and really enjoy mine.

How do you care for it? Do you fertilize it?

Gorgeous flowers! My Christmas cactus barely bloomed at all over Christmas, but now it’s starting to bloom again.
Hopefully that doesn’t mean the winter weather is here to stay 😉

All of mine bloomed at Christmas, and now they’re blooming again already. Let’s see if they’ll bloom again in the garden this summer. I’m curious

Monika, I water it every week, and only very rarely give it any fertilizer. I just happened to get one years ago that’s very eager to bloom. Every winter, it blooms beautifully. I think it’s the variety. 

Petra, that’s how I water mine, too... actually, I give it a bath for an hour. It loves its weekly bath, and ever since I’ve had it, it’s been blooming again and again—with just a few short breaks—in every season. I think it also depends on the owner and whether it’s loved. ;-)

Well, I just had to take a picture of my orchid, too. Here it is in all its glory.

Monika, it’s beautiful. I have to admit, this is the only one of mine that’s blooming so profusely. All the other colors have at most two shoots with just a few flowers on them. 

What a magnificent display of blooms. Unbelievable. Beautiful.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck with the orchid I was given. Well, it only had 4–6 blooms, and they’ve all fallen off. I like orchids—or is it too warm for it here? I have no idea.
My Christmas cactus had blooms; I thought they’d open up more, but no—they just dried up.

Maybe it’s because we have a west-facing window. Flowers tend to prefer south-facing windows.
In Norway, I had no problems with the south-facing window location.
I don’t even dare to buy plants anymore. It’s a shame, really.

Oh Andrea, that’s too bad. Mine really like east-facing windows. Here, they only get the morning sun, but no heat. It’s in the dining room, and it’s always pretty cool in there. Maybe you’ll manage to get it to bloom again after all.

Petra, unfortunately I only have this one orchid—I’ve had it for 3 years now, and it’s never been fertilized. Now I’m hoping for a new one for my birthday. :)

Your beauties look great!
I once received a blooming wonder like that from my part-time child. It bloomed profusely over and over again for a very long time. Unfortunately, my friend overwatered it while I was on vacation. I was very sad.

We got back from vacation today. My amaryllis is blooming. What a joy. I didn’t think it would happen this winter. I’d already threatened to get rid of it if it kept ignoring all my efforts. (Monika, I first put it in a cool spot and also fertilized it.)



It now has one stem with three open flowers, one stem is about to bloom, and the third has reached half its full height. 

Oh, wow, Petra, what a gorgeous sight to welcome us! Your amaryllis looks great. Mine had lots of blooms, too. In the summer, I dig it up with the bulb and store it in the basement. Then in late fall, I replant it and water and fertilize it. I’m curious to see how it turns out this time.

I’ll put mine out in the garden as soon as the temperatures allow. It’ll bloom there around September. And then, when it gets cold, I’ll bring it back inside—into a cool room. Then the next blooms will come around Christmas. It’s really late this year, but it’s blooming profusely.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that yours blooms again, too. 

Wow, Petra, I’ve never done it that way before. That’s an idea. Do you leave the soil in as is? Doesn’t it get a rest period? And don’t you cut off the leaves?

I cut off the leaves. Most of the time, they bend over and die off. I leave it in the same soil. It seems to like it in the garden. I do the same with my Christmas cacti. As soon as the weather is nice, I move them to the garden.