Big update!

After a month of pretty much nothing happening, now everything is happening all at once!  The sun finally came out a little bit, and I think stuff is starting to wake up.  Very exciting!

First up is Bc. Hoku Gem 'Freckles', another of my super-reliable catts.  I divided and repotted this one last winter, and I was afraid it would skip a bloom cycle while it adjusted.  Apparently not.  I can see at least 5 buds on the spike, which is a LOT for this one...it prefers to put out 2 or 3 per spike.  It must be happy.

Next, another first-time bloomer for me, Phal. pulcherrima var. champornensis.  The color on this one could be just about anything from white to dark pink, but it should be the peloric form.

Third, I have another first-bloom seedling phal!  This is Phal. mariae.  I got it during springtime 2012 as a growing challenge plant on OrchidGeeks.  A bunch of us got together and ordered some seedlings from (the former) Oak Hill and we've been updating as we get spikes and flowers.  If I'm not mistaken, mine is the first to spike.  Or at least I'm the first to say anything about it.  And of course, the real trick here is going to be finding out whether or not it's a true mariae.  Long story short, it's apparently pretty hard to find a true mariae in cultivation...they're all mostly either bastianii or Lovely Marie (bastianii x mariae).  We'll see what mine looks like in a few months.

And finally....this is neither an orchid nor an African Violet, but I'm super stoked anyway.  There's a bud growing on one of my hoyas!  I didn't think it was ever going to bloom.  This one came tagless, but I'm pretty sure it's just a standard carnosa.