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silverweb

(16,402 posts)
Mon May 6, 2013, 08:28 PM May 2013

Unidentified plants.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Hello, garden experts! I've got pictures of 2 plants to show you and hope you can help me identify them. I have to post TinyURL links because for some reason the https links from my Dropbox won't show up as photos in this post.

The 1st plant, , was found in a plastic cup (which it is still in until I figure out what it is) and has dark green, succulent leaves. The long dried stem may presumably have been a flower of some sort. If I can identify it, then I can figure out how it would like to be transplanted and cared for.

The 2nd plant, , is in gorgeous bloom a block from where I live and I'm just curious. The leaves are huge and the tips of the flowers are a good 4 feet off the ground.

Thanks in advance for any help!

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Unidentified plants. (Original Post) silverweb May 2013 OP
second one is Acanthus (Bear's Breeches). first link won't work for me. NRaleighLiberal May 2013 #1
Thank you! silverweb May 2013 #2
Fixed the links! silverweb May 2013 #3
I've heard of acanthus before. silverweb May 2013 #5
First is a Phalaenopsis Orchid (moth orchid) NRaleighLiberal May 2013 #4
I was afraid of that. silverweb May 2013 #6
we've gone through a lot of Phals through the years....we just don't have good conditions for them. NRaleighLiberal May 2013 #7
Okay. silverweb May 2013 #8
New thought: silverweb May 2013 #9
They are fine kept as succulents that need little care and rarely bloom. uppityperson May 2013 #10
Thanks! silverweb May 2013 #11

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
5. I've heard of acanthus before.
Mon May 6, 2013, 08:45 PM
May 2013

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]They're growing in the patch between the sidewalk and the street, right in the shade of a huge old tree. Absolutely gorgeous!

The yard that sidewalk fronts is full of roses and jasmine. I never see the people who live there, but I love walking past all their flowers.

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
6. I was afraid of that.
Mon May 6, 2013, 08:48 PM
May 2013

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]That's 2 abandoned orchids I've now inherited and I have no experience with orchids at all. Any suggestions?

NRaleighLiberal

(60,499 posts)
7. we've gone through a lot of Phals through the years....we just don't have good conditions for them.
Mon May 6, 2013, 08:56 PM
May 2013

best bet may be to trade it for something easier - or have an Orchid greenhouse babysit it for you to get it to bloom (they do that around here).

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
8. Okay.
Mon May 6, 2013, 09:03 PM
May 2013

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]The only things I know about orchids are that they're tropical and like humidity. The air here, despite fairly frequent rain, is extremely dry. There's also an approximately 25 to 30-degree variance between daytime and nighttime temperatures.

I don't see how these orchids can survive without a special climate-controlled enclosure, which I don't have, and I'm not going to pay someone to care for them just so they bloom. Not worth it to me. I'd rather spend my efforts on plants that can do well in this environment.

Trader Joe's sells these things potted by the dozens here and I never understood why. Best bet sounds like it might be to discard them both, although I feel like I'm being "cruel."

Thanks for your input!

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
9. New thought:
Mon May 6, 2013, 10:03 PM
May 2013

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]How do orchids do just as houseplants, without concern for whether they bloom?

The first one I inherited looks all dried out, except that there's still life under the dried layers. Maybe if I re-pot it, it will grow new leaves?

The one in the plastic cup has rather pretty leaves and I wouldn't mind it just as a succulent houseplant. I really don't care if they ever bloom again or not.

Do you think this is a feasible alternative?

uppityperson

(115,869 posts)
10. They are fine kept as succulents that need little care and rarely bloom.
Tue May 7, 2013, 01:53 AM
May 2013

Don't over water and they are easy if you aren't looking for blooms. I recently inherited a couple like your photo, a few leaves and a dried stem. Roots in the cup with little else. I was told to water once a week and just let it be.

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