Masdevallia Marguerite 'Pink Champagne'

This is the second time this Masdevallia has flowered this year (sadly just a single flower each time) - last time I didn't get around to taking a picture of the flower (surprising seeing as it was the first Masdevallia we ever bloomed, but it's been a crazy year). Masdevallia Marguerite is M. infracta x M. veitchiana. This is supposed to be one of the more forgiving Masdevallias with regards to temperature tolerance. I guess flowering is a good sign! I had this in sheet moss (what I had to hand - it arrived bare root), but decided that was no good and changed to sphagnum/perlite the other day. It's now also in a clay pot, which may help keep it a bit cooler now OOAB is heating up for the summer months. For some strange reason, this flower has decided to grow sideways!

Masdevallia Marguerite 'Pink Champagne'

Most Masdevallias repay close inspection with a fabulous assortment of coloured hairs and other minute decorations.
The purple hairs on this hybrid certainly do!

New Plants: Van Rooyen Orchids

Today I received two orders; first I'll talk about the smaller order from Van Rooyen Orchids, based in White River. The plants were mainly shipped bare rooted, so there was a bit of potting to be done! The plants were inveigled in shredded paper, which probably protects them quite nicely in transit, although there is a fair bit of untangling to be done to get the plants out. Helpfully, a packing list was included, just in case you forgot what you ordered (and makes sure you don't leave any plants buried deep in the paper). 

Aerangis modesta
This plant had about 10 minute little snails on it which I managed to find and get rid of...

Coelogyne cristata

Epidenrum porpax (Syn. Neolehmannia porpax)
This small orchid apparently takes on a growth habit a bit like ground cover,
so does best in wide, shallow pots.

Masdevallia Marguerite 'Pink Champagne'
Finally, a Masdevallia! Looks like the flowering is over for the year... :/
I potted this up in some Sphagnum Moss I managed to find at a nursery in PE.

Microcoelia exilis
This species is very unusual in that it doesn't have any leaves,
and exists solely as roots, with occasional small flowers.

Vanda Manuvadee 'Blue'
This Vanda came in a basket, but with no hanging wires,
so we had to make some (which was a bit tricky).
Some of those roots are huge!

This particular order was shipped via Speed Services Couriers - whose website has resolutely refused to answer my enquiries as to the location of the parcel during its entire time in transit (#fail #lose #brandminus!). Being an overnight service, I assumed (correctly) that it would certainly be in town two days after being sent.