The Variegated Thumb

My friend, Jason, sent me some orchid seedlings about a month ago, along with a cutting of a Maxillaria.  I put all of these little orchids in pots of moist sphagnum and put them in sealed plastic container.  (It’s actually one of those containers they put rotisserie chickens in at Wal-Mart.)

I’ve been checking on these little ones pretty regularly, making sure I’m not growing mold in there and that the orchids aren’t rotting.  Nothing much has been happening one way or another.

Orchid prenatal ward

Just recently I looked at the container and noticed some yellow.  Uh-oh, I thought.  Something is getting fried or is unhappy.  I opened the container to find that that little Maxillaria variabilis cutting was in bloom!

Maxillaria variabilis

So much for raising a plant to blooming size!

Maxillaria variabilis