September 2024

From Scott McGregor:

All orchids grown outdoors, coastal southern California

Dendrobium parishii f. trilabelo

Easy grower—doesn’t get any more colorful or furry than this, and fragrant too!

Aeranthes ramosa

An easy outdoor grower (most Aeranthes need more warmth) with VERY green, waxy flowers that bloom sequentially on long wiry scapes.

Vanda (Neofinetia) falcata 'Onamesecai'

Some like to pot their Neofinetias in the fancy Japanese style, but I prefer the natural look—a ball of leaves and flowers with an intense night fragrance.

From Roberta Fox:

Coastal southern California

Outside in the Back Yard:

Angraecum breve

A charming miniature from the highlands of Madagascar. It has a great flower-to-plant ratio... the flower is about 1 inch, as are the leaves. The spur is about 4 inches.

Brassavola nodosa

While I grew this totally outside for years, it didn't bloom very well and grew slowly. Now, it lives in the greenhouse during the winter, but once the flowers emerge in the late spring, it moves outside until blooming is pretty much over. It produces new flowers all summer long, with a lovely scent that starts as night falls. Native to southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and into northern South America. The smell of summer!

Bulbophyllum frostii

"Dutch Shoe" orchid... When I grew it in the greenhouse (when I first acquired it) , I maybe got one set of flowers per year. Now, living outside,it blooms at least twice a year, and this summer is producing several inflorescences, on different growths, over a period of more than a month. Native to Yunnan, China and Vietnam, elevation around 1500 m.

Bulbophyllum hirundinis

This small plant blooms several times a year. It is mounted, so does dry out though it gets daily watering. The species is native to southeast and south-central China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, elevations 500 to 3000 m - it grows over a very wide range of temperatures.

Coelogyne (Chelonistele) sulphurea

One of the genera that got lumped into Coelogyne. Native to Malaysia and nearby islands, and the Philippines, elevations from 200-2100 m.

Dendrobium (Epigeneium) nakaharae

Another genus that got lumped. From Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, elavations 1000-2000 m. It blooms several times a year, flowers have heavy substance and the lip is waxy and shiny.

Dendrobium brymerianum

I got this as a bare-root seedling last fall. It grows in a basket, hanging high over the patio. I didn't dry it out last winter, and that doesn't seem to have had any negative effect on blooming. It blooms on both leafed and leafless canes. It is native to a wide area of Himalaya foothills and southeast Asia, elevation around 1500 m.

Dendrobium glomeratum (sulawesiense)

This one supposedly comes from low elevations in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. But this plant grows outside, through winter chill, and blooms twice a year. I suspect that that there are higher-elevation populations. I don't dry it out in winter, which seems to do no harm, blooming mostly on leafless canes over mutliple years, but also on some that still have leaves. Those dead-looking canes aren't dead, don't cut them!

Dendrobium palpebrae

Another widely-distributed deciduous Dendrobium that I don't dry out. I am convinced that in many (even most) cases, the winter chill is a trigger for blooming and that drying isn't needed. (In nature, even in winter when there is little rain, there is humidity and overnight dew, they are rarely completely dry.)

Epidendrum nocturnum

Grows over a wide range of elevations on both sides of the Andes. I have seen it in Ecuador at moderately high elevations, and in Brazil along the Rio Negro in the Amazon basin.

Epidendrum rigidum

Weird little flowers, with waxy substance. The plant winds around a piece of tree fern trunk. Native to an extremely wide range from Florida to southeastern Brazil and northern Bolivia.

Epidendrum oerstedii

I have grown one piece of the plant in the greenhouse, and another outside. Both bloomed at about the same time. The one in the GH has moved outside... better use of the space. Native to Panama, around 1100 m.

Maxillaria callichroma

Flowers have very heavy substance. A big, robust plant. Native to Colombia and Venezuela, elvation 900-2600 m.

Maxillaria dillonii

From Ecuador and Peru, elevation 800-850 m. Waxy flowers

Maxillaria marginata

Brazil and Ecuador, elevation 2500-3200 m.

Maxillaria phoenicanthera

Brazil S and SE, around 800 m.

Miltoniopsis vexillaria

The only Miltoniopsis that I have been able to keep alive, this one has grown and bloomed for about 4 years. Native to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, elevation 1300-2150 m. It seems to tolerate a wider range of temperatures than most of the genus.

Vanda (Neofinetia) falcata

I missed the blooming of most of my Neos while I was out of town - flowers are quite short-lived. But their fragrance, especially in the evening, is lovely, I'm glad for this "late bloomer". .

Restrepia contorta

Cute little "bug" from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela elevation 1300-3200 m

Rhyncholaelia digbyana 'Fiddler's Green'

This is the alba form - no pink blush on the backs of flowers, no pigment on the leaves even with very bright light. Citrus fragrance at night.

Schoenorchis gemmata

This year, flowers opened slowly so that the first ones were gone before the later ones opened, so the display was not as good as in some other years. From a very wide range of southeast Asia, into China and Nepal, elevation 200-2000 m.

Schoenorchis juncifolia

Little wisteria-like flowers, even smaller than those of Schoenorchis gemmata, but on a very vigorous plant. The mount just serves as a place to hang it, most of the roots are in the air. Light is bright shade, but leaves are very red. From Malaya, Java, Borneo and nearby islands, elevation 500-2500 m.

Stanhopea oculata (bucephalus)

Labeled as Stan. bucephalus 'Ruth Marie Christian' AM/AOS x self. It is now considred to be a synonym for Stan. oculata, but has none of the characteristic spots and blooms at a different time.

Vanda tricolor

This plant produced a spike in late May or early June, which then blasted, to my disappointment. But I was pleasantly surprised when the plant made another attempt at blooming, and succeeded. Note that this color form has more brown and less purple than the suavis form which is more often seen. Native to Java and Bali, elevation 700-1600 m. It is one of the most cold-tolerant of the large-flowered Vandas.

In the greenhouse...

Habaneria medusa

One of my favorite terrestrial orchids. The orange lip branches out to these fantastic flaring hairs. Then it all dies back. While it is dormant, I do water lightly through the winter. (It doean't want to be toally dry for long periods), increasing watering in late March or early April, which starts the new growth.

Habaneria rhodocheila (erichmichelii)

Habaneria rhodocheila has many color forms, from yellow through orange to dark red, with dark green leavees. This form was at one time considered a separate species, but has been lumped into Hab. rhodocheila. The leaves are bronze, with a lot of orange overlaying the green, the dorsal sepal is bronze, the petals orange, and the lip is salmon-pink. So very different than the other forms of the species.

From Chris Ehrler:

California Central Coast

Cool greenhouse unless otherwise noted.

Barbosella cogniauxiana

A warm to cool growing epiphyte found in Brazil in wet, primary forests. This orchid is growing on a piece of cork oak.

Dracula vinacea

A cold growing epiphyte growing in Colombia cloud forests and road banks at elevations above 2,400 meters. This orchid is growing in a mesh pot filled with sphagnum moss.

Masdevallia caudata

A cool to cold growing epiphyte found in Colombia and western Venezuela at altitudes of 1,800 to 3,300 meters. This orchid is growing in a clay pot filled with sphagnum moss.

Masdevallia revoluta

A hot to warm growing epiphyte growing in Ecuador at elevations of 200 to 850 meters. Growing in a mesh pot filled with a bark and perlite mixture. A gift from John Leathers where this orchid was growing in his greenhouse in Pacifica, California.

Stenia vasquezii

Grows in Peru and Bolivia at elevations about 1,800 to 1,900 meters on moss covered shrubs. Is a warm to cool growing epiphyte. This orchid is growing in a clay pot filled with a bark and lava rock mixture.

Pleurothallis scurrula

This cold growing epiphyte is found in Peru at elevation about 2200 to 2400 meters. This orchid is growing Both mounted to a piece of wood with a small amount of sphagnum moss on the roots and in a clay pot filled with sphagnum moss.

Scaphosepalum spp.

This unknown species is growing on a piece of cork oak with some sphagnum moss on the roots. This orchid has flowers on it all year round.

From Arnold Markman:

Coastal San Diego area

Intermediate Greenhouse, daily watering unless otherwise noted.

Bifrenaria aureofulva

This epiphyte from Brazil bloomed once this year with one inflorescence and has now bloomed again with 4 inflorescences!. It grows at 1500 m and I water it daily in the growing season and perhaps a little less in the cooler months.

Cochleanthes dicolor

This orchid is from montane forests of Costa Rica up to 1800 meters. It has been renamed as Warczewiczella which I can hardly spell and can’t pronounce.

Lycaste schilleriana f. pincelada

From Colombia at 1800 m. I water it daily when it has leaves but only very minimal misting when it is dormant in wintertime 

Myrmecophila tibicinis

From Mexico. I grow it on a dead avocado branch outside.  Full sun and watered every 4 days year round. Sorry I couldn’t get closer to the flower but it was up too high. 

Oberonia lotsyana

From montane forests of Java at 1600 meters. Hundreds of tiny flowers on each of the inflorescences. Leaves are a little on the yellow side but I didn’t think I was giving it too much sun growing under 60% shade cloth.

Pleurothallis medinae

This plant is from Ecuador at 1200 meters.

Polystachya subdiphylla

This little gem arrived appearing dead after its two week transit . It grows in Tanzania in montane forest at 2000 m. It has recovered nicely.

Restrepia brachypus

This plant is from the montane forest of Ecuador. I grow it under 60% shade cloth, but I think this is enough sun to give some leaves a reddish tint which I think is more attractive than the pure green leaves that one sees in photos.   I have it mounted on a piece of tree fern bark. Backs of the leaves are dark red.