There are only a few orchid events I could find this month, but they span five continents. Check with your local orchid society for holiday parties and auctions, as well.
Orchid poachers are one of the biggest threats to orchid survival. Private collectors who take plants from the wild, or who buy wild plants, can wipe out native populations. Social media has worsened the problem, directly connecting poachers and buyers. Viral fads can cause rare varieties to be completely wiped out, and can even jeopardize common species. Conservation laws are often inadequate and difficult to enforce. It’s a huge issue in all orchid hotspots, including Southeast Asia.
Conservation groups like the Orchid Specialist Group at the IUCN are trying to tackle the problem. They’re publishing guidelines on sustainable practices, and doing outreach, too. While not condoning illegal collecting, they are trying to work with collectors to reduce risks of destroying wild populations. In Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, they’ve been interviewing and educating people, trying to change behaviors with accurate info about laws and imperiled varieties. Learning how to sustainably propagate endangered species may lessen threats to native plants, while also providing income for local communities. Conservationists are hoping that poachers who are harming the environment might be part of saving it.
We can all help by never taking orchids from the wild, or buying plants which have been poached. Only purchase from responsible vendors, and be especially cautious of online vendors. Ask if you’re not sure. Instead of species, buy human-made hybrids. Check out these additional tips to know if a plant is illegally trafficked.
A couple years ago, while repotting a Dancing Lady Orchid, part of the plant broke off. With a few leaves, roots, and pseudobulbs, I could have put it the small piece back the pot with the rest of the plant, but I decided to experiment. We have a few large stones in the backyard, shaded underneath a juniper tree. There was a shallow divot in a rock where the cutting fit well. With a little bit of glue and moss, I set it in place. Since then, it’s attached itself to the rock with new roots, and it’s been blooming for a couple months. Originally, I thought that it might be too shaded by the tree, and wouldn’t receive enough light to bloom, but it’s proven me wrong.
Dancing Lady Orchids, or Oncidiums, are popular houseplants, and some types are cool growers which enjoy our foggy climate. This one appears happy growing as a lithophyte, or “rock plant.” It started as an office orchid that Dave brought home years ago, without a nametag, thus earning its status as “Oncidium NOID.” There are lots of Oncidium hybrids, and it might be an impossible task to pin down a name.
While the mother plant continues to grow well outdoors in a pot, its flowers were devoured by snails this year. Maybe the rough stone keeps the snails away from the rock plant. Its flowers have already weathered strong winds and chilly nights, and they’re still going. It’s an orchid experiment that’s definitely been paying off.
From Calgary to Cape Town, from Ann Arbor to Boca Raton, the schedule slows this month, but there’s plenty on offer. Be sure to take advantage of these shows, festivals, sales, auctions, talks, and culture days around the planet.
The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid boasts showy white flowers standing on 2-foot (0.6 m) plants, but it’s not easy to find. Growing among tall prairie grasses, it blends in perfectly. Steve Travers, a biologist at North Dakota State University in Fargo, says “I have a hell of a hard time finding it sometimes. And when people see it the first time, there’s like almost this rapid intake of breath. I mean, it’s so big and it’s just spectacular.” Unfortunately, its prairie habitat has been disappearing, and the species is threatened. Native to the Midwest, from Oklahoma north to Manitoba, the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid is also known as Platanthera praeclara. It’s a relative of the Wood Rein Orchid I recently found here on the Northern California coast.
To save the last tallgrass prairies, it’s essential to understand their biodiversity. Scientists are focusing on the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid because it can be an early indicator of environmental problems. Like many native orchid species, it’s endangered by habitat loss, climate change, and declines in pollinator populations. Studying them in the field means dealing with mosquitoes, ticks, and possibly bears. Then there’s the problem of finding them. Fortunately, these orchids and some of their remaining prairie are protected by law, and researchers are working to uncover their secrets.
Some orchids can be sneaky. Greenhoods, or Pterostylis orchids, have a surprise in store for small flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. These strange flowers have tricky lips. As an insect enters the flower, the hinged lip snaps shut. This briefly imprisons the pollinator inside the bloom. The only escape route is a tight squeeze past the pollen. After a few minutes, the bug exits, the lip reopens, and the booby trap is reset for another visitor.
About 300 Greenhood species are native to Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Indonesia. The photos above show the lips of three species. In the center of each blossom, they look like little twisted tongues rather than flower lips. There are additional Greenhood photos in the article at In Defense of Plants.
To learn more, check out an old blog post about a Greenhood orchid I used to grow, Pterostylis curta.
Over ten years ago, Dave and I moved from San Francisco to nearby Pacifica. A decade later, I’ve learned about a lot about growing orchids so close to the ocean. Even though we’re only 10 miles (16 km) from our former home, it’s a very different microclimate. Now at 1/3 mile (0.5 km) from the chilly Northern Pacific, summers are cooler, fog is heavier, and winds are definitely stronger. Despite the challenges, most of our orchids have thrived in their new home.
We have a few dozen orchids, some indoors and some outdoors. The outdoor plants are exposed to the elements, even in protected areas next to the house. Surprisingly, salty air is not a problem, despite occasional deposits which blow in when waves are big. The salt gets rinsed off by the fog and by my watering, so the plants tolerate it.
The orchids shown here demonstrate the differences that I have noticed. To start, my beloved Masdevallia chaparensis still blooms regularly, but no longer dazzles with dozens of flowers at once. Instead, it only puts out a few blossoms at a time. It used to look like the first two photos in the first row above. I believe it’s not as happy with the cooler temps and stronger winds.
Those winds have also shortened flower spikes and plants. Interestingly, there are just as many tiny yellow flowers on Scaphosepalum verrucosum, but they are much closer together on shorter spikes. Cymbidiums still bloom very well, but their spikes are shorter, so they don’t stand tall over the foliage. Elleanthus amethystinus shrank over time. In its second year, its new growth was only 2/3 the height of the original plant. Fortunately, it’s remained a vigorous grower and bloomer, undeterred by its diminished stature. It’s reliably covered with clusters of small purple flowers every year.
The last row of photos shows a plant that couldn’t handle the move. My Oncidium macranthum, also known as Cyrtochilum macranthum, couldn’t tolerate the extra wind. In San Francisco, its flower spikes were long, twisting vines which wrapped around the other plants on the deck. They boasted lots of marvelous, sunny 4 inch (10 cm) blossoms. During its first year in Pacifica, I knew it was unhappy when it put out a feeble spike with a couple misshaped flowers. By the second year, it was gone.
Notwithstanding the challenges, Pacifica is a wonderful home, a charming beach town with lots of green spaces and incredible whale-watching. There’s always more to learn when it comes to orchids, and I’m always trying to better understand their cultivation needs. Meanwhile, I’m amazed at the varieties which thrive in our seaside garden.
Check out these orchid events across six continents. They’re great opportunities to enjoy incredible flowers, take photos, meet fellow orchid lovers, and buy plants for your collection.
If your idea of a dream vacation is to visit wild places with orchid experts, then you’re in luck. Orchids in the Wild Ecotours has lots of great trips planned for 2025. They include orchid hotspots like the Amazon, Himalayas, New Guinea, and closer destinations like Michigan. The tours are organized by the Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA), which is a superb non-profit group fighting to save orchids around the world. Check out the travel choices below. More details, including photos of previous trips and current prices, can be found on the OCA website. Sign up while spaces are still available!
2025 Dates:
With the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it seems like a good opportunity to show off a few of our summer orchid blooms. The first seven photos are outdoor orchids, and the last five are indoor ones. Our cool, foggy weather, interspersed with sunny days, has kept them happy and flowering. For most, autumn brings cooler temps. On the Northern California coast, however, it’s often our warmest season, and there’s a promise of warmer days this week. Happy equinox.
Check out past posts to learn more about these orchids:
