Archive for July, 2011

The Beautiful Tricks of Flowers

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

If you don’t have your own electron microscope, you’ll enjoy this entertaining video from TED and an accompanying article in the UK’s Guardian. Jonathan Drori showcases some of the most incredible pollination strategies among the world’s quarter-million flowering plants. Naturally, orchids are some of the stars of the show. With dazzling photos, his talk highlights […]

Coelogyne

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

Fortunately, it’s easier to grow a Coelogyne than it is to figure out how to say it. Each of these pure white flowers has a bright orange lip, and delights with a sweet scent. Blooms can last a month or more. To pronounce it, say “see-LODGE-in-ee.” This species originates in the mountains of Vietnam, where […]

Orchid Olympics

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Excitement is building months ahead of the 20th World Orchid Conference (WOC) in Singapore. Nicknamed the “Orchid Olympics,” the WOC occurs every 3 years. From November 13 – 20, it’s happening at the astonishing Marina Bay Sands, where it’s expected to attract 300,000 visitors. The WOC includes a show with 50,000 orchids, vendors from 15 […]

Australian Orchid Foundation

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Since 1976, the Australian Orchid Foundation has worked for orchid conservation, study, promotion, and education. Run by volunteers, it’s making tremendous progress to benefit native orchids. Australia is home to many fascinating and unusual species, like the Brilliant Sun Orchid, and also numerous varieties of Dendrobium, Pterostylis, and Sarcochilus. They all face threats from habitat […]

Sarcochilus

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

If you think that orchids are all delicate and fragile, here’s a hardy Australian mini that will surprise you. This Sarcochilus is one tough species, related to Phals and Vandas. In the wild, it grows as a lithophyte, or rock plant. Its roots attach to cliff faces in eastern Australia, and they hold on despite […]

Saving Hawaii’s Rarest Orchids

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

The Honolulu Civil Beat offers two great stories about native Hawaiian orchids. The first article, “Hawaii’s Three Native Orchids,” is a quick read with great photos of the endangered species. It has an update on attempts to rescue the rarest variety from extinction, which I’ve blogged about before. So far, it’s good news on Kauai, […]

July Orchid Shows

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Nobody can doubt the global appeal of orchids with a list like this. As the show schedule slows down in the northern half of the planet, it picks up in the southern half. Santa Barbara bucks the trend to offer a major American event. No matter where, these shows are full of orchid sights and […]