AboutOrchids

Colombia is a land of orchids, home to over 4000 native species. Cattleya trianae is the beloved national flower. Sadly, the country has suffered decades of violence and political instability. A fragile peace accord has started to heal the nation. Now, Colombians like María Luisa Hincapié and her family are hoping that orchids can help […]

Celebrate today’s summer solstice with photos from San Francisco’s exquisite Japanese Tea Garden. It’s the oldest public Japanese garden in the country, and one of many wonders of Golden Gate Park. Dave and I went there recently after we were fully vaccinated. We hadn’t been in years, and we really enjoyed visiting again. It features […]

Eleven stories above London, the Small Flowered Tongue Orchid, Serapias parviflora, has found a home on the roof of a bank. Fifteen of the plants have bloomed on the green rooftop, which boasts 159 plant species living alongside solar panels. This is the first time that the Small Flowered Tongue Orchid has been seen in […]

Some orchids are tricksters. They fool pollinators into thinking they offer rewards like food, or even a mate. But not all their tricks are so devious. Cypripedium wardii, a Lady Slipper native to China and Tibet, tempts bees and hoverflies with fake pollen. This pseudopollen entices insects into visiting the blooms, where they also pick […]

My indoor orchid shelves don’t have much room to spare, so if I buy a warm grower, it’s got to be a miniature. At the 2020 Pacific Orchid Expo, I spotted this little charmer for sale. Leptotes pohlitinocoi has a name that I can’t pronounce, but this small Cattleya relative is definitely worth the shelf […]

June brings a few online and in-person events. For SF Bay Area residents, don’t miss this month’s SF Orchid Society Sale. There was a great selection of plants at last year’s sale. June 5 Curso Básico Virtual de Cultivo de Orquídeas, presented by the Sociedad Colombiana de Orquideología; online class in Spanish; $50 or $100 […]