Welcome to a new blog category for “Growing Orchids in San Francisco” with info of interest for the Bay Area. Some old posts fit the new category, too, so I’ll go back and re-label those with local relevance. This post is the first half of a list of orchids I’ve grown outdoors over the years, […]
When I first bought this unusual Japanese species at Pacific Orchid Expo 2009, I didn’t know if I could grow it. My purchase consisted of 3 tiny Orchis tubers, each smaller than a pea. Along with planting instructions for this mini terrestrial, the vendor included its Japanese name, uchouran, meaning “butterfly wing orchid.” I planted […]
Here on the California coast, the Cymbidiums spoil us. I’ve seen luxuriant blooms on neglected orchids stuffed into sidewalk planters. Gardeners inherit abandoned plants from earlier tenants, sometimes without even realizing that the strap-like leaves belong to orchids. It turns out that our mild climate mimics the slopes of the Himalayas where these orchids grow […]
This hardy orchid is a Cyrtochilum, a reliable bloomer in the Oncidium family. It has spectacular yellow, white, and purple flowers. Dozens of blossoms emerge from long, vining flower spikes, which can extend up to 10 ft. (3 m.) These spikes grow for months, and like to wind around my tall Epidendrums. Blooms as wide […]
The “Golden Gate Gardener” on SFGate devotes the top half of a column to an orchid weed. No, it’s not the tropical Bamboo Orchid, but instead an emigrant from Europe, Epipactis helleborine. It’s related to the Stream Orchid, the native Epipactis that I grow. Epipactis helleborine has a home range across a broad swath of […]
No, it’s not winter — it’s just another cool, foggy San Francisco summer. Fortunately, it’s the perfect climate for this Bolivian beauty. Dozens of delightful pink and purple Masdevallia flowers opened more than a month ago in our back garden, and they’re still going strong. This species is native to elevations of 8000 – 9000 […]
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 […]
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 […]
San Francisco Bay Area orchids highlight an article in the Los Gatos Patch. Numerous native species grow in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, and they call to longtime orchid lover Ed Nazzal like sirens. He braves poison oak and rattlesnakes to find lovely locals like the Steam Orchid, Epipactis gigantea, and the […]
Scientists studying the large and diverse orchid family continue to find bizarre pollination tricks. An endangered orchid species from southern China is the first orchid known to use both flowers and leaves as part of its deception. This rare lady slipper looks and smells like it has a fungal infection. Cypripedium fargesii lives as high […]
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