Archive for the 'Intermediate Growers' Category

An Orchid with Fabulous Fringe

Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

Many orchids stop you in your tracks with their colors and patterns. This orchid stops you in your tracks with its shape and scent. Rhyncholaelia digbyana has fabulous fringe on its lip, and a rich citrus perfume at night. I bought this plant eight years ago, mistakenly believing that it could live outdoors on the […]

A Little Fuzzy Lady Slipper

Wednesday, August 17th, 2022

This little Lady Slipper is colorful, cute, and fuzzy! Phragmipedium schlimii is native to the slopes of the Andes in Colombia. It’s smaller than most other Phragmipediums, or Phrags, so when I spotted this one for sale at last winter’s Pacific Orchid Expo, I figured I could find room for it indoors. A few months […]

A Charming Lady Slipper Orchid

Sunday, March 20th, 2022

It’s great to celebrate the first day of spring with some greenery, and this striking Lady Slipper certainly fits the bill. Its green stripes and squiggles are distinctive and dramatic. This is the Charming Lady Slipper, or Paphiopedilum venustum. I’ve had this plant for many years, but this past winter was the first time it […]

A Lady Slipper Standing Tall

Sunday, August 8th, 2021

Alien-looking Lady Slippers beg the question of how strange flowers from another planet might be. While this Paph comes from right here on Earth, it looks like something from a sci-fi movie. It’s an unidentified hybrid that I bought a few years ago in a grocery store. These photos show various angles of this wondrous […]

Circling Around Daisy Orchids

Thursday, February 11th, 2021

Daisy Orchids, or Cirrhopetalums, earn their nickname from their resemblance to daisies. However, with Daisy Orchids, what looks like separate petals of one large flower are actually separate flowers, each magnificently complex. These blooms are arranged in a circle or semicircle around a center stalk. Many varieties have long, tapering sepals, adding to their charms. […]

Thunia Orchids Grow Fast and Tall

Thursday, July 9th, 2020

Thunia flowers may resemble Cattleyas, but they are very different orchids. Thunias grow tall canes that look like cornstalks, and their 5 inch (12.7 cm) blooms hang in clusters from the tops. They may be the fastest growing orchids. New canes can reach up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall in only a few months. […]

Angraecums, the Shining Stars of the Orchid World

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020

Sparkling white flowers make Angraecums look like shining stars. This fascinating genus is native to Madagascar, tropical Africa, and islands in the Indian Ocean. They are sometimes called Comet Orchids, because thin nectar tubes hanging from the backs of their flowers inspire thoughts of comet tails. The most famous is Darwin’s Orchid, Angraecum sesquipedale. It’s […]

The Delights of Orchids Indoors

Sunday, March 29th, 2020

As we continue to shelter at home, it really helps to be surrounded by our indoor orchids. A few of my plants have been putting on great spring shows. The Mexicoa species in the first row of photos above has already been blooming for two months. Now, it’s put out five new spikes of brilliant […]

Growing in Kew Gardens’ Temperate House

Sunday, January 12th, 2020

London’s Kew Gardens is home to the Temperate House, the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse. It was closed for renovations for five years, and reopened in 2018. The skilled staff at Kew have regrown its lush greenery, and it’s full of remarkable plants. During my visit there in early December, I found a couple of Cymbidiums […]

60 Year Old Orchid’s One Week To Shine

Saturday, August 10th, 2019

Head to the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney this week to see a native Australian orchid in its full splendor. Dendrobium teretifolium is sometimes called the Rat’s Tail Orchid because of its long, skinny leaves. However, when it bursts into bloom, it earns another nickname, the Bridal Veil Orchid, with cascades of creamy white flowers. The […]