I bought this little charmer last month at the Pacific Orchid Expo. It’s a Kefersteinia, and it’s been covered with blooms for over a month. This species flowers frequently, producing a single bloom on each spike. The flowers last about a week, but there’s a constant resupply of 1 inch (2.5 cm) yellow flowers with […]
No, this Dracula orchid doesn’t bite your neck or sleep in a coffin, but this miniature is interesting in its own right. Dracula means “little dragon” in Latin, and the botanist who named this genus thought that the flowers looked like dragon’s teeth. I think they look more like orange bells, but I’m grateful for […]
This mini Masdevallia relative, with a flower smaller than a pea, has a long name, Scaphosepalum. Despite its diminutive size, it’s capable of staying in bloom for months or even years at a time. The new flowers emerge in succession along a lengthening spike, while the older flowers fall off. Several years ago, this orchid […]
As we move through the last few days of autumn, in the Northern Hemisphere at least, don’t panic if your orchid drops some leaves or looks a little peaked. With less light and cooler days, many orchids are resting in their dormant periods. If your plant is otherwise healthy, and a few leaves drop, it’s […]
Regular readers may notice a penchant for the unusual in my orchid collection. So this Trigonidium egertonianum, with a flower that looks like it could be the face of a crab, should come as no surprise. It’s another example of the incredible diversity within the orchid family. This orchid is native to a wide area […]
Cymbidiums are popular orchids, and here on the California coast, Cymbidium blooming season has started. This yellow one, possibly Cymbidium Golden Elf ‘Sundust,’ is a hybrid of Cymbidium ensifolium, which has traditionally been grown in China, Korea, and Japan for centuries. To grow these beauties with their sweet, richly scented flowers, you need to provide […]
Look at that name again — it’s not a Dendrobium, but a Dendrochilum. Both kinds come from Southeast Asia, but Dendrochilums are a separate genus, distinguished by their chains of small flowers. This Dendrochilum tenellum is widespread among many islands of the Philippines, where it is native to cloud forests in mountainous areas. Near the […]
More people kill their orchids through overwatering than any other cause. Fall is particularly perilous time for overwatering, as plants start to go dormant, but people unwittingly continue the same watering regimen as they did in the growing season. With too much water, orchid roots will rot, and the leaves will follow. So this is […]
If you saw this unusual Stenoglottis orchid growing in its native home in South Africa, and it wasn’t in bloom, you would probably think it was an ugly weed. If you saw it in bloom, though, I’d bet you would be amazed at its masses of dainty purple polka-dotted flowers with fringed lips. Stenoglottis longifolia […]
Orchid care changes with the seasons. As fall approaches, it’s time to adjust water, fertilizer, light, and temperature. If warm growing orchids have been kept outside for the summer, it’s time to bring them indoors. Phals, Cattleyas, and Vandas should be checked for pests, and then brought inside before nighttime temperature become too cold. Orchids […]
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