This Christmas Issy is offering something new – an Orchid in a Bauble. The idea is part of her STEM BTEC (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and she has been selling glass baubles containing the amazing miniature orchid Lepanthopsis prolifera growing on sphagnum moss.

Lepanthosis prolifera is a tiny flowered species, endemic to North Eastern Colombia, that arrived in the school greenhouses as a ‘weed’ on Pleurothallis sclerophylla and has since expanded into a ball and produced many offspring.

The flowers are produced in sprays on a 1cm spike and usually line up back to back so that flowers look two ways. The plant is in flower for much of the year but I am sorry to say we often forget it because the flowers are so small.

From our experience this miniature is easy to grow and should do well in the bauble. It should be watered about once a week (a pipette is ideal) with rainwater and a little feed in the summer. We grow our plants shaded at school and the bauble is best positioned in a bright but not sunny spot once it comes off the Christmas tree.