Cattleys forbesii is a reliable summer flowerer in our greenhouse. Cattleya forbesii is a bi-foliate (two leaved) Cattleya that comes from Brazil. It is found as a lithophyte or epiphyte in coastal forest in the Mata Atlantica – a habitat that has largely disappeared in the past 200 years. It therefore enjoys being warm and […]

A massive thank you to all the students and volunteers that made the Writhlington School Open Evening (For prospective students) such a success yesterday evening. Science room ST6 was a hive of activity with Agnes and her student team demonstrating the orchid Lab and helping youngsters to pot their own Coelogyne fimbriata. In the greenhouse […]

Our Cool Americas section is looking wonderful this week thanks to the long arching sprays of Odontoglossum rhynchanthum. . Odontoglossum rhynchanthum is endemic to Colombian cloud forest above 2000m. Authorities describe the species as producing 30cm spikes with up to seven flowers but our clone produces graceful arching spikes to 70cm with up to twelve […]

There are always Coelogynes flowering in the school greenhouse and this species always flowers during July and August in our Cool Asia Section. Unusually, Coelogyne schultesii has a wonderful habit of flowering for several years from each flower spike, a habit it shares with a small number of other species from section prolifera, and this […]

This species is a July regular in the greenhouse. Like its close relative Myrmecophyila tibicinis, Myrmecophila humboldtii has long spikes (this one is 1.2m long) with large flowers towards the top that open sequentially. The flowers have a sweet fragrance and sugary liquid around the buds presumably to feed the ants with which the plant […]