There is a new star orchid in the greenhouse this morning – Maxillaria triloris.

This is another of the orchids featuring in the BBC’s Green Planet and is the largest flowering of our Maxillarias. The buds are dramnatic as well as the flowers so it should be fantastic in time lapse.

Maxillaria triloris is a native of South America (it is South America Week) and found from Venezuela to Ecuador as an epiphyte in wet forest from 800-1800m. Based on this data we have tried growing the species both warm and cool, and have found that it most enjoys the conditions of cool damp and shade in Cool Americas.

We grow the species it in an open basket but with heavy watering all year. We do move it onto a shelf when in flower so that the flowers stay in pristine condition away from drips and expect it to greet us as we enter the greenhouse every day for the next month. This a reliable cool growing species that gives us not trouble.