Looking after the orchids in the Writhlington greenhouse is very rewarding.  I get to see beautiful orchids every day.  The  hot, humid weather this week seems to have encourage many orchids to flower. Below is Bulbophyllum guttulatum which lives in our Warm Asia section.  It grows from the Himalayas to Vietnam in monsoon forests at 800 – 2000 meters.

Next up is Dendrochilum magnum with it’s flowers just starting to open.  At the moment they are slightly green in colour but this will change to golden as the flowers mature.  The flowers have a spicy smell to them.  A few years ago we split our enormous Dendrochilum magnum into many smaller plants and this is one of them.

In our Cool Asia section I found Pleurothallis hemirhoda. I think the flower looks like it is conducting an orchid orchestra.  What do you think?

In the same section of the greenhouse was this lovely little Pleurothallis costaricensis.  This specimen is mounted but we find he grows well in pots too.

Scaphyglottis pulchella is a very attractive, delicate looking orchid.  I found it it Cool Americas but I think it should be in one of our Warm Americas section according to Simon in his Orchid of the Day.

Our Vanda coerulia is looking lovely this year.  It not only has beautiful flowers but really healthy new roots too.  It has obviously loved our cooler, in parts, summer this year.

Finally I must show you these pleurothallis gracillima the Orchid Project students propagated, from a larger plant, last June.  They are already flowering and growing really well.  Although small, classed as miniature orchids, Pleurothallis gracillima do make good specimen orchid over time.