Continuing our miniature theme, today we have one of our smallest Phalaenopsis species with 8cm leaves and long flowering, pendulous, spikes of delicate 1cm flowers. This tiny flowered Phalaenopsis is one that we have seen growing in Sikkim in hot valleys in seasonally dry forests where it lives in shade and develops an extensive root […]

It seems a good time for another miniatures week, and where better to start than with this tiny growing and even smaller flowered platystele species. Regulars will know that we have lots of very small flowered orchids but this tiny orange flowered species from South and Central America is an extreme case of miniature. Platystele […]

We have had some really hot days in the greenhouse which has been a little worrying for one of my favourite summer orchids. Dracula sodiroi has unique flowers that hang like little orange lanterns and are produced in twos or threes, well spaced, on spikes clear of the lush green leaves. The insides of the […]

Last month I featured the small growing variety of Masdevasllia paiveana (below) but today we have the large growing form with the plant that is 80cm across and lighter pink flowers. Masdevallia paiveana is native to Peru and Bolivia where it is found as an epiphyte in woodland around 2500m altitude. The large clone (top) […]

Some orchids are are really fast to become large specimen plants and others take years to multiply. Cattelya alaorii is definitely in the second camp. Cattleya alaorii is one of the smaller growing cattleyas (previously included in Laelia) with large flowers for the size of the plant. The species is native to Brazil where it […]