We have some summer flowering cymbidium species in flower this week – the first is Cymbidium suarvissimum. Cymbidium suavissimum is not a common species and has only been found in small areas of northern Myanmar and northern Vietnam where it is found in warmish evergreen forests at about 800-1000m so is a little warmer growing […]

The temperature has finally cooled in Radstock – a relief heat sensitive species including today’s Dracula sodiroi. The species is endemic to cool wet forests in Ecuador from 1500-2400m altitude and, in common with other dracula species, is sensitive to high temperatures if not kept very wet in summer. Heat stress shows at black spots […]

Our plants have coped with Mondays hot weather – here in Radstock the highest temperature recorded on our weather station was 34.7C and the greenhouse temperatures hit 39C Some of our plants positively enjoy the warm weather and one of them is  Phalaenopsis pulcherrima. This species, long known as Doritis pulcherrima, is unusual in so […]

I have been asked how we are keeping our plants cool in this extreme heat. Our policy is to water plants morning and evening. with lots of water at the roots they can cool down by transpiration. We dont damp down as high humidity in the day reduces plants ability to transpire and just makes […]

This is our lovely yellow form or Stelis emarginata. From a distance the flowers of this species look similar to yesterday’s Pleurothallis gracillima and Pleurothallis costaricensis from the day before but close up the difference is clear with today’s species producing the triangle of three sepals typical of Stelis species. Stelis emarginata is native to […]