February flowers   January flowers We have an orchid today that demonstrates a common phenomenon in orchids where the amount of sunlight buds and flowers receive alters the colour of the flowers. Stelis pupurea is one of our larger stelis species and a very graceful with 40cm flower spikes. Stelis purpurea has small creamy flowers […]

Closely related to yesterday’s Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica, Phalaenopsis lueddemanniana is another colourful phalaenopsis species from the Philippines. Not surprisingly the species has been used a lot in hybridising with its exceptionally glossy flowers. We struggle a little to provide the warmth this species enjoys as it comes from very hot lowland forests up to 100m

This Phalaenopsis species with a great name (it means the Phalaenopsis with hieroglyphs) is a species we have had in the collection for more than thirty years. We find it one of the smaller growing Phalaenospsis species and pretty tough (hence its longevity through boiler failures, storms and variable culture) Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica is native to […]

To follow the long arching sprays of yesterday’s Dendrobium speciosum we have the massed branching flower stems of Oncidium maculatum. Oncidium maculatum is native to Mexico and Central America where it grows in wet forests from 1000 to 2000m altitude. This habitat suggests it would be happy in either our Warm Americas or our Cool […]

It is still windy up at school but thankfully no damage from the storm – I hope all our orchid friends and their plants are ok too.