The weather has been cold all week and this causes a change to watering in the school greenhouse. The warm sections (Warm Asia and Warm Americas) have the heaters working hard an so plants here need extra watering. Conversely, the cooler ends are properly cool but have almost no heating on, as some heat passes […]

We have noticed that several of our orchids are flowering at different times of the year in 2019 compared to previous years. This may be linked to our exceptionally warm summer last year or the very mild winter we have experienced so far. Vanda denisoniana usually flowers around Easter but has just opened its first […]

Our team in ‘Cool Asia’ are really enjoying being surrounded by the Dendrobium speciosum this week. This magnificent orchid is native to Australia.   Its aboriginal name is “Tar-Beri” and it is also known as the “Rock Lily”. When in flower it is one of our largest orchids measuring nearly 2m across with many hundred lovely […]

This delightful small growing species is endemic to Sumatra where it grows from 1550 to 3050m. This is the first flowering of a seedling plant with small dark pseudobulbs which are thin at the base and thicker near the end where they flower. We grow the species in our Warm Asia section but in light […]

Thanks for Kirsty’s comment on Maxillaria sophronitis about humming birds. In 2000 on our first visit to Brazil students took this lovely photograph of a humming bird visiting Cattleya wittigiana. Students recorded six species visiting the flowers but only one species of hummingbirds removing pollen.