I have been away in Faversham for a few days, leaving Lillie and Isabelle, the youngest members of the Orchid Project, in charge of the greenhouse. This time of year the greenhouse needs to be watered every other day as the weather is not too hot but not so cold that heating  causes the plants […]

A big thank you to The Devon Orchid Society for inviting us to their Autumn Show.  We had a lovely time and had a really warm welcome from Sarah and Arthur at Burnham Nurseries.  It was really lovely to see all the other orchid  societies too and Lawrence Hobbs. Our Sobralia crocea was much admired […]

Here is one that has not been on Simon’s Orchid of the day, Masdevallia Lata.  It is not a Writhlington orchid but one from my own collection and originates from Costa Rica and Southwestern Panama. The name Masdevallia comes from Jose Masdevall who was an 18th century botanist and physician in the court of Charles […]

Our school greenhouse is filled with life at the moment.  Everything has burst into action growing new shoots and roots. Although epiphytic orchids live on trees their roots do not penetrate the tree.  They just hold the plant in place and absorb water from rain. The Aerides odorata cuttings, taken when we cut up our […]

I am often asked ‘what are those round things on your orchids’.  The answer is they are pseudobulbs.  Orchids that live in monsoon climates have cleverly evolved to store water for use in the dry season.  They do this by growing pseudobulbs which work on the same principle as a camel’s hump.  They contain a […]