We are delighted with the diversity of orchids on our Malvern International Orchid Show display this week. The orchids of Madagascar are represented by this magnificant cool growing species.

Angraecum magdalenae from the mountains of central Madagascar is one of our most rewarding orchid species, and this large plant that we have had since 1998, so it is a slow grower but gets better and better. The large (8cm) waxy, pristine white flowers are wonderfully fragrant and this year the plant has 14 flowers out together.

The plant’s natural habitat is in leaf litter amongst quartzite boulders but we find the species enjoys a mossy basket where its roots remain damp and cool. Most of our Angraecum species are warm growing but Angraecum magdalenae does best for us in Cool Asia (minimum 10C).

We are delighted to have thousands of seedlings of this species doing very well in our propagation lab and will have plants for sale in flask within the next few months. The flowers hold their nectar in long curved spurs suggesting pollination is by one of Madagascar’s large hawk moths.

This evening saw blue skies over the Malvern Hills as we started set up for the 2022 Malvern International Orchid Show. A massive thank you to ex-students Jacob and Chloe who will be creating the display and organising the sales table tomorrow, and running the stand on Friday.

We have a minibus booked for Saturday and a brand new show team organised. We hope to see lots of our orchid friends, old and new, over the next few days.

I have driven back to Somerset for school tomorrow and left the happy camping scene in the photograph, Chloe relaxing by her van, and Jacob working hard on his tent.

Packing plants ready for the Malvern International Orchid Show we were delighted to find this miniature in full flower and looking wonderful for the show.

Pleurothallis fulgens is an unusual miniature orchid with bright orange red, waxy flowers on short repeat flowering stems. Plants are really small with 3cm leaves and they make lovely specimen plants over time.
Pleurothallis fulgens is native to Costa Rica and Panama where it grows as a twig epiphyte from 950-2400m and so enjoys cool damp conditions and we grow it with a minimum if 12C in our Cool Americas section.

Please can anyone for whom we promised to try and find specific sale plants, remind me so that I can make sure that they are packed – thanks.

Another Malvern Show  regular is Capanemia superflua.

This very floriferous orchid is the larger of our Capanemia species, but still a miniature, with 4cm terete leaves and six cm spikes packed with pretty pink and yellow flowers.

Capanemia superflua is native to south east Brazil and northern Argenitina where it grows as a epiphyte amongst moss on twigs and branches, and it seems very happy with us mounted on cork bark. The species is reported from relatively low altitudes around 500m but we find the species thrives when grown cool and moist (min 12C in Cool Americas).

Look out for the species on our display this weekend.

This week we are preparing for the Malvern International Orchid Show (The Counties Show) and so a big thanks you to the ex-student team who are running the show for us on thursday and friday before students join in at the weekend.

A plant that usually features at June shows is Vanda testacea. Vanda testacea is one of our smaller growing Vanda species, not much bigger than your hand but with relatively long upright spikes of pretty 2cm flowers.

Vanda testacea is native to The Himalayas from Nepal to Mayanmar and also from Sri Lanka where it is found from 700 to 2000m. The range implies it can take quite cool temperatures but we find it that it is vulnerable to leaf loss in lower temperatures, and prefers Phalaenopsis like conditions.

We find baskets of open compost are ideal for vandas that seem to enjoy producing long roots that hang down from the plant. We water by spraying each day.