Phal. Hilo Lip 'Carmela'

Where most Phals have a lip darker than the rest of the flower, this one stands out with the reverse.

Phal. Jungle Cat 'Bloody Mary'

There is no red pigment in the genus Phalaenopsis. Breeders have, however, managed to get Phals that look quite red by producing a purple overlay over a gold background. This is one of the "reddest" Phals that I have seen.

Dtps. Everspring Prince 'S.M.'

There have been some beautiful dark Phalaenopsis hybrids coming from Taiwan. Others of this type have spots, or varegated patterns of purple and white. They also have very heavy substance.

Phal. Ever Spring Prince 'Harlequin'

Another of these wonderful new Phals. This clone (though not this particular plant) won an an HCC/AOS, and several Show awards at the 2002 Fascination of Orchids Show.

Phal. Peacock

One of the exciting new hybrids coming from Taiwan.

Phal. Sweet Memory 'Bubbles'

Along with heavy substance and spectacular shading, this Phal.violacea hybrid has wonderful fragrance.

Very cute. It blooms successively, continuing to put out new flowers as the old ones fade. It's the foundation of many miniature Phalaenopsis hybrids

Phal. Taipei Gold

Sunny yellow with small speckles. A lovely contrast to the many flowers in the pink/purple range.

Phal. Golden Buddha

These flowers are very long lasting (4 months or more) with excellent substance. Buds continue to develop on the inflorescense, so that the plant stays beautiful even as the oldest flowers drop.

Doritis pulcherrima 'Snow Queen' x Phal. equistris var alba

The flowers have the form and arrangement of Doritis pulcherrima, but are somewhat larger. The inflorescence continues to put out new flowers even as the old ones fall, prolonging the bloom for months.

Phal. amabalis var formosanum

These flowers are dainty and delicate looking. The spike has a tendency to branch, making for a beautiful display.

This plant produces one flower at a time over a period of months and even years, on a wire-like spike that can be 4' (120 cm) or more. Don't cut the spike on these until it dies all the way back - it will re-bloom. Also, do not over-water- it likes to be on the dry side.

Ctna. Keith Roth 'Excelsior' x C. Horace

Another Catt that seems to be happier indoors, where it grows near an open window, but also under the fluorescent lights. The Ctna parent (having Broughtonia in it) would be expected to be somwhat cold-tolerant, but C. Horace is definitely a warm grower. This cross of a small Ctna with a very large Cattleya yields a lovely flower with nice form, and moderate size (on a moderately-sized plant)

Blc. Haw Yuan Beauty 'Pearl'

This Cattleya hybrid seems to be happier indoors. It grows and blooms well, twice a year - with quite a bit less light than the outdoor Catts, but apparently likes the warmth. It gets the same light as the Phalaenopsis - 12 hours a day of fluorescents. The extra duration of the light may make up for the lower intensity .

Cycnoches herrenhussanum

My latest addiction is Catasetinae (Catasetums and related genera). These go completely dormant in the winter and need to be kept quite dry. When the new growth emerges in the spring, one should resist the temptation to immediately begin watering - the roots are not ready. When the new growth is a little more established, one can begin watering a bit more. During rapid growth (and they DO grow rapidly... much quicker gratification than with most orchids) water and feed copiously. After blooming when the leaves start to fade, cut back the water. They don't need a lot of light, so seem to do very well under the lights.

Cyc. loddigesii

One photo alone could not give a sense of the size of this flower - most orchid flowers are relatively flat, but this is almost as large in depth as in horizontal and vertical span - about 4.5 inches, 12 cm. This is a male flower - Cycnoches and Catasetums have distinctly different male and female flowers, and a given plant may bloom with one gender in one year, and the other the next. More light tends to lead to female flowers. (So my relatively low light may tend to produce males. Usually more attractive - since I am not a breeder, doesn't really make much difference to me.

Cycd. Roberta Fox
(Mormodes Midnight x Cycnoches barthiorum)

This is one of the new hybrids developed by Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids. He is doing some very, very exciting things with Catasetinae. The colors and forms of these flowers are intoxicating. I asked him the name of this one, since I did not see the hybrid in Wildcatt... on the spot, he named it for ME! It has a subtle fragrance of anise.

Cyc. Robert Dickow
(Cyc. haagii ‘SVO' HCC/AOS x Cyc. warscewiczii ‘Andy')

Another new hybrid from Fred Clarke. Fragrant and spectacular.

Stenocoryne auro-fulva

Small, brilliant flowers on a thin, graceful spike. It can put out several spikes a the same time. It likes moisture, but does not require a lot of light (so it grows well under my fluorescents)

These little flowers have a strong fragrance of coconut.

Bulbophyllum blumei 'Elizibeth'

Flowers are short-lived (only a few days) but several are produced in succession. And it's an absolutely spectacular bloom. Such complexity! There's the brilliant red with yellew edging, but also red and white stripes on the dorsal sepal, fringed with shining little hairs.

Dendrochilum glumacea

Many tiny flowers grow along the flower spike, giving the appearance of a little brush. Dendrochilums seem to like it a bit on the damp side.

Dendrochilum cobbianum

The flower spike on this is about 9 inches (23 cm) long, and this plant has had as many as four of them (this blooming only had one, but it was very well-formed). In this close-up photograph, you can see that the flowers do each have the usual "orchid form". When one views the blooming plant from a distance, with a multitude of flowers giving the appearance of a brush, that is not so obvious. I would not call this exactly "fragrant" - the odor is musky, rather like old athletic socks. But it's so beautiful, it can be forgiven for being more "smelly" than "fragrant".

Pleurothallis macroblepharis

This is an Ecuadoran species. The tiny, delicate flowers dance on an inflorescence not much larger than a human hair. New flowers emerge as old ones die on the inflorescence, and then it sends out more.

Moromalyca ringens

This plant blooms at least twice a year, and puts out several leads. So far, I have received only about 2 flowers at a time, but the plant is a vigorous grower and grows to specimen size fairly easily. The flowers aren't big, but have nice color and detail.

Kefersteinia laminata

This little (about 1 inch, 2.5 cm) flower has a very fuzzy lip, with a striking contrast of the red spots.. It blooms several times a year. It's a non-stop bloomer

Keforea (Kefersteinia Toligram x Pescatorea lehmanii 'Majestic'

Bigger than Kefersteinia and with the intense color of the Pescatorea parent, this plant blooms every couple of months. It seems to like to be kept fairly damp. I grow it in a mix of coconut and diatomite - moisture, but lots of air also.

Grand is right! Petals are at least 12" (30 cm) long. Like most Phrags, it blooms successively... for a short time it has 2 flowers, then the older one drops (while it still looks perfect), and another emerges.

I have recently had good growth from several Phrags that I have potted in fine diatomite, with the pot sitting in a dish with water. Most orchids hate wet feet, but Phrags seem to thrive with the pots in water - the diatomite still is very porous, so there is plenty of air, and no organic medium to rot. It's almost hydroponic.

Phrag. Noirmont

This is my most successful Phragmapedium to date. It really took off when I potted it in medium coconut husk chips this spring. The combinationon of moisture and air that this medium provides seems to be very beneficial to just about everything, and I'm slowly changing most of my collection over to it.

Cirropetalum makoyanum

Cirropetalums are close related to the genus Bulbophylum. Each "petal" of the umbrel is actually a separate flower. They do well on mounts, or in wood baskets (where this one lives). The flowers only last for a few days, but they send out new ones every few months. This plant has been outside most of the summer, first in the shady patio, but then moved to a shady part of my sunny front patio. Only then did it bloom. It seems to want the excellent air movement that it gets in that area, and the higher level of light seems to help too. It does need shelter from the winter cold, so I am still counting it among my "indoor orchids" but it's really "indoor-outdoor", like most of the Vandaceous and some of the Cattleya types.

Dendrobium platycaulon

This Dendrobium has strange, flattened pseudobulbs. It seems to grow well with the Phals. The flowers hang under the leaves. It bloomed in October, then put out a completely new set of flowers in late December.

Dendrobium Roy Tokunaga (Den atroviolaceum x johnsoniae)

This plant would really rather have it brighter and more humid - should have a greenhouse. But I have put it in a basket with coconut chunks, have it near a window as well as under the florescent lights 12 hours a day, give it lots of water, and it is growing - and flowered for me. A tribute to the adaptability of orchids.

Paphiopedilum Supersuk 'Hat' x Emerald 'Azahar'

Many Paphs do just fine outside. This one, however, seems to like it warmer. It spends summer outside, but prefers to winter with the Phalaenopsis and other warm growers