At night, smells like lemon. Lots of light - more than cattleyas. Grows outside in a semi-shaded patio, hung up high to maximize light.

This is the "B" in Blc cattleya hybrids, and is the source of the frilly lip. (The genus was reclassified to Rhyncholaelia, but Brassavola is still used for registration of hybrids)

Laelia purpurata

Another dramatic, wonderful Laelia. Pure white flowers with a dark purple lip and yellow throat with darker purple veining. Remember, all of these Laelia species grow outside, and seem very happy to do so. No pampering needed. And fragrant, too.

Lc. Puppy Love

This hybrid of C. dubiosa and L. anceps has wonderful form and color, and also is very long-lasting and fragrant. The L. anceps parent imparts cold-tolerance, so it is also easy to grow.

C. intermedia 'Flamea'

These flowers have nice form and heavy substance. They grow nicely in this outdoor environment.

There is great variation in the color among different clones of this wonderful grex. I have another one, that is deep red. The Sophronitis imparts good cold tolerance.

Slc. Dixie Jewels

This is a RED orchid - the color is intense and rich, and the crystalline flowers glisten in the sun. The Sophronitis ancestor imparts both color and cold-tolerance. No need to pamper this one through the winter!

The "cockleshell orchid" or "octopus orchid" puts out a succession of these colorful, intersting little flowers. Because of this habit, it can be in bloom for months.

This plant just keeps getting better and better on its cork slab. The flowers are sweetly fragrant at night. South of the border, this is known as "La dama de la noche". Need I say more?

Brassavola Jiminy Cricket

A primary hybrid (two species), Rhyncholaelia (Brassavola) digbyana and Brassavola nodosa. You can clearly see the influence of both parents.

Cymbidium dayanum

Like other Chinese Cymbidiums, this one needs much less light than the standard Cymbidiums. This one produces many narrow leaves, which arch gracefully. It definitely prefers to hang, with very good air movement.

Sometimes known as "Dancing Ladies". It hangs on the semi-shaded patio, in the wind and the rain, the heat and the cold. Nothing seems to bother it. Where Onc. Gower Ramsey tends to have very long spikes but lots of space between flowers, this one has larger flowers, and tends to have them closely spaced, giving a mass of yellow.

Onc. ornithorhyncum

A wonderfully fragrant species, with multi-branched inflorescences. This one is in the ancestry of Sharry Baby.

Osmoglossum pulchellum

The flowers are small but beautiful and very fragrant. This plant grows on a mount in my shady patio.

Lemboglossum maculatum

A member of the Oncidium alliance. The colors are not bright, but the form is beautiful, and the flowers long-lasting. (And I do love species that bloom so nicely.)

Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum gives tall multi-flowered spike with dark color.

Odcdm. Crowborough 'Spice Island' x Odtna. Rustic Bridge 'Hotlip'.
This one had a very grand 30" (80 cm) spike with around 32 flowers.

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The picture does not do it justice. Petals and sepals are a rich chestnut-brown, with yellow tips.

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Degarmoara Winter Wonderland 'White Fairy'

Brassia x Miltonia x Odontoglossum makes this spectacular orchid. This summer, there are 4 spikes gracing this beauty.

Odontocidium Dark Charmer 'Antiqua'

Nice form and color. The various Oncidium tribe intergeneric hybrids all do well under the same conditions - on the cool and shady side, in my little patio.

Rich pink and gold in this Miltoniopsis - Oncidium hybrid.

Onc. John Louie Shirrah

The inflorescence bearing these fragrant little flowers is over 4 ft. (120 cm.) long! It took three or four months of growing to bloom. Such anticipation! The flowers last for two months.

This is also known as the "spider orchid". It grows in a wood basket - seems to be doing much better that way than in a pot. This year, it has two long spikes. And fragrant!

Brassidium Shooting Star 'Black Gold'

The Brassia is very dominant here. (It is 3/4 Brassia, 1/4 Oncidium) The flowers have lots of substance.

The genus Ada is closely related to Brassia. The flowers are smaller, and a bit more colorful. They also have a very powerful, almost overwhelming, fruity fragrance.

This one is contains Brassia x Cochlioda x Miltonia .x Odontoglossum. It is (Mtssa. Charles M. Fitch x Oda. Fremar).and bloomed 5/98 with 2 spikes and a total of 8 flowers, each about 11 cm across (4.5 inches). It bloomed again 12/98 with 10 flowers on one beautifully presented spike. Magnificent!

  Odbrs. Kenneth Bivens

This spectacular intergeneric hybrid has deep mahogany flowers with yettlow tips, and a fragrance of cedar.

This plant was fine outside all winter. It likes shade and dampness. I grow it below the Vandas, with the Dendrochilums.

Paphiopedilum lowii

This multifloral paph seems to like to grow in a hanging pot, with lots of air movement. Like other multifloral paphs, it needs a little protection from the worst of the winter cold. They grow slowly. It may be two or three years between blooms until the plant develops multiple growths, but it is well worth waiting for.

Paph. gratrixianum 'Old Mill'

I am starting to have a little more luck with flowering Paphs. I have been putting them into diatomite instead of bark or coconut chips, and they seem to like it.

Paph vejuarutianum (charlesworthii type vejuarutianum)

I certainly don' t understand taxonomy... it doesn't look much like a Paph charlesworthii to me. But that's what the label says) But is very nice at any rate. I am starting to have a little more luck with flowering Paphs. I have been putting them into diatomite instead of bark or coconut chips, and they seem to like it.

Paphs like slightly damp (but not soggy) conditions, with bright shade. Some will move indoors around mid-November, but many will handle the winter cool well, and most need a cooling down in the fall to flower.

Paph. spicerianum

I am starting to put more of my paphs in diatomate, and they seem to be doing well, especially those that stay outside in the winter - in my shady patio, they tend to stay pretty damp, and this seems to help to keep the roots in food condition.

A multifloral species. The tag says "Paph. chamberlanianum" ( Paph. victoria reginae is the correct nameof that species) but I am pretty sure that it is not. Also could be Paph moquettianum - all of those species are fairly close in appearance. The flowers bloom successively - about the time one drops, another is ready to open. This one has been in bloom for most of the last two years - the second spike developed while the first one was still going. In general, multifloral Paphs like this should probably come in for the winter when the nights get below 40 deg. F (4 deg C)

Paph. Predacious
( praestans x adductum)

Like the other multifloral Paphs, this one needs a little protection in the winter. I let it have a good chill in the fall, then bring it inside toward the end of November. The color is deeper than the photo shows - I have found it difficult to get a photo that captures both the richness of color and the delicacy of the long petals.

Paph. haynaldianum

Like most of the multi-floral Paphiopedilums (this one has 3 flowers on this inflorescence) it likes to be protected a bit from the cold.

Pescatorea wallisii

Flowers have heavy substance, and are very fragrant. They don't last so long (only a week or two) but there are several flowers produced in succession. It likes to be fairly damp, but also does best hanging. I have potted it in coconut husk chunks, and it seems to be quite happy so far. This medium can be fairly wet and still have lots of air space. I haven't been using it long enough to come to any conclusions, but so far it seems to be working very well.

While most vandas (and their relatives) are tricky to grow without a greenhouse where I live, this one is doing beautifully. It comes from higher elevations (around 1500 meters) so it is fairly cold-tolerant.The flowers are fragrant and long-lasting. It needs plenty of water, since it likes humidity, and likes to be fed regularly.. But although Vandas tend to be warm growers, this one obviously had no objection to our cool winter nights. It hangs high, so it gets the maximum amount of sun in the shaded patio. See also V. suavis

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Ascofinetia Peaches

The Neofinetia falcata parent of this hybrid gives it excellent cold tolerance. It was outside all winter, while I brought most of the vandadeous orchids inside when the night temperatures dropped below 40 deg (4 deg C). This plant experienced temperatures almost down to freezing (at least briefly) and clearly did not mind. It has 2 spikes this year.

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My biggest orchid triumph within the last year or two is the discovery that I can not only grow, but also flower, vandaceous orchids. I did bring them inside during the winter -last one was fairly cool - but put them back outside when the danger of frost was past. While I knew that V. tricolor (above) was fairly resistant to cold, this one was more marginal - but clearly, it was satisfied with the conditions that I could give it. Light and temperature range are both lower than would be ideal, but they can, and do, adapt. In the winter, the Vandas get an HID (metal halide) light over the bathtub of my spare bathroom. This one flowered last winter under those conditions, and is in bloom again.

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Ascocenda Princess Mikasa

A spectalular cool-tolerant vandaceous hybrid with very intense color, that may bloom twice in a year. The V. coerulea parantage of this orchid imparts considerable cold tolerance.

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Ascocenda Princess Mikasa

Yes, this is also Princess Mikasa. The grex is about 50% V. coerulea, so the blue color is dominant in most cases, it also contains about 25% V. sanderiana, which is pink, and in this case, has imparted the red tones into the cross.

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