February 2025

From Scott McGregor:

All orchids grown outdoors, coastal southern California

Isabelia (Sophronitella) violacea

The flowers last only a few days, but brighten a winter growing area. From a small genus of only three Brazilian species (merging Isabelia, Neolauchea and Sophronitella), all are worth growing outdoors. I used to have a much larger plant that was happy for many years but inexplicably crashed. This plant has been happy since 2013, although grows very slowly.

From Roberta Fox: Coastal southern California
Outside in the Back Yard:

Brassia (Ada) rolandoi Native to Peru, around 1850 m
Cleisostoma simondii Lots of roots, small, terete leaves on multiple growths, and half-inch flowers. It grows in a basket with no medium. It's vigorous, and extremely forgiving. Native to wide area of Himalaya and southeast Asia, elevation 100-1000 m.
Coelogyne mooreana 'Brockhurst' Pristine white flowers with brilliant yellow throat with intricate keels. Plant is relatively compact. Native to Vietnam, elevation 1200-1300 m.
Coelogyne cobbiana (Dendrochilum cobbianum) Native to the Philippines, elevation 1400-2400 m. Color of segments can range from white to butter yellow.

Dinema polybulbon Southern Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, elevation 600-2000 m. Small flowers but lots of them, and the plant rambles in all directions. It has rooted well on its mount, but is also growing freely into the air.
Laelia anceps 'Sanbar Ruby' Saturated color	Laelia anceps f. hillii Mostly white, with pale lavender lip With all the color forms, one can't have too many L. anceps!
Laelia superbiens From southern Mexico into Guatemala and Honduras, elevation 1400-1600 m. Long spike and dramatic color. The wavy petals once got it classified as "Schomburgkia" but while these Laelias (solid pseudobulbs) and Myrmecophila (hollow pseudobulbs) have flowers with similar petal form, they aren't closely related.

Leptotes harryphillipsii From Brazil. For awhile it was considered a synonym for Leptotes pauloensis, but is currently accepted by Kew as a valid species. Most of my Leptotes bloom in April or May, so nice to have one that always blooms in the dead of winter.
	Maxillaria tonsbergii Lovely sunset colors, flowers with firm substance, and extremely fragrant.
Maxillaria lineolata (Mormolyca ringens) From Mexico through Central America. It is a non-stop bloomer. The pseudobulbs stack on top of each other, making a dense ball.
Restrepia jesupiana Venezuela, 2300-2800 m.

Rodriguezia decora Southern Brazil. It is a keiki farm... each new growth has roots and can be an independent plant. It rambles, I have it growing on a large slab of hapu'u.
Cymbidium dayanum I was hoping for a better display, since there are around 8 spikes. But they're opening a few at a time so some are spent before others open. It extends the blooming, but reduces the show. This a very robust species. Other cultivars have bloomed a month or two ago.
Maxillaria elatior Mexico and much of Central America, 400-1500 m. It can bloom 2-3 times a yeaer. Flowers have heavy substance, long lasting. Note the growth pattern, very vertical. As with other Maxillarias with this growth pattern, don't try to "tidy it up" - those old leaf bracts protect a root system that goes all the way down to the substrate and removing that protection can kill the plant!
Pleurothallis cardiothallis Another from Mexico-Central America. Very vigorous. Leaves around 5 inches, half-inch flowers.
In the greenhouse...
Ancistrochilus rothschildianus Native to equatorial west Africa. Leaves tend to be deciduous at the end of the growing season. The pseudobulbs look a bit like Hershey's Kisses.
Bulbophyllum medusae Native to a large area of tropical southeast Asia
Warczewiczella (Cochleanthes) wailesiana Native to Brazil at a range of elevations. It possibly could grow cooler, but it's doing well in the greenhouse, blooming 2-3 times a year, and not large so it'll stay where it is. Fragrant.

From Chris Ehrler:

California Central Coast

Cool greenhouse unless otherwise noted.

Calanthe discolor (?)

Was purchased in 2018 and finally bloomed for the first time this year. The tag name was obviously wrong so based on photos I sent to Ron Parsons; he thought it might be Calanthe discolor. But this might not be the correct species name as it was purchased through a grower in India as a species growing in that country, yet in orchidspecies.com this species is described as growing in China, Korea, Japan and the Ryukyus. This species is described as a cool to cold growing terrestrial found at elevations of 170 to 1,500 meters. I am growing this orchid in a plastic pot filled with a mixture of bark and lava rock

Cymbidium schroederi

Grows in humus in cool forests at elevations of 1,350 to 1,700 meters. This orchid is growing in plastic pot filled with a mixture of bark and perlite. Growing outside under a lath shade structure.

Laelia anceps 'Fort Caroline'

This species grows natively in Mexico and Honduras as a warm to cool growing epiphyte at elevations of 500 to 1,500 meters. Is considered a hardy drought-tolerant species that likes a dry winter rest. This orchid is growing outside mounted to a piece of cork oak with some sphagnum moss at the root.

Pleurothallis marthae

A LARGE leafed epiphytic species growing in cold conditions in Colombia. Growing in a clay pot filled with bark and lava rock

Scaphosepalum anchoriferum

This is a cool growing epiphyte native to Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador at elevations of 1,100 to 2,000 meters

From James Lockman:

All plants grown outside, inland San Diego County, on a protected patio with 40% shade or more.

Heat is regulated with an AquaFog unit. Water is reverse osmosis treated. Beginning in early November, the patio is enclosed with panels of greenhouse poly and heated to 50 degrees F. Once outdoor minimums are above 50, the heat is discontinued, and the panels are gradually removed as the season warms up.
Losses to either cold or heat are minimal, though cold/heat stress may affect certain species.

Cymbidium erythraeum 'Paradise'

A delicate (for Cymbidium) species ranging from the Indian Himalayas to the mountains of Vietnam from 1000m -2400m. Racemes produce about 9 flowers each.

Prosthechea chimborazoensis

Ranges from Panama to Ecuador lower elevation wet forest and has performed well here for years. Beautiful long lasting fragrant flowers primarily in Winter but can bloom at other times of the year as well.

Ida ciliata (Lycaste fragrans)

There are at least two synonyms for this species: Lycaste fragrans and Sudamerlycaste fragrans. Intermediate to cool grower from the Andes growing at 1000m – 2800m. Powerfully fragrant.

Laelia gouldiana

Originally from the Mexican state of Hidalgo, Sierra Madre Oriental, at 1550m, but presumed extinct. Some say it is the most beautiful of all the Laelias.

Laelia anceps f. veitchiana

Commonly grown in our area, I grow mine with 30-40% shade in Fallbrook. Many forms are available. Cultivars shown this month are ‘Dawsonii’ and ‘Veitchiana’

Laelia anceps f. dawsonii

Laelia x oaxacana

At natural occurring hybrid between L. anceps and L. halbingeriana documented by Salazar et al. (2014, Phytotaxa; free access online) from one location in northern Oaxaca. This is a large growing plant with a scape 3-6 ft long with 10-12 terminal flowers

Maxillaria picta

A tough and easily grown species from southern Brazil to Argentina. This seems to be one of the most adaptable orchid species that I have grown over the last eight years and always produces a lot of highly fragrant flowers every winter. Shown is a division; the mother plant can have up to 100 flowers each winter

Oncidium maculatum

Ranging from central Mexico to Central America at elevations 1100m – 2000m. This plant blooms every winter with up to 40 flowers per year. I may have a dwarf form (or a different species!).

Oncidium nevadensis

Formerly classified as an Odontoglossum species, from Columbia at mid to higher elevations (2000m). Given my warm summers, I am surprised that this plant has performed so well in Fallbrook (placed very near the Aqua Fog unit). This year it has five arching pendulous racemes with up to ten flowers on each.

From Arnold Markman:
Coastal San Diego area Intermediate Greenhouse, 60% shade cloth, daily watering unless otherwise noted.

Coelogyne lawrenciana This plant grows at moderate elevations in Vietnam and in the Himalayas. The inflorescences and buds have slowly been growing for at least 3 to 4 months before they finally opened.

Cymbidium dayanum This plant grows in evergreen low land forest in Southeast Asia from 200 m to 1800 m.

Epidendrum porpax This orchid grows in cloud forests from Mexico to northern South America at 400-1800 m.

Lepanthes inca - This miniature orchid from the high and cold mountains of Peru is a rebloomer. It is always blowing in the wind from my fan. It seems to love the constant airflow.
Epidendrum (Oerstedella) wallisii This orchid grows at 2000 meters in Colombia.
Scaphosepalum decorum This orchid grows in southern Columbia in the cloud forests at 1800 m. It is growing on a horizontal mount. I have tried growing a few orchids mounted horizontally, but have had problems with the mount remaining too wet so I often tilt them slightly, so the water drains better.
Schoenorchis juncifolia This plant is from Java growing at 1800 m.
Trichosalpix berlineri This plant grows in northern South America at elevations of 2500 m.