May 2025

From Scott McGregor:

All orchids grown outdoors, coastal southern California

Satyrium carneum

My last Satyrium to bloom, and the first bloom for this plant which I have lovingly nurtured from a flaskling I got from Tom Biggart three years ago. Med-climate terrestrials are challenging to grow from flask since they don’t come with the critical supporting mycorrhiza, and aren’t attuned to go dormant at the “right time”. See last month’s pic of Satyrium Johanna Augustyn, which is a primary cross of this species and S. coriifolium. I’m a species guy but have to say that I like the cross best between that and the two species, but then why choose, grow them all!

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

Angraecum arachnites Madagascar central highlands, around 1500 m. Shady and damp. Slow-growing.
Angraecum urschianum This miniature is an overachiever. The dimpled leaves are about 1/2 inch, the flower is just under 1 inch. The nectary is, however, 4 inches long. Great flower-to-plant ratio. From the central highlands of Madagascar, elevation 1000-1200 m.

Cattleya intermedia This is one of the easiest Cattleya species for outdoor growing. Filtered sun, city water, temperature range from near frost to triple digits (F). Here are just a few of the forms. Right, the typical flower form, coerulea color. Above is a coerulea version of the aquinii (peloric) flower form, that is in the ancestry of many splash-petal Cattleya hybrids. Note how the lip color pattern is repeated in the petals. Below is an alba color form that is also peloric. The lip pattern pinches the tips of the petals, with heavy mid-rib. Subtle!

Cattleya (Laelia) jonghena The flowers of this Brazilian species (1300-1500 m) are about the same size as the growths, 5-6 inches. Flowers are very flat with fairly heavy substance, and last 4-6 weeks or more. Flowers emerge from the newly opened leaves, with no sheath. Above and right show the typical flower color, below is the alba form.

Coelogyne taronensis From Yunnan, China at elevations 2400-3500 m. Based on the elevation and latitude, I would expect it to be intolerant of warmth, but it does OK on my patio. Shady and damp.

Dendrobium bellatulum Blooms on bare, dead-looking pseudobulbs. From a wide area of northern India and Himalaya foothills, across southeast Asia, elevation 900-2100 m.	Lycaste virginalis (skinneri) Southern Mexico and northarn Central America, elevation 1500-2100 m. Color ranges from white to dark pink, and it is the dominant species for many of the big, round hybrids.
Disa sagittalis Native to the Cape area of South Africa. It grows on rocky outcroppings near streams, but does not seem to need to be as wet as the larger, showy species from a riparian environment. It's the one Disa species that I have managed to keep alive and blooming over multiple years.
Dracula mantissa A little flower machine. Unlike the larger-flowered Draculas, the flowers don't collapse during the day. Native to Colombia and Ecuador, elevation 1800-2000 m. It is in a 4 inch basket.

Gurianthe (Cattleya) aurantiaca Solid orange is the most common color form, but spotted ones like this are becoming more common. It also has a lemon-yellow form. Mexico and Central America, 600-1100 m.
Leptotes bicolor Widely distributed in southern Brazil into Paraguay. Narrow, succulent leaves suggest that it comes from a sunny and seasonally dry environment. I have found that it hates pots, grows best mounted.
Leptotes unicolor From a similar region. Color forms range from white to light pink to hot-pink ones like this.
Maxillaria densa This species is fairly easy to propagate from cuttings. Since the root system grows under those dry bracts, if a piece is cut off those roots can sustain it until it roots into the medium. Because of its rambling habit, it's top-heavy. This one is tied to a piece of hapu'u (into which it has grown) and is tied to one of the patio support posts. Native to Mexico and Central America.
Stelis declivis (Physosiphon inaequisepalus) A vigorous, floriforous little Pleurothallid. Native to Ecuador and Peru, elevation around 3000 m. As it has matured, it has covered the mount, and puts on a show of tiny flowers.
Serapias bergonii This genus tends to be one of the last of my Mediterranean terrestrials. This one has some of the largest flowers of the genus. Love the hairy lip which can come out at various angles.
Serapias cordigera	Serapias lingua
Thelymitra glaucophylla The bluest of my Thelys, from southern Australia	Sobralia rupicola Flower has heavy subtance, and lasts much longer than most Sobralias, 4-5 days or more. Color is brilliant in the sunshine. There are two more buds on the inflorescence, that will open sequentially. Again, different from most Sobralias where the bud appears sequentially after the flower drops. From Bolivia, elevation 900-1900 m. Thanks, Scott!
Vanda barnesii From Luzon in the Philippines, around 1200 m. Purchased as V. javierae, turned out to be a new species. V. javierae is almost pure white. I love the contrasting stripes.
Anacamptis sancta (probably) This terrestrial was totally mis-labeled, obvious when it bloomed. (When I get tubers that turn out to be something other than what I thought I was buying, I'm not unhappy when I find that I have someting else very nice to add to my collecton.) I did a Google search on the images, and it came up with Anacamptis sancta. There are, however, lots of mis-identified images on the internet and a lot of color variation within species, so I took this just as a starting point, agreeing pretty certainly with the genus at least. However, the photographer Ron Parsons, who has seen and identified many European terrestrials in the wild, concurs that this is very likely the correct species.
In the greenhouse...
	Phalaenopsis modesta First bloom on a miniature Phalaenopsis. Native to Borneo, elevation around 360 m.
Polystachya paniculata Individual flowers are only about 1/8 inch, but there are lots of them. The contrast between the orange flowers and the light green panicle is very dramatic. It is native to a wide area of Africa, elevations 200-1900 m. It is very likely, given the elevation range, that it could do fine outside. However, I don't want to risk it since it is doing quite nicely in the greenhouse.

From Chris Ehrler:
California Central Coast Cool greenhouse unless otherwise noted.
	Dendrobium speciosum A cool to hot growing lithophyte found in New South Wales and eastern Australia from the coastline to about 150 miles inland. This orchid is growing in a large plastic pot filled with a bark and lava rock mixture. The pot is under a wood lath shade structure.

Dendrobium striolatum A warm to cool growing lithophyte growing natively in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania Australia at elevations up to 1000 meters. Grown mounted on a piece of wood with a small amount of sphagnum moss on the roots. Likes to grow aerial roots some of which can be seen behind the flower.

Dendrochilum wenzelii A hot to warm growing epiphytic species frond in the Philippines at elevations of 300 to 1,000 meters. This orchid is growing well mounted and hanging in a cool greenhouse, but maybe would grow and flower better in a warmer environment.

Lepanthes ophioglossa A cool to cold growing epiphyte growing in Ecuadorian cloud forests at elevations of 1,500 to 2,300 meters

Lepanthopsis hirtzii Acool to cold growing epiphyte growing in Colombia and Ecuador at elevations of 1,600 to 2,700 meters. This orchid is growing in a plastic pot filled with sphagnum moss.
Sarcochilus hartmannii Grows natively in eastern Australian as a cool to hot lithophytic and sometimes epiphytic species found at elevations up to 1,000 meters. This orchid grows year-round outside under a wood lath covered area. When this plant needs repotting, I have just added a larger pot to capture the aerial roots that were growing outside the first pot.

Scaphosepalum anchoriforium This is a cool growing epiphyte native to Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador at elevations of 1,100 to 2,000 meters. This orchid is growing in a mesh pot filled with sphagnum moss.
Scaphosepalum gibberosum A cool growing epiphyte found in the Antioquia department of Colombia at elevations of 1600 to 2000 meters. This orchid is growing mounted at a piece of cork oak with a small amount of sphagnum moss on the roots	Stelis jamesonii This cool to cold growing epiphyte is found in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador at elevations of 1,600 to 3,500 meters. Spikes are produced throughout the year.

From Ted Mumm: Grown outdoors, coastal southern California

Bulbophyllum salmoneum I have bloomed the Bulb. salmoneum several times now and love its deep color

Chiloschista parishii One of my only two 'leafless' orchids (the other being (Microcoelia stotzii) and I am always amazed that such a beautiful little bloom comes from such a strange-looking plant.

Oncidium maculatum One of my very first orchids. Got it from Paul Brecht Orchids way back in the 70's and it has never disappointed.

Dendrobium bracteosum var. tanii (Dendrobum tanii) Literally NEVER out of bloom. Hangs on my bathroom wall all year long, a friendly little splash of color.

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

Bletilla striata This terrestrial orchid from China is spreading in an outside bed where it gets sun till about 11 AM and then shade the most of the day until the late afternoon when again sun shines on it. It gets watered every fourth day year round. I cut it back to the ground when it goes dormant every year.

Bulbophyllum wendlandianum (Labeled "wendlanii)It grows in Malaysia at 2000 m.

Dendrobium hancockii This orchid grows in the mountains of southern China up to 2150 m. I grow this in the extreme western portion of my greenhouse. I water it daily spring through the end of autumn and then barely through the winter although I do mist daily

Dendrobium lindleyi (aggregatum) A few weeks ago, this had three flower spikes. Despite the flower spikes being kept dry and in the presence of good air movement, two spikes molded off and the distal third of this third spike also molded off. But I did get some flowers. I water it daily in the growing season and gave it a dry winter rest, just misting it daily

Dendrobium loddigesii This little gem comes from Burma in rainforest up to 2000 m. I water it daily during thegrowing season and then held off from November until March. The flowers are long lasting. It seems to have flowered both on canes with leaves and canes without leaves.
Dracula severa I grow this Dracula from Colombia very close to the greenhouse fan where it gets wind all day.
	Dryadella zebrina This Masdevallia relative is from high altitude in Brazil.
Eleanthus conifer This bamboo-like, somewhat sloppy looking orchid is from 2000 m in Ecuador. The canes are leafless in the bottom halves. It does produce quite a show of flowers, however.

Gongora scaphephorous I keep this plant wet by watering it daily year-round. A second spike is on the way. The second one is just beginning, but the first one is in full bloom.

Myoxanthus punctatus This Orchid from the mountains of Colombia with a long petiole and long leaves with tiny flowers, coming out of the base of the leaf.

Restrepia brachypus This high elevation Orchid is from 3200 m in Ecuador. Even under 60% shade cloth, there is enough light to turn the leaves a beautiful wine-red.

Sarocochilus falcatus I grow this Australian miniature mounted and water it almost daily. It grows up to 1400 m on exposed slopes and according to the IOSPE it is either epiphytic or lithophitic.