Why not grow orchids?

[piping plovers]

V. Manuvadee. A favorite blue.

been looking for this one for years to replace the one I lost to cold one autumn. Just shipped from a wonderful grower in HI.

 

 

[Tracy]

On 4/16/2026 at 3:57 PM, piping plovers said:

V. Manuvadee. A favorite blue.

been looking for this one for years to replace the one I lost to cold one autumn. Just shipped from a wonderful grower in HI.

 

 

I have tried growing Vanda coerulea twice.  The first one survived a couple of years and the second attempt was similar in duration.   They don't seem to like my damp and cool winters.   That is a lovely Vanda you have. 

I am happy that this third attempt with Epidendrum lacustre Panamanian variety is thriving still after 4 years.  The flowers aren't especially large or colorful, but I love their structure. 

[piping plovers]

12 hours ago, Tracy said:

I am happy that this third attempt with Epidendrum lacustre Panamanian variety is thriving still after 4 years.  The flowers aren't especially large or colorful, but I love their structure

Tracey, Great shape on that one; reminds of some of those harder to find, obscure, star-shaped Catt species. Beth Davis, of Waldor Orchids just gave us a fabulous presentation on cattleya orchid species at our Cape Cod orchid society mtg. There was a cattleya in her slides that had that similar, exaggerated star shape. If I can capture the image and name I will post it here.

Re: V. Coerulea, one of the parents of manuvadee: I understand that it brings more of a cool temperature tolerance to its crosses. Although, cool and damp, I agree, is not a good combination for vandas. That was my carelessness and pushing things too far when I lost my first manuvadee.

 

Tracey, Great shape on that one; reminds of some of those harder to find, obscure, star-shaped Catt species. Beth Davis, of Waldor Orchids just gave us a fabulous presentation on cattleya orchid species at our Cape Cod orchid society mtg. There was a cattleya in her slides that had that similar, exaggerated star shape. If I can capture the image and name I will post it here.

Catt. perrinii is what I was thinking of. Photo from Wikipedia:

 

Edited Saturday at 02:07 PM by piping plovers
Added photo

[bubba]

[bubba]

[metalfan]

These guys are all blooming now

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, metalfan said:

These guys are all blooming now

It is such a pleasure to have something much color popping all at once.  I enjoy walking around my garden with my granddaughter and showing her the orchids that are both in bloom and yhe ones with flower spikes getting ready for the next display.   She really warmed my heart when she said she wants to grow orchids "when she gets big".  We wi)l see what a 3 year old considers "big" in the coming years.

You have a lot of variety blooming now to enjoy.   Hopefully some are also fragrant to appeal to a different sensory mode.

[Tracy]

Sedirea (Aerides) japonica in bloom.

[Tracy]

Leptotes pohlitinocoi with its first flower in my garden.  It isn't putting on the same display that my Leptotes bicolor are but it is a younger plant.  Maxillaria tenufolia is sharing it's fragrant blooms again too.

[metalfan]

22 hours ago, Tracy said:

It is such a pleasure to have something much color popping all at once.  I enjoy walking around my garden with my granddaughter and showing her the orchids that are both in bloom and yhe ones with flower spikes getting ready for the next display.   She really warmed my heart when she said she wants to grow orchids "when she gets big".  We wi)l see what a 3 year old considers "big" in the coming years.

You have a lot of variety blooming now to enjoy.   Hopefully some are also fragrant to appeal to a different sensory mode.

Thanks! I have a friend in New Jersey who built a greenhouse on a flat roof of her house that she can walk out into from a door in her bedroom. She has been growing orchids for 40+ years and has an extensive collection, and always has at least 10-15 things blooming simultaneously of all different genera. Its kindof a desire of mine to have that....but there are some genera I don;t grow (the Calathea alliance comes to mind) so mine are mostly Vandaceous, Bulbophyllums and some Oncidium alliancne, as well as Phals which I mostly rescued from the Lowes 1/2 price markdown when they stopped blooming and mounted around the place

[metalfan]

On 4/19/2026 at 10:59 AM, Tracy said:

Sedirea (Aerides) japonica in bloom.

I bet this smells heavenly

[piping plovers]

Cattleya mossiae coerulea 'Blue Bird' x C. mossiae coerulea 'Herrerae'

Watering day in the orchid room, so glad to find this cattleya in bloom:

 

also, the color really intensified on that vanda I posted a few days ago. 
 

[metalfan]

Pleurothallis ornata