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.

 

 

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. 

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 April 18Apr 18 by piping plovers
Added photo

These guys are all blooming now

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.

Sedirea (Aerides) japonica in bloom.

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.

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

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

Sedirea (Aerides) japonica in bloom.

I bet this smells heavenly

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. 
 

Pleurothallis ornata

C. mossiae s/a `San Andres' 

An original division from Waldor last summer; first time blooming for me.

 

On 4/21/2026 at 5:01 AM, metalfan said:

I bet this smells heavenly

It has a scent but not super strong.  The one that has the wonderful fragrance is the Epidendrum lacustre.  After the sun goes down, I walk out onto my back deck and can smell it even though it is around the corner off the side of a covered patio area.  It is amazing how strong the scent is and how far it can travel outside.  My assumption is that it must be pretty darn successful in its habitat in attracting its pollinator.  In a couple of weeks the Epidendrum prismatocarpa should be in bloom and they are another very fragrant bloomer.

Here’s a lovely rare Australian orchid. The tag has been broken so the full name slides me for now. But she’s one beautiful ground orchid!

On 4/19/2026 at 9:17 PM, metalfan said:

These guys are all blooming now

Nice one absolutely beautiful! 

Pleurothallis ornata

Pleurothallis grobyi

yellow Phaius

The rest of the buds opened for this nice bouquet display.

The only Vanda species which has repeatedly flowered for me is Vanda tricolor.  I have two slightly different variations.  One has flatter flowers and the other has flowers that are less just in a single plane for lack of a better distinction. 

I got out the tape measure to see how long the inflorescence is.  It was 54" long with only a few buds open. 

Why not let volunteer orchids grow

Den. Chrysotoxum var Susvissimum.  
 

With that wonderful honey fragrance. Late blooming this year.

 

My original Epidendrum falcata just opened it's first flowers for the season.  The bean shaped leaves are easy to accidentally knock off but easy to propagate as a new plant.  I have a few others growing in the yard as a result of some accidents. 

I got this as Encyclia prismatocarpa and it also was called Epidendrum prismatocarpum in the literature but both are now pseudonyms for Panarica prismatocarpa.  It has been a dependable grower over the years i have been growing them and they bloom right on schedule this time of year.  There is an Oncidium bloom photo bombing the show for the Panarica but that is another story for a different post.

🌴🌴🦜🦜🗿

I have no idea what the name this one is, all I know about orchids is I like them. 

Dendrobium gracilicaule ssp howeana bloomed a few weeks back.  Now it is loaded with seed pods.  I haven't taken the time to learn how to germinate these properly so will probably just try spreading some seeds on the bases of where I grow other epiphytes and let nature work or not.

Oncidium hastatum inflorescence and flowers.  The inflorescence extends 7 feet in an arc, from the pseudobulb of the plant.  It's flowers are woven in amongst several other orchids and an Anthurium.  The plant is in the right hand corner of the first photo (its royal blue pot can be made out).  The inflorescense is attached to a stick (also visible in the first photo) rising up about 2' before it goes horizontal and bends down.

It's flowers are intermixed with the Panarica prismatocarpa in the second photo.

For growing orchids outside how often do you water them? 

1 hour ago, 96720 said:

For growing orchids outside how often do you water them? 

Good question.   It depends on the weather cooler temps, less frequently.  It also depends on the genus & species.   Some get watered every other day in the warm seasons.   Mounted plants need more than potted.  

Living in the coastal zone I get more humidity than areas even a mile back from the ocean.  The coastal Southern California humidity is still nothing like the humidity in the Southeast US.