Why not grow orchids?

[TropicsEnjoyer]

This is the first time this cattleya of mine blooms. It has given another pair of flowers tho I haven’t taken a picture yet. But can anyone ID this for me? It’s bifoliate and flowers are unscented (unfortunately). I have no clue of its origin, it was gifted to me. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

On 3/12/2025 at 11:14 PM, TropicsEnjoyer said:

This is the first time this cattleya of mine blooms. It has given another pair of flowers tho I haven’t taken a picture yet. But can anyone ID this for me? It’s bifoliate and flowers are unscented (unfortunately). I have no clue of its origin, it was gifted to me. 

Here’s an entire picture.

[miamicuse]

This is my tallest orchid (besides the vanilla which is currently climbing higher on my P. elegans).  Top of wood fence is 6'4" off the ground.

[miamicuse]

The recent chill had many of my orchids blooming.

[Silas_Sancona]

On 3/12/2025 at 8:14 PM, TropicsEnjoyer said:

This is the first time this cattleya of mine blooms. It has given another pair of flowers tho I haven’t taken a picture yet. But can anyone ID this for me? It’s bifoliate and flowers are unscented (unfortunately). I have no clue of its origin, it was gifted to me. 

So many crosses out there = tough call on an exact match, but, to me, flower shape would  hint Laelia ( possibly L. anceps )  might make up part of this cross..

Nature of the leaves / skinny pseudo bulbs would also point me in the direction of looking over species / crosses  involving Cattleya species within the bifoliate group, like C. intermedia,  as another potential significant part of it's parentage..

You might post the question over on the Orchid board forum  https://www.orchidboard.com/community/     and see what other clues folks over there come up with..

Fyi: Starting to crawl out of it's container = time to step up into a bigger pot. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

@Silas_Sancona Thanks for the insight. And yeah I noticed it’s getting a bit crowded in its pot, but I’ll probably let it finish flowering before I attempt to upsize. It’s also giving a new stem I just saw today 😅. Maybe I could divide it and keep a chunk of it in the same pot where it’s happy. 

[Silas_Sancona]

45 minutes ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Maybe I could divide it and keep a chunk of it in the same pot where it’s happy. 

You could ..Though if you want a specimen full of flowers each year, planting the whole thing in a bigger container is the way to go..

[Tracy]

A few Dendrobium speciosum flowers at a friend's. 

[miamicuse]

my bitter enemy, this Ficus benjamina, I guess is good for something, such as attaching some orchids to it's branches.

On the left side, had the buds again, bitten off or snapped off by squirrels or raccoons.

this is third year in a row, that this orchid failed to bloom due to critter interference and my wife is super disappointed.  She said I may have to untangle this from the tree next time the buds develop to hang it somewhere else.  If you got ideas please share.

Hairy pig on a Livistona chinensis.

[piping plovers]

14 hours ago, miamicuse said:

my bitter enemy, this Ficus benjamina, I guess is good for something, such as attaching some orchids to it's branches

What a beautiful setting for your orchids. Is that a Licuala peltata in your 1st photo?

[piping plovers]

Some orchids in bloom, many just unboxed after transporting them back and forth for display in Connecticut’s recent orchid show (Nutmeg Orchid Society).

 

 

 

 

And good news! I was excited to hear that my phal White Dream’V3’ was awarded best phal in this Connecticut show by the International Phaleonopsis Association.  I was told that there were hundreds of phals there, as you can imagine for a March show.  First time to ever be awarded anything like that.  
 

I’ve seen photos online of stems with 12 blooms, astounding appearance on those.  It’s a nice classic white with good substance if anyone is looking for something like this to add to their collection. Hausserman’s has them online.

phal White Dream’V3’
 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, piping plovers said:

Some orchids in bloom, many just unboxed after transporting them back and forth for display in Connecticut’s recent orchid show (Nutmeg Orchid Society).

 

 

 

 

And good news! I was excited to hear that my phal White Dream’V3’ was awarded best phal in this Connecticut show by the International Phaleonopsis Association.  I was told that there were hundreds of phals there, as you can imagine for a March show.  First time to ever be awarded anything like that.  
 

I’ve seen photos online of stems with 12 blooms, astounding appearance on those.  It’s a nice classic white with good substance if anyone is looking for something like this to add to their collection. Hausserman’s has them online.

phal White Dream’V3’
 

 

Congrats, again ..Keep it up and you're going to have a wall of ribbons by ...December..  Not that  that would be a bad thing...

 

[piping plovers]

lol. Thank you Nathan.  Yes, makes it seem more worth the hassle of boxing and unboxing tropical plants in cold, blustery weather.
 

Great to see the shows, especially seeing the amazement of the general public,  who (if not plugged into the plant world as many of us are on PT) have not experienced anything like the overwhelming variety of all the bloom shapes and colors in one room!

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, piping plovers said:

lol. Thank you Nathan.  Yes, makes it seem more worth the hassle of boxing and unboxing tropical plants in cold, blustery weather.
 

Yea, hauling the plants to / from shows can be a hassle at times, but, You've put a lot of effort and time into building your collection over the years ..To a point  whee others, esp. in cooler areas might have given up.  Always nice to see that kind of dedication pay off, even if winning an award isn't the  motivation.  ..no matter what plant group is being showcased by a grower..

While keeping any " show " plants damage free is just as important, unlike many Cacti or some other unusual arid- type plants, at least Orchids aren't spiny, lol.

 

8 minutes ago, piping plovers said:

Great to see the shows, especially seeing the amazement of the general public,  who (if not plugged into the plant world as many of us are on PT) have not experienced anything like the overwhelming variety of all the bloom shapes and colors in one room!

Agree, 100% ..Growing up around them from day 1, have always admired them. That said, attending a show ..whether something rather simple like a local event, ..or something so extravagant that it can be a bit overwhelming, like Redlands, or the PAC. Orchid Expo exposes even those of us who grew up around these plants to a completely new level of variety we might not come to know otherwise.


While you could  walk away with a similar view after attending any show displaying different plant groups, seemingly un-ending diversity among Orchids one might see at a show is a very memorable way of showing the importance of conservation and that with a little guidance from the right teachers, personal effort and patience, even someone interested, but starting off with a very limited amount of knowledge of.. can learn to grow X, Y, ..and / or Z member(s) of this group of pretty amazing plants.

Legit, scientific names like Dracula or Gongora  will stick in your mind too..

[miamicuse]

5 hours ago, piping plovers said:

What a beautiful setting for your orchids. Is that a Licuala peltata in your 1st photo?

Thank you, not a Licuala peltata, that's a mid size clustering Licuala lauterbachii var. bougainvillensis.

[piping plovers]

8 minutes ago, miamicuse said:

Licuala lauterbachii var. bougainvillensis.

I had to look that one up. Very grateful species and variety.

 

 

[Tracy]

I was worried about the blossoms further out on this stem because it was hit and partially broken several weeks ago by a frond drop off my neighbor's Archontophoenix.   It just required additional patience for the buds to mature. Cyrtochilum villenaorum reposted in full bloom this time.

[SubTropicRay]

My Epidendrum ciliare is blooming for the first time 

[piping plovers]

1 hour ago, SubTropicRay said:

My Epidendrum ciliare is blooming for the first time 

Beautiful color contrast and such intricate lip. Is it fragrant?

[Tracy]

My little Dendrobium gracilicaule ssp howeanum is giving a nice show right now.   Pretty prolific for such a small plant.

[Tracy]

Another Dendrobium in bloom, Dendrobium jonesii this time.  The plant really needs to be elevated to appreciate the pendant flowers.

[piping plovers]

I post this every year. My faithful, blooming white corsage-type Catt. The oldest orchid in my collection.; nearly 40 years old. Was a teenager making minimum wage then and this was a big deal spending $20 on a plant back then. Ahh, simpler times and decisions.

Divided bizzillions of times over the years.

 

 

[piping plovers]

C. mossiae coerulea 'Blue Bird' x C. mossiae coerulea 'Herrerae' with other April blooms in the kitchen.

 

 

[piping plovers]

Lc. Park Ridge 'Thornridge';  1969 (Lc. Spring Comet x Cattleya mossiae)

 

…and my very first paph. I won this at auction in December at our Cape Cod orchid meeting.  It  was not in bloom, so eagerly anticipated this first bloom.

Paph. Fairy Bird (Paph. fowliei x Paph. Fairrieanum) with the drama-queen, Queen Anthurium which does not appreciate anything other than being in the forefront in photos. It will be sulking later.

 

 

[metalfan]

Pleurothallis ornata.

Get your microscopes out

[metalfan]

Bulbophyllum falcatum  Reminds me of snakes

[metalfan]

Found my Maxillaria variability blooming today

[aztropic]

A couple current bloomers in Arizona. Both are highly scented. Pics taken today...

 

aztropic 

Mesa,Arizona

[piping plovers]

Brassia Edvah Loo 'Nishida’ (Brs. Arcuigera x Brs. Gireoudiana). 1966.

I know this is a hybrid, but if it was mimicking an actual spider species in nature, I would not want to run into that spider. The dorsal sepals on these blooms are 9” and the lateral sepals are about 12” long. 
 

Has been many years since it last bloomed. I have 8 divisions and Was considering composting them. I think I cracked the code. Light levels that make vandas blush, literally; and abundant water as you would treat a papyrus. And a few nights left outdoors in 40 degrees F last autumn.  A real resource-hog of a plant.  I have 2 others with larger spikes setting up. Amazing watching the long buds unfurl. Slightly fragrant, like a spiced chai latte.

 

[Tracy]

San Diego Botanic garden just began their annual orchid show inside the Conservatory.   We went by yesterday to see what was on display.   I snapped a few photos with my phone but it was hardly representative of the breadth of genre on display.   I tried to include tags in most photos.

[Tracy]

Cymbidium wadae indigenous to Thailand in bloom.  I love the foliage on this species when it isn't in bloom as well.  The leaflet arrangement and upright growth reminds me of a Vanda.

[piping plovers]

7 hours ago, Tracy said:

.   I snapped a few photos with my phone but it was hardly representative of the breadth of genre on display.   I

Wow, the red ones! Masdevallias? As brilliant as flamingo flower anthurium.

[Tracy]

57 minutes ago, piping plovers said:

Wow, the red ones! Masdevallias?

Yes.  Meanwhile, back in my garden, the Cattleya intermdia "tipo" is also blooming near where I am growing ny Cymbidium wadae.  It provides a nice view from the deck and down below it.

 

[piping plovers]

I posted the first blooming plant a week ago. The 2nd larger one is now blooming and has 3 spikes.

What’s interesting is that some previous year bulbs spiked even though they had already produced a mature pup, some bulbs spiked while pupping, and others prior to even pupping (which I had thought that was the only way to expect to see spikes and after that the bloom window would close). So, a nice surprise knowing there is always hope.

 

 

 

 

 

[realarch]

In spite of the unusually dry weather, the orchids continue to bloom with relative vigor. The humidity is the saving grace as the root systems are dry to the touch, but the plants seem unfazed. 

I’ve tried to ID what is blooming, but not positive unless I can still find a tag. 

Encyclia diurna

 

[realarch]

Miltonia or Miltoniiopsis

 

[realarch]

Brassia, so fragrant. You can smell the scent throughout the surrounding area. Luckily there are many tied to palm trunks.

 

[realarch]

One of my favorites, Dendrobium cruentum with the thick fuzz in the throat.

 

[realarch]

This one gifted long ago, another prolific bloomer.

I think it’s a Coelogyne. 

 

Edited May 10 by realarch
Forgot attachment

[Silas_Sancona]

10 hours ago, realarch said:

This one gifted long ago, another prolific bloomer.

I think it’s a Coelogyne. 

 

  Looks like it to me..  Maybe Coel. pandurata " Spring Green "