House orchids

[Tony Willis]

A plant I got as Cymbidium iridoides which it is not but still very nice to have.

[Peter Maguire]

That's a lovely soft pink Cymbidium Tony, whatever it's name is.

[Steve Garvie]

I have only a handful of "House Orchids" -the ubiquitous Phalaenopsis hybrid and some chinese Paph. species which were bought as cheap "rooted cuttings" on the internet.
Lacking any knowledge of how to grow them I thought I would try them in the same "compost" as the spotted -leaf Cyps. They are in small pots containing pumice and limestone rubble and dry out slightly between watering. They live on the west-facing windowsill of a cool (cold) bathroom.

Paphiopedilum wenshanense -originally thought to be a wild hybrid between concolor & bellatulum but now treated as a species in its own right.


Paphiopedilum armeniacum-still in flower after 8 weeks.

[monocotman]

Steve,
Very nice species and not the easiest to grow.
Here are a couple of Phragmipedium hybrids.
These are easy house orchids provided that they sit in a very weak feed year round, rather like disas.
First is Suzanne Decker with large pink flowers nearly six inches across.
Next is a named division of Phragmipedium Don Wimber called 'remembrance' with really nice orange blooms.
David

[François Lambert]

Well done, François, they look really nice and I'm sure they give you a lot of pleasure in your office.

I'm not doing anything 'special' in my care for these, but since I posted this pic they just keep on flowering.  I did notice that the long days make them grow much faster than in winter.  In winter it takes months for one inflorescence to start to flower, while the 16+ hours of daylight now do the same job in just a few weeks.

[Nova]

Paphiopedilum godefroyae fma. leucochilum with a close up on it's private parts

[monocotman]

I just had to share this time lapse video of an orchid.
An artist at work.
Plus he lives on the island of Gigha,
David

[Maggi Young]

I just had to share this time lapse video of an orchid.
An artist at work.
Plus he lives on the island of Gigha,
David

Well, fancy that - and by the famous garden of Achamore, too!  http://www.healingorchids.com/     http://www.achamorehouse.com/

[Peter Maguire]

This orchid is in flower at present - there never seem to be more than three flowers open on a stem at once, and the oldest one is always just showing brown tips to the falls at that point. Here's my best effort - Encyclia cochleata.

Many thanks to Roma for the gift of the plant 

[Roma]

Looking good, Peter.  Mine has been having 5 or 6 blooms open at a time this summer.  3 or 4 is more usual with an occasional 5.  It will slow down soon but keep opening 1 or 2 flowers at a time till quite late in the year when the flowering spike dies off and a new one can be seen appearing from the new pseudobulb

[hud357]

Just noticed the 'bellatulum' type plants above.

Would they be suitable for a constant temperature(very bright) 'terrarium' currently cycling around 25C? Do they need shade?

Under what conditions have you persuaded them to flower?

[Roma]

I managed to catch Encyclia cochleata with 6 flowers last month.

[Peter Maguire]

Very nice Roma, and not a brown tip to a petal anywhere.

[monocotman]

Hi

Another water loving Phragmipedium hybrid flowering after being grown from a seedling in the kitchen.
This one is a cross with the huge purple species kovachii that has only been recently discovered and the popular hybrid Hanne Popow.
The grex name is memoria mariza Rolando and this seedling is probably one of the best yet flowered.
A lovely hot pink and very symmetrical,

David

[Maggi Young]

My word, a very rich, but not  garish, pink.  Very nice, David.