Thursday, October 27, 2016

Trisetella hirtzii


Like all the Trisetellas, this is a very small plant, only 3 cm tall, and the flowers, too, are typical of the genus both in color and with their odd little tails.  The flowers are 1 cm and the plants blooms prolifically during the winter.  It is from Ecuador and named after a well-known orchidist.  It is related to Masdevallia, and like them prefers cool temperatures and good humidity.




Monday, October 24, 2016

Masdevallia strobelii


This is one of my favorite MasdevalliasMasdevallia strobelii is small species from Ecuador in the section Saltatrices, with the typical hair-lined tubular and colorful flowers of that section.  It is intensely fragrant, blooms prolifically, has brightly colored flowers and is easy to grow, everything that could be asked.  Mine is grown in a plastic net pot in live sphagnum and always blooms several times a year.




Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Dendrobium alaticaulinum


Dendrobium alaticaulinum is a New Guinea Dendrobium from the Calyptrochilus section of that genus, though most of the New Guinea Dendrobiums I grow are from the Oxyglossum section.  The Calyptrochilus Dendrobiums tend to be large plants with long semi-pendant canes, but this species is very small in comparison, the canes around 15 cm.  The 2 cm flowers bloom at the end of the canes in clusters and do not open very widely.  The plant is not a very eager bloomer for me, but since I reduced the light a bit it has bloomed more freely, this the best blooming yet.



Thursday, October 13, 2016

Dendrobium oreodoxa x cuthbertsonii


I purchased this hybrid several years ago and as far as I know it is still unnamed.  It is a hybrid of the micro-miniature Dendrobium cuthbertsonii from section Oxyglossum and the much larger cane-type Dendrobium oreodoxa from section Calyptrochilus, both species from New Guinea.  The hybrid seems little influenced by the Dendrobium oreodoxa parent.  Both plant and flowers look like the other parent, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii.  The individual growths are less than 3 cm and the flowers are nearly 4 cm long.




Sunday, October 9, 2016

Masdevallia herradurae


Masdevallia herradurae or Acinopetala herradurae is a small, floriferous species from Colombia and Ecuador.  The plant is under 10 cm and the flowers are 2-3 cm.  When the plant is in bloom the flowers look like a clouds of dark insects hovering around the plant.  My plant is grown in a plastic net pot in live sphagnum.


Monday, October 3, 2016

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor


This is another one of my Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, the same species as the orange-flowered plant I posted not long ago, but this, obviously, is an entirely different color and is in fact a bicolored cultivar.  Like other plants of the species the flowers are veyr large for the size of the plant and last six to eight months.  The plant, some of which can be seen in the photos, is less than 3 cm tall and the flowers are 4-5 cm.  Some of my plants I grow in pots but this mounted on a piece of cedar shingle.