Dendrobium hasseltii

Dendrobium hasseltii is a variable species both in plant size and flower color.  My plant is very small, only 8 cm, and the 2 cm flowers have very good color.  I've found the plant difficult to bloom and this is only the second flower I've had on it.  It requires cool to cold temperatures and I am providing that, but learned recently that it likes to be dried out a bit in the winter, so I'll have to do that and see if it produces more flowers then.

Phalaenopsis violacea var. alba

I do not grow but a couple of Phalaenopsis since I have neither the room nor the conditions for them.  The couple I do grow are not in my orchidarium but on a bathroom windowsill.  This is one of them, Phalaenopsis violacea var. alba, a variety without the usual purple markings of this species.  It is from Sumatra and Malaysia and blooms consecutively on stems that continue to lengthen for years.  It is not only very beautifully colored, in my opinion, but has a wonderful fragrance on warm summer days.  The plant can become very large with broad flat leaves, but the flowers are around 4 cm.

Phalaenopsis violacea var. alba.

I purchased this species as a tiny seedling and it has been in bloom off and on for several years now, as is characteristic of the species, which blooms on long lasting flower spikes that produce only one flower at a time but do so over many years.  The ordinary form of this species has purple coloring especially on the lower parts of the flower, but this is a colorless form or alba.  Phalaenopsis violacea is from Malaysia and Sumatra.

Phalaenopsis violacea var. alba

Once Phalaenopsis violacea begins to bloom, it is seldom out of bloom, since the flower spikes continue to lengthen and produce flowers, usually a few at a time.  The species is from Southeast Asia and is very fragrant, especially when it is warm.  My plant is still quite small but already has two flower spikes.