Sigmatostalix graminea

Sigmatostalix graminea looks like a tiny Oncidium and is in fact related to that genus.  It is a micro-miniature, the plant only 5 cm tall with tiny pseudobulbs and a tiny fan of deeply channeled leaves.  Its successively flowered spikes that come from the base of the pseudobulbs.  The flowers are a mere 5mm in size.  It is from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

Promenaea xanthina

All the Promenaea species are miniatures and all are from Brazil.  They are small plants with large flowers and worth growing if one can provide cooler temperatures and good humidity.  One of the more brightly colored species is Promenaea xanthina with its beautiful yellow flowers.  The plant is only 6-8 cm tall with small flattened pseudobulbs and soft, pale green foliage.  The flowers are 4-5 cm in size and make a good display if happy.

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Dendrobium Mountain Magic

This is another Dendrobium cuthbertsonii hybrid, a cross of that species and Dendrobium pseudoglomeratum, a very large plant.  The flowers look quite a bit like the flowers of that second species but the plant is very much reduced in size to 15 cm.  The flowers are still very large, however, 4 cm long.  The plant blooms several times a year and is more tolerant of warm temperatures than its Dendrobium cuthbertsonii parent.  My plant is grown in live sphagnum in a clay pot with cool temperatures and good humidity and light.

Dendrobium Illusion

Dendrobium Illusion is a hybrid of Dendrobium cuthbersonii and Dendrobium lawesii.  It is only 12 cm tall and has 3 cm flowers.  I have three plants of this cross and this plant has the largest and most open flowers.  They are also orange where the other plants have flowers that are red or red-orange.The plant is much easier to grow than either parent and tolerates warmer temperatures than Dendrobium cuthbertsonii.  It is almost always in flower.

Acianthera bragae

Acianthera bragae, also known as Pleurothallis sarracenia, is a tiny species with deeply channeled terete (pencil-like) leaves.  The leaves are 3 cm long and grow in a row on a creeping stem.  The 2 cm flowers usually come in pairs with the flowers facing each other, but occasionally as one.  The species is from Brazil.  I grow it mounted giving it cool temperatures, high humidity and good light.

Cirrhopetalum frostii

I do not grow a lot of Cirrhopetalums or Bulbophyllums, but this is one I have had for many years and it  finally bloomed for me this spring.  It is an attractive plant with fat 2 cm oval pseudobulbs closely spaced along a thick rhizome and  4 cm oval leaves.  The short flower spike comes from the base of the pseudobulb and has two or three flowers, 3 cm in size, that are often compared to a Dutch wooden shoe or a slipper.

Dendrobium Illusion

I have three different plants of this cross, a hybrid of the tiny Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and the much larger Dendrobium lawesii.  This plant is intermediate between the other two, one of which has larger flowers that are orange in color and the other which has smaller flowers which are more red in color.  They are all around 12 cm tall and the flowers are 3 cm in size.