Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor

I grow numerous clones of this species in all different colors and sizes, but this is one of my favorites.  I like the rose-purple and the clear color differentiation, as well as the fact that the flowers open widely.  Like at Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, this is a tiny plant, only a couple of centimeters tall with huge flowers for the size of the plant, in this case 4-5 cm.

Trichoceros hajekiorum

I am not entirely sure of the identification of this species.  It was purchased a Trichoceros species from Peru and seems to fit best the description of Trichoceros hajekiorum.  It has a rambling habit with the small pseudobulbs spaced at 3-4 cm intervals, each carrying a tiny leaf at the top of the pseudobulb and with larger sheathing leaves around the pseudobulb.  The 8 cm flower spikes come from the base of the pseudobulb and carry two flowers.

 

Dendrobium vexillarius

Dendrobium vexillarius is a high altitude miniature species from Papua New Guinea.  It is variable both in plant size and in flower color, producing flowers in a rainbow of colors on plants that are even smaller than this or four to five times as large.  My plant is 8cm tall.  The unusually colored flowers are 3 cm and last for many months.  They are produced at the end of the older pseudobulbs, often after the leaves have fallen off, and are usually two or three to each growth.

Dendrobium christyanum

Dendrobium christyanum is from Thailand, Vietnam and China and has huge flowers for the size of the plant.  My plant is about 5 cm tall and the flowers are about the same size.  It belongs to the group of Dendrobiums known as nigrohirsute Dendrobiums, referring to the black hairs with which the plant is covered and it is sometimes found under the older name, Dendrobium margaritaceum  It blooms in the summer and is temperature tolerant.  The flowers are fragrant.

Phragmipedium Cardinale 'Birchwood'

Phragmipedium Cardinale 'Birchwood' is an awarded clone of an older Phragmipedium hybrid.  It is a hybrid of Phragmipedium schlimii and Phragmipedium Sedenii.  The plant actually belongs to my son who won it at an orchid society Christmas dinner.  It was in bloom at that time, but not doing very well, with a lot of dead leaves and black leaf tips.  We keep it in a saucer of water so that it is soaking wet at all times and grow it on a bathroom windowsill.  It has put up numerous new growths and the black leaf tips have stopped. It now flowers faithfully every year and sometimes twice a year.

Promenaea xanthina

This miniature, easy-to-grow species is from Brazil.  Like the other species in the genus it produces large flowers for the size of the plant and require cooler temperatures, high humidity and good air movement.  Promenaea xanthina is the best-known species in the genus and the most readily available.  It has 5 cm flowers on an 8 cm plant and blooms prolifically late spring to early summer when happy.