Orchid blog
This blog is dormant at the moment, but it is still getting a lot of visitis so I will keep it up for you guys as a resource. My future adventures will be published on my new blog, hope to see you there!
My focus… if pressed to name favorites it would have to be orchids of the Pleurothallid Alliance. But a Paphiopedilum was the first orchid I ever fell in love with so slipper orchids will always be close to my heart, and while we are on the subject I might as well disclose a love affair with Neofinetia as well.
Paphiopedilum St. Swithin
A rather large plant in my collection, Paphiopedilum St. Swithin (rothschildianum x philippinense), a classic cross registered back at the turn of the last century. The tag actually says Paphiopedilum philippinense, but this is abviously not the case... though most likely a St. Swithin. Regardless, it is an impressive multi-floral primary hybrid from the subgenus Polyantha and it sure does command respect when in blooms. The beautifully striped flowers measure nearly 10 cm tall with a petal wingspan of [...]
Paphiopedilum Leeanum
The slipper parade continues, it is Paphiopedilum season after all. Let me present Paphiopedilum Leeanum, a lovely primary hybrid with Paphiopedilum insigne as the seed parent and Paphiopedilum spicerianum as the pollen contributor. It is an old classic as far as hybrids go, registered in Britain in back in 1884 when the orchid hybridization craze was first gaining momentum. Leeanum was one of the first of many successful insigne crosses exhibiting enormous vitality and eagerness to bloom, a quality making insigne very popular in hybridization [...]
Paphiopedilum appletonianum
Paphiopedilum appletonianum is a personal favorite in my collection. I know I say this every year, but everytime it blooms I feel this way so it must be true then. Not only do I like that the flowers last for several months I also adore the color combination and the purple-brown, lightly hairy and ridiculously long inflorescence often measuring up to half a meter long! The lovely light mottled leaves add some extra appeal even [...]
Paphiopedilum purpuratum
This stunning species hail from southeastern China and Vietnam where it grows at elevations of 500-1400 meters. It is a small and fairly easy going species. It does not require a whole lot of light and can handle a wide temperature range from warm to intermediate and a grows either terrestrially or as a lithopyhte on limestone cliffs in nature. The leaves are beautifully mottled in a pale and dark green rather graphic modern camo pattern. Commonly called the purple Paphiopedilum it is as to be [...]
Diodonopsis pygmaea… or is it?
This plant originally comes from Ecuagenera who sell it under the name Diodonopsis pygmaea. However, I am not convinced that this is correct. Although my plant and flower matches the picture on Ecuageneras website, other photos of this species show a rather different looking plant and flower. For one, there is nothing pygmy about this pygmaea... The plant is much larger that I had expected with leaves measuring about 8-10 cm and with a much broader flower measuring about 1.5 cm. My best guess [...]
Paphiopedilum vejvarutianum
This is a small terrestrial species from southwestern China and Thailand. Found around 500 to 750 meters, it is a warm grower, but I grow it kind of intermediate and it seems to handle that just fine too. It is a fairly new species, only just described in 2003, although it may have been on the market under the name Paphiopedilum charlesworthii var. kanchanaburi before. The flower measures about 15 cm across and feels quite large for [...]