This amazing creation has been well worth waiting for… I have been watching the scary looking buds swell for weeks now and finally the amazing, fleshy and brutal creations have opened! It is something straight out of an H.R. Giger painting …or perhaps Little Shop of Horrors – and I love it!! I knew what the flowers were supposed to look like when I […]
It is not hard to see how this Masdevallia got its name. The elegantly compressed sepaline tube is very distinct and somewhat reminiscent of a swan’s neck. Although I find the shape curiously intriguing, what is most impressive about this species is the sheer size of the flower in comparison to the plant. The flower is held well above the leaves and the long and […]
This is a warm to intermediate growing miniature epiphyte found on Grenada and down through the southern neotropical Americas. I keep it mounted in the warm vivarium, quite bright and humid, but I allow it to dry out a bit in between waterings. I got it from Peruflora last April and this is the first bloom for me. I can’t find much information about […]
I just can’t get enough of this fantastic little mini Masdevallia! Despite its meager size Masdevallia picturata is one of my absolute favorites, and has been so ever since I first saw one. I tried to grow it once before I built the cool vivarium, and I am sad to say I failed… but now I can provide the right conditions for it and finally […]
This is an amazing little Masdevallia that I feel no Pleurothallid grower really should be without. Masdevallia decumana has very impressive and large flowers, in fact this orchid is commonly referred to as the large flowered Masdevallia. My flower measures about 5 cm wide, not counting the long elegant sepals that extend far wider than the plant itself. Be sure to look at the […]
Coelogyne is a fairly large genus of more than 200 species primarily consisting of epiphytes with a few terrestrial and lithophyte exceptions. The wide distribution, from tropical lowland forests up to montane rain forests mean that temperature preferences vary from species to species. This is Coelogyne nitida, a medium size, intermediate to cool growing species registered by John Lindley in 1824. It has been […]
This mini Cattleya comes from the German grower Karge and it is even named after their town. It is a small plant measuring about 20 cm tall altogether but with rather large flowers in relation to the plant. The delicate lavender flowers measure almost 8 cm accross. It is not really my type normally, but it faithfully blooms two or three […]
I do not grow many Phalaenopsis, but I must admit that I really am smitten by this little hybrid. It looks like a little ray of sunshine in my window, something we are in rather short supply of this time of year. Mini Mark is the result of a very successful cross between Phalaenopsis Micro Nova (maculata x parishii) and philippinense. My […]
This small sized epiphyte hails from northern Peru and southeast Ecuador where it grows at altitudes of 1500 to 2000 meters. The name, Masdevallia lilacina, is supposed to reflect the lilac color of the flowers, and I must say that I was actually a smidge disappointed when mine turned out more cream and green than lilac…! Oh, don’t get me wrong. I love green […]
I have the pleasure of introducing an unexpected, but very welcome, Masdevallia guest – or shall we say free passenger. It came in the same pot as my Dracula barrowii, purchased from Orchids & More in 2009 but I did not discover it until now when it decided to bloom. I knew something was up as soon as it started to spike. Dracula […]