This is the first time this flashy little Restrepia is blooming for me and I have really been looking forward to it. The colors and patterns of the large fused lateral sepals, the defining character of Restrepia, can be quite stunning. Restrepia muscifera is one of the most incredible of them all. I love the distinct purple dots contrasting against the bright yellow and white […]
Trichosalpinx (trick-oh-SAL-pinks), mmm… say that five times fast. Trichosalpinx is a genus of about 100 tropical American species closely related to Pleurothallis. What differentiates the genus is the ringed sheaths on their stems, you can see these on the second and third photos below. The generic name actually means “trumpet with hairs,” and although I am not that fond of generic names they can be […]
I got this orchid from Ecuagenera at the show in Gothenburg about a month ago. It is such an impressive species and I have been wanting one for a long time. It came with two old inflorecenses and they came to life again producing new buds as soon as I got it home. The inflorecense measure about 45 cm long and keep growing as […]
I have been working on solving a problem, a rather nice problem I suppose… but a problem never the less. All the mounted orchids in the cool vivarium are doing really well and are growing like crazy. They are also putting out roots like crazy. A lot of them have grown straight through the EpiWeb mounts and begun to attach to the back wall. […]
I just adore this little Masdevallia, the shear texture of the flowers and the super long sepals, mmmm it really does something for me. You know you are dealing with a real mini when the moss is threatening to overtake the orchid, ha ha. Well, I love the “real” look the moss ads to the scene. These two small orchids are mounted high up on […]
A very nice Masdevallia endemic to Costa Rica where is grows in the cloud forests from 1400 to 2200 meters. It is fairly tolerant of warmer temperatures and I actually bloomed this on the windowsill in my intermediate growing room before moving it into the cool vivarium in April. The flowers measure about 7 cm and each inflorescence usually produce up to three flowers each […]
Masdevallia ayabacana was named after the Ayabaca Province in northwestern Peru. Its is a medium to large size epiphyte where it grows in the cloud forests at altitudes of 1200-1800 meters. I grow mine potted in EpiWeb substrate on the bottom of the cool vivarium, but it is quite tolerant to warmer temperatures as well. It boasts a very long inflorescence of about about 35cm and it keeps […]
Dracula chimaera is a small sized cold grower from the cloud forests of Colombia. I have always admired this very large Dracula species and I have anxiously followed the development of the bud all summer. Today the flower has opened up and it is amazing!! It can carriy up to 6 single flowers in succession so I am looking forward to many more […]
This is a small epiphyte from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador where it grows along streams at altitudes between 400 and 1100 meters. Since it grows on pretty low altitudes it is also more tolerant to warmer temperatures and do well in intermediate culture. The small flowers are perhaps not as showy as some other Masdevallia, but […]
It was finally time to repot the little seedlings I bought from Ecuagenera in flasks at the orchid show in Gothenburg 2008. Since deflasking them I have grown them intermediate/warm in a small mini-greenhouse and communal pots with sphagnum moss. It is recommended you grow all small seedlings, even cool growers, a bit warmer but now I thought they […]
