AboutOrchids

The tropical forests on Waigeo Island, which is off the western end of New Guinea, are famous for Wilson’s Bird of Paradise and other extraordinary plants and animals. Recently, a scientific expedition there cataloged 80 rare plants, including the deep sky-blue flowers of Dendrobium azureum. The species was scientifically discovered in 2013, after a dried specimen sent to the Natural History Museum in London nearly a century ago was re-found and finally identified. This stunning Dendrobium is one of only a few true-blue orchids. It will turn a lot of heads, and hopefully encourage the protection of this extraordinary area.

To learn more about Dendrobium azureum, check out Kew.org. It includes the story of British entomologist Lucy Evelyn Cheesman, who collected the original specimen sent to London.

This little Lady Slipper is colorful, cute, and fuzzy! Phragmipedium schlimii is native to the slopes of the Andes in Colombia. It’s smaller than most other Phragmipediums, or Phrags, so when I spotted this one for sale at last winter’s Pacific Orchid Expo, I figured I could find room for it indoors. A few months later, it popped open two adorable flowers. It stayed in bloom for almost a month. I’ve read that it has a light rose scent, but I didn’t detect any from mine.

Phrags grow similarly to Paphs, the more commonly sold Lady Slippers. In the wild, they often live near rivers and streams, or hanging from cliffs with trickling water which quickly drains away. In cultivation, they should be kept moist, but not saturated. They should not be left sitting in water. This species likes warm days and cool nights down to 60°F (16°C) or a little lower. Provide morning sun, high humidity, good air movement, and regular fertilizer.

The final photo above shows a 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) bloom, slightly larger than a US quarter. Like many Phrags, sizes or colors can vary within the species. Some have paler or more intense pink hues. Some have larger flowers than mine. As far as I know, they’re all fuzzy. I don’t know why, but it certainly adds to their charms.

Rwanda, a small, central African country, is home to over 240 native orchid species. The Orchid Project in Rwanda is an initiative of the African Community & Conservation Foundation (ACCF,) and works to save the country’s orchids, and restore them to their native habitats. Massive deforestation in the area has endangered plant and animals. The group has already rescued many orchids, including saving thousands of Cynorkis anacamptoides from destruction. They’re also trying to conserve varied forms of the beautiful Leopard Orchid, Ansellia africana. You can support their efforts by donating to the ACCF. It’s a non-profit organization, so contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Read more about Rwanda’s orchids at Orchids of Nyungwe, and Preserving the Fragile Beauty of Rwanda’s Indigenous Orchids.

Last weekend’s Orchids in the Park event in San Francisco featured plenty of great plants for sale. There was no show this year, but a few of the vendors put out displays, and the sales tables were their own visual feasts. The extensive variety on offer is evident in these photos.

It was very crowded while we were there, and some vendors had long lines to pick up pre-orders. I’ve been to busy events before, but I don’t recall seeing such bustling sales areas. Maybe the social-media and pandemic-inspired indoor plant craze has boosted business. Considering how hard these orchid vendors work, and what important conservation work many do, it was a refreshing sight. I came away with three new plants for myself. None were yet blooming, but I hope to keep them happy and highlight them in future posts.

Australia has a busy schedule this month, but there are also events in the USA, UK, New Zealand, and Colombia. Please wear a mask to indoor events and get a COVID vaccine to protect yourself and others.

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Would you like like to meet some charming, attractive Australians? Sarcochilus orchids are brilliant Aussie gems. They’ve been hybridized Down Under for a while, but until recently, there weren’t many hybrids available in the USA. Increasingly, I see more of them on sale and at orchid shows. This post includes 15 different varieties which were displayed at last spring’s Peninsula Orchid Society Show. The photos represent a sampling of the colors and markings that hybridizers have created so far. They boast crystal whites, bright yellows, stunning reds, and rich purples. Some have dazzling spots, and others have artistic splash patterns.

It’s no surprise that these plants resemble small Vandas, since they’re related and can hybridize. Most of these crosses are made from only a few species, including the vigorous Sarcochilus hartmannii, which I’ve grown for years. (I don’t breed or hybridize mine. I’m just happy that it blooms.)

Sarcochilus orchids are compact growers. In the wild, they live as air plants (epiphytes) or rock plants (lithophytes.) They enjoy cool temps, high humidity, good air movement, regular watering, and morning sun. They’re great for growing outdoors in mild, foggy climates like the San Francisco Bay Area, and can do well indoors on a cool windowsill. They must grow very well in the little town of Kulnura, Australia, north of Sydney. I’ve heard that an important Sarcochilus hybridizer lives there, and that’s why lots of these beautiful orchids bear this town’s name.

Species Orchidacearum is a free, online, serial publication, dedicated to tropical orchids. Peer-reviewed botanical works fill the five volumes already published, all highlighting Colombian orchids. Each volume details about a dozen species with scientific descriptions, photos, and maps. Check out the varieties covered so far. The goal of these publications is to promote universal access to this info.

Florida’s native Cigar Orchids have been vanishing for decades. Habitat destruction and overcollection of wild plants have decimated their numbers and endangered them, even in Big Cypress National Preserve. Fortunately, scientists like conservation ecologist Hong Liu are working to save them. She’s trying to find Cigar Orchids, or Cyrtopodium punctatum, to figure out how to protect them. It’s not easy to find rare plants in the 729,000 acre (295,000 hectare) preserve, even with a swamp buggy and the help of orchid lovers on social media. “If we see one plant, that’s a good day,” Liu said. “The majority of the searches, we see one or two. That’s the norm. That’s how sparse this population is over the huge size of Big Cypress.” After analyzing their data and presenting it to the park service, they plan to continue their work to conserve these breathtaking orchids.

Read more about this conservation work at NationalParksTraveler.org.

After a sunny spring, the summer fog has arrived, and it’s keeping our plants happy. Start the garden tour with the orchids in the first row of photos: a brilliant yellow and orange Prosthechea, a white and orange Coelogyne, and a hot pink Masdevallia.

There’s one more orchid, the white blooms in the first photo in the second row. They’re from my very reliable Sarcochilus. It didn’t have many flower spikes this year, probably because I neglected to repot it last year. It’s definitely next on my repotting list. In the next picture, our Aristea isn’t an orchid, but its tall spikes carry dazzling blue blossoms.. One of our new native plants, a Coastal Bush Lupine, is already attracting bumblebees to its yellow flowers.

The final row of photos includes spectacular cactus flowers, and a happy fuchsia. They’re all giving our garden a colorful start to summer.

Australia and New Zealand have busy schedules this month, but there are events above the equator, too, including San Francisco’s Orchids in the Park, July 30-31. Stay safe with vaccinations and masks at indoor events.

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