Dendrobium Mountain Magic

This is another Dendrobium cuthbertsonii hybrid, a cross of that species and Dendrobium pseudoglomeratum, a very large plant.  The flowers look quite a bit like the flowers of that second species but the plant is very much reduced in size to 15 cm.  The flowers are still very large, however, 4 cm long.  The plant blooms several times a year and is more tolerant of warm temperatures than its Dendrobium cuthbertsonii parent.  My plant is grown in live sphagnum in a clay pot with cool temperatures and good humidity and light.

Dendrobium Illusion

Dendrobium Illusion is a hybrid of Dendrobium cuthbersonii and Dendrobium lawesii.  It is only 12 cm tall and has 3 cm flowers.  I have three plants of this cross and this plant has the largest and most open flowers.  They are also orange where the other plants have flowers that are red or red-orange.The plant is much easier to grow than either parent and tolerates warmer temperatures than Dendrobium cuthbertsonii.  It is almost always in flower.

Acianthera bragae

Acianthera bragae, also known as Pleurothallis sarracenia, is a tiny species with deeply channeled terete (pencil-like) leaves.  The leaves are 3 cm long and grow in a row on a creeping stem.  The 2 cm flowers usually come in pairs with the flowers facing each other, but occasionally as one.  The species is from Brazil.  I grow it mounted giving it cool temperatures, high humidity and good light.

Cirrhopetalum frostii

I do not grow a lot of Cirrhopetalums or Bulbophyllums, but this is one I have had for many years and it  finally bloomed for me this spring.  It is an attractive plant with fat 2 cm oval pseudobulbs closely spaced along a thick rhizome and  4 cm oval leaves.  The short flower spike comes from the base of the pseudobulb and has two or three flowers, 3 cm in size, that are often compared to a Dutch wooden shoe or a slipper.

Dendrobium Illusion

I have three different plants of this cross, a hybrid of the tiny Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and the much larger Dendrobium lawesii.  This plant is intermediate between the other two, one of which has larger flowers that are orange in color and the other which has smaller flowers which are more red in color.  They are all around 12 cm tall and the flowers are 3 cm in size.

Dryadella barrowii

I am not 100% sure of the identification of this plant since I purchased it as something else, but my references indicate that it is Dryadella barrowii.  It has arching leaves 8 cm in length and the flowers that do not open widely and have a spread of 2 cm.  It blooms in late winter or early spring and grows in a clay pot in sphagnum moss.  It, like most of my orchids, prefers cool temperatures.