Orchid Man in the United Kingdom

Hello dear readers. Yes, there is an orchid like that and no I haven't been joking because i seen it sell for sums up to £2000 for beautiful mature speciments. I'll start with a picture - usually I don't start with a picture but this is a special case. Cattleya Warsewiczii or Gigas is an orchid of old. Called such because this species has it's history back in the 1900 in the golden era of Orchid discovery. But the history traces this one back to 1850 when H.G.Reichenbach decided to name a peculiar orchid with enormous flowers in honor of his dearest friend Polish botanist Joseph Warsewicz. Then things got a bit complicated because a certain Jean Jules Linden in 1873 published a separate publication naming this orchid Cattleya Gigas and pro-actively spreading the news. However incorrect and against the correct classification the growers took in the name Cattleya Gigas taking little notice of the correct horticulture classification.  Originally the orchi...

Hello my dear readers, I decided to write this article because of first of all my own experiences and then your own. Statistically guessing on this world there will be at least 5 or maybe 10 people wondering what is the difference between the complex hybrid and the American hybrid, and then there will be another 5 wondering why their American hybrid from this shop isn’t the same as their best friends from another one. Gezz… such confusion in the sentence alone! But be brave my friends you are not alone. First of all let’s recall what are Pahiopedilum orchids? Besides being outstandingly beautiful, alien and exotic they are also quite complex and different from the normal Phal. We may encounter in Tesco or other big store. They are terrestrial orchids growing on the bottom layer of the forest floor, preferring shadier positions with good humidity and quite a lot moisture. They are very much different from other orchid species as their labellum has in time changed into...

Hello all, As you probably recall from my previous post; Miltoniopsis - Why so serious?; i have raised a discussion on these beautiful orchids. I have a small bug towards them and they always catch my eye whenever I see them in a nursery, good or bad if they are nice I'm glued to them. Nevermind this, up to updates. The Miltoniopsis Herralexander is growing really well and quickly, the two growths it had are quite tall now, more that 8 inches both, some creased leaves but hey i can imagine it got shocked when i had to re-pot it to a totally new media and the summer was stupidly hot and humid. On the other had Miltoniopsis Newton Falls; the stunning deep red orchid is growing rather well too, in the same old media of bark and it doesn't have any creases - it its perfect and I mean damn! Perfect! But it's wobbly, again damn you bark! Note to myself this hybrid takes a 4 months break over summer to sit there and do nothing, to wake up in autumn and grow quickly. Around...

Well, well, well... what an awkward situation... (I'd really love to add the Maleficent GIF somewhere here). I should tell you the whole story from the beginning, although if you followed my YouTube channel you should know how it started; anyway in the start this orchid was expected to be something else. A totally different genre, cross, hybrid, family - you name it. When it formed a flower spike I was soo excited and then the buds, one by one, from pale green/white started turning deep purple and I panicked. Because what on earth is happening, it's not supposed be this color, why are there markings on the outside of the leaf. Oh my God! So, back to the matter at hand, this orchid is far away from the Aliceara I expected... and it's much much more than I could have hoped for! Miltassia Cairns "New River" (sometimes mistakenly named as Cairus) is a complex sympodial growing type orchid, with parents coming from both Miltonias and Brassia orchids. For those ...

One of the amazing things about Cattleya type orchids is the variety of forms they come on, from tiny wild flowers to very big flamboyant one's which are breathtaking. Somewhere there there is a hybrid which has sunny yellow flowers shaped like stars which has the most outstanding fragrance. This orchid is Brassocattleya Yellow Bird, a gem in flower with a very interesting foliage. First of all Brassavola is a very showy genus of the Cattleya family named first by Robert Brown in 1800 in the honour of a Italian botanist Antonio Musa Brassavola, with currently 20 species recognized in the registry. Brassavola orchids easily cross with other Cattleya genus orchids and have contributed to a vast amount of modern hybrids, and are well known especially for their outstanding evening fragrance and longevity of the flowers. The Yellow Bird was created by crossing  Brassavola nodosa × Cattleya Richard Mueller (Brassolaelia Richard Mueller (Bl. Richard Mueller); Brassophronitis Ri...

Paphiopedilum is by far one of my beloved orchids ever, and will always take a crown place in my collection. They are hassle free, don't require any special hot or cold temperatures or humidity. They prefer shadier places and bit more moisture, and the flowers can last for weeks. Paphiopedilum are divided into two cultural groups: the warm growing, more sun tolerant and with mottled leaves - like our famous Maudiae Green, and cold growing with plain leaves, preferring colder temperatures and more shade. Both types however require a bit colder nights for the flower buds to set but this isn't hard to achieve and a open window during the night should be suitable enough. Paphiopedilum Maudiae Green is a beautiful, old hybrid that stood the test of time for more than 100 years, where others have passed and gone out of fashion, this cross of P. callosum and P. lawrenceanum is still one of the most desired orchids ever. When you look at it you can easily understand why, the ...

1000 Views on Blog and Orchids update for July/Au…: https://youtu.be/gVYtGPeLZEE

This will be my first ID post where I'm not really ID-ing a orchid, because this is a nursery hybrid which is a result of so much crosses It would be impossible for me to guess. The very dark Paph orchid types are known as vinicolours and there are dozens of growers trying to "hit" the perfect black. In my wild guess it may be a Paph Mustafa's Hot Pink x Magic Leopard or something crossed with Paph. charlesworthii but i can't be sure. This Paphiopedilum however is wonderful, first of all because of its very deep purple/burgundy coloring which depending on the light it can seem almost black. Furthermore it has molted leaves which are very silky in appearance with a reddish tint to the center of the crown of the plant.  Besides in the nursery they had several of these and they showed some particular difference between the plants themselves. This is cause by the fact that Paphiopedilum orchids aren't grown like other orchids as clones, no they a...

Try reading the name... just try... right... I know let's just go with Potinara, right? This is my first ever cattleya which I got for myself, and since then It's still a bit of a experiment in turning as I'm observin how the plant is developing as it was delivered to me in a rather good condition, except the root system was badly damaged and more than 60% of it had to go. So, right now most of the new root growth comes from the new side growths and it look rather good for me. Potinara Kat E-Sun 'Caribbean' is a cross of Cattleya Beaufort and Rhyncholaeliocattleya Sunset Bay, both beautiful plants giving the offspring their wonderful colors and fragrance, also with a a noticeable vigor and growth. Furthermore the plants seems to be very resilient and able to survive the worst, even a huge lack of the root system. Best grown in a coarse medium like bark that allows the roots to be have plenty of oxygen but also a good access to moisture. As this is not...

There is perhaps this one orchid you like, well not entirely like. It's more like a curious unconscious attraction, but you are not sure why and not really sure if you would want this plant.You saw it somewhere online, or at your friends or at a show and still there is plenty other orchids you would rather buy than this. Yeah, this is me in this case and Banfieldara Gilded Tower is my such problem. I don't own this orchid (yet) and I'm not sure if it's love or hate or both at the same time. I really like it but I don't. "Mystic Maze" is a rather complex cross of Brassidium Gilded Urchin and Rhyncada (Adaglossum)Summit, yes that is a mouthful. The parentage is viable in the intense colors and the spider shape of the flower, also in the vigorous growth pattern and very tall and long flower spikes. It is also a thirsty orchid that requires a good potting mix, able to retain moisture and watering twice a week during the summer period when the temp...

I find this Cattleya very interesting, mostly because of it's uncommon coloring and spots. This post is long overdue since I got myself my young Catt. quite a while ago but since for my birthday I was gifted with another one everything in the world told me to do this ID entry, so here we go. There is a whole family of the Cattleya Tropical Pointer, starting with "Amethysto"; "Cheetah"; "Suwada", and "Galaxy", but there may be some other which I couldn't find and identify and proper hybrids. This family shows a great variety from size: mini cattleya to very large one's. Also in color, from pale yellow/pink with magenta spots in case of the "Cheetah" to dark orange like in the "Galaxy". The "Galaxy" itself shows to be a very good and strong grower, developing roots quickly and having a good rate of growth for the new bulbs, and from what I saw they can grow quite large and it will require ...

This is the orchid that everyone has it, almost everyone... ok some people. You can even say it's very common and you probably saw it at someone's house, in all of the big nurseries and shops that sell orchids, or someone had a YouTube video about it. Exactly, but wait, this doesn't mean it's common as in not worth having it. Miltonidium Bartley Schwartz is a very lovely Odontoglossum Alliance orchid, easy to care and growing well and fast, rewarding with spikes of medium sized but eye catching, fragrant flowers. Yes, I said fragrant. This hybrid was created by crossing Miltonia Red Pali and Oncidium Honolulu., giving a lovely combination of deep red petals and a white lip. Also it's a strong and fast grower that's why you can find it at a very low prices. (I purchased mine at a nursery for £3, amazing bargain and the plant is massive!) When it comes to requirements I can only say it's thirsty like most of the oncidium/odontoglossum type orchi...