The following is a repost from our July 2016 thread

sugarcane said:
One of my NOID plants that went to Miami and came back without her tag is in bloom today..
I'm almost certain that it is Blc. Keowee 'Newberry'....well I'm almost certain about the Keowee 'Newberry ' part...the Blc. part....not so much! Hilarious!


I thought it might be a good idea to show how one can check the Genus by searching the RHS Orchid register.

Ursula said:
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticu...

Whenever I am not sure, I simply omit the Genus when I do a search at the RHS register.
In this case type in Keowee into the Grex line here
(Scroll down on this page to parentage search)
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticu......
In this case you will get two results. Clicking on the first reveals my posted link, which shows it is now a Bc, not a Blc any longer.

When I am searching on OrchidWiz, I also omit the genus name and search on the species/grex name. After the search, I can pick the appropriate genus as the latest one is highlighted.

Jim

Try this one if you want to know the updated name of your Orchid:
http://www.orchidroots.com
Don't include any variety or clonal name.

Thanks, Ursula. That will be helpful, especially to those who do not have OrchidWiz.

Jim

I am given to understand that this website takes their clues from the RHS.

It is different than OrchidWiz in that you can input the genus name, even though it's wrong. If I tried that with OrchidWiz I would hit a wall and be done.

Jim

I checked it by writing in Potinara Hoku Gem and it gave me the new name Bc Hoku Gem.

@hawkarica, @Ursula,

Is there anything in the name that would give you an idea of what size the plant will be?

ie. mini vs compact vs large or giant?

Or do you have to know specific parentage to know figure what size the orchid will be?

Donna, just looking straight at a totally unfamiliar name, I would be harder to guess what size the plant is or will be.
But then, looking at the parentage of Cattleyas - if I see something with Guarianthe bowringiana, I might expect a tall, good size Orchid. Or on the other hand looking at a primary hybrid with C. walkeriana I might be thinking window sill or something like that. Most Rlc are good sized too. And anything with Grammatophyllum will take over your house! Most Pleurothallids stay at a manageable size, while there are many Cymbidiums (not all) which get to be huge.
So I would say it is a mix of experiences, simply having seen a lot pf Orchids.

Well, guess you just have to know orchids or orchid folks (with experience) to know which ones are the mini's....

Thanks for your response...

Donna, that's one of the reasons going to shows is helpful as you can see many plants at once and make assumptions that usually hold true.. if a tiny or small plant is in bloom it often will stay manageable.. if you see huge 18" bare root sections, you can assume it will be large. Many of the mail order will have a soda can or something else next to the plant to give you an idea of its size. If you are looking for mini's I'm happy to give you the names of my few that have stayed window sill size. Also, I know marble branch farms has sub compact and compact plants on their website.

There are a few with "Mini" in the name though - I recall having one called . . something Mini-Quinnee and the leaves were very small.

But it's true that you can be pretty sure of buying small or compact sized plants if you shop in person at orchid shows, or if you shop online from a reputable seller (not eBay!) and they list the plant with a description as compact or windowsill size.

Thanks Lindsey & Elaine,

That is good advise... to wait and go to some shows...

Looking at pictures, most seem to have blooms and appear small, but you really can't tell in pictures what size they will actually be. The largest majority of them I've looked at on line don't identity size. And I hate to bother sellers with questions if I may not buy...

But thanks for your input..

Edit: And Lindsey I'd love the names of some mini's to be looking at info on them...

Try Andy's Orchids. You can sort his orchids on his site to show only mini's. Also, he usually has sizes of the leaves and blooms listed for each plant. But there is still nothing better that going and seeing for yourself.

Donna,
B. Jairak Kiss
Bc. Marg Putman 'Doris' has stayed within window sill limits...so far ( a few years)
Bc. Richard Mueller x C. fascelis
Bl. Yellow Bird..you would probably want to divide this every few years..it's small but grows like a weed was a bag baby from Lowes' Better Grow?
Blc. Solar Flare 'Paradise'
Blc. Hawaii Stars 'Paradise' was a bag baby from Lowe's
Blc. Rustic Spots 'H & R' H & R orchids
Blc. Hoku Gem
Bpl. Golden Peacock 'Orange Beauty'
C. Carriad's Mini Quinee 'Angel Kiss'
C. Love Castle 'Kuren' has stayed small for me
C. Royal Beau 'Hihimanu
Epi. Lovely Valley 'Usubeni'
Grt. Why Not
Pot. Coral Gold 'Pacific Rainbow' Krull-Smith
Psychopsis Accent Orchids
Rby. Haiku Dawn ' Sunshine & Raspberries Kawamoto
Toulumnias
Slc. Jewel Box Sherezad Red Krull -Smith
Slc. Jungle Gem x Slc. Red Jewel Krull- Smith

Thanks Ted, that is some site... Yes, that's what I'll have to do, go see... Just thought it would be good to get info on some before hand to look for.. or better yet have an idea of what I'm looking for..

edit: Oppps, we cross posted Lindsey.. Thanks...

Donna, to answer your question, there is a place in an orchid name for size information and that would be in the variation (var.) discription. It would be rare to find it but that is where it would go. You can go back in this thread and read my description of var. and f. If you like.

Jim

Thanks Jim.... I will do that... I'd thought I'd read the flower size could be in the description.

Wow looking at Orchids on line... How do you all keep up????

Guess you just have to see what you like when you see it, like folks have said.

I'm just hoping to keep on the small side, and wanting to check some of them out as to
what I want to look for.. Mini/small/compact, prolific bloomer and fragrant...

May be asking to much.... Wish the names had all that info in it.
I'm sure experience in specific orchid names helps...

That's info you can glean over time by watching the blooms thread, Donna. When you see someone posting a flower you like, ask questions - we all love to chat about our plants.

As I recall, recently Ursula has posted her Mini Purple, and the 'Love Knot' that are both small and fragrant so you might want to scroll back and look for them.