They are charming!
You know, sometimes I think some Orchids have a specific life span too. No matter what you do, you notice a steady decline, impossible to stop.

Elaine, my renate had a cute little bud right now

Wonderful, Jen. Mine is just finished this round of bloom, so it will be neat if ours alternate blooming. I think I get blooms about every 4 months on this one.

Glen, Your Epidendrums are lovely! I have a couple that have been part of the landscape for many years, but every time I try one of the new hybrids, it dies on me. I guess they just aren't as tough as the species.

Same here, Carol. I've had that pretty coral color like Glen's first pic, and I also had a nice yellow one, but they all peter out on me except the blazing orange. Maybe I was too kind to them? The orange one just gets thrown around, and broken up to start keikis in random spots.

I was given one at our orchid club meeting..they do that once a year ..which is worth the price of being a member !
The table was loaded with Catt's, Cyms..Phals and Epi's...I SO wanted one of the Catt's ( from Krull-Smith) but was handed a tiny pink Epi. instead...I pouted..like a 3 year old...thinking this was some kind of Vanda...and me being recently liberated from the daily drudgery of being owned by a pack of ungrateful Vandas.. was not happy about being saddled with yet another ungrateful and needy plant. One of our members, who is also a very knowledgeable AOS judge saw me pouting and came over to tell me just how special this little plant was and that I should give it a chance as it would really reward me... It seems happy enough out there..growing roots and sending up new growth..it's only a few inches tall and I almost need a magnifying glass to see it tucked in-between the large Cattleya pots..


Epi. Lovely Valley 'Usubeni'
But, I am determined to give it a chance!

You will learn to love it! They are very easy growers and bloom almost year round here, though I have found that the hybrids aren't as tough as the species.

Lindsey, it looks very healthy!

A few weeks ago I heeded the advice given on this forum to place Max. tenuifolia in brighter light for better blooming. I moved mine next to the Cattleyas into the middle of the cage in bright light! You were right!! I never had this thing blooming in July like this. Normally I get a couple of blooms in the Spring and that is it.
(I had to move it to take pictures, it was hanging high up in the cage.)

Thanks!

The thanks belong to Andy! He's the one that kept telling me "more sun".

I guess in Nj it really needed more sun!!
In addition, around here I think it was also Ted and Mike.

Mine is in the fullest sun possible and no more blooms to report..but perhaps, I'm asking too much, as it was a supermarket plant that came in bloom...it is putting out lots of new growth, so I'm not ready to ditch it ..just yet!

Mine has just finished. Now I need to decide what to do with it.

I had a few blooms back in April, I think. I'm giving mine some good strong sun now, and it looks happy but haven't seen any more buds.

I have moved my M. tenufolia into more sun, on the SW side of my house...The only thing I've seen is a few leaves that have looked a bit "sunburned". It doesn't seem to be too stressed by that, but, as yet, I'm not seeing any blooming, or even "want to be" blooming. Still keeping

Glad it worked, Ursula. I think if your moving a plant from shade to sun, you need to do it in steps. My Max is still in bloom, though some are fading , and the smell is still strong.

Here is another variation of the B. nodosa. This is the B. nodosa 'Exotic Orchids' x B. nodosa 'Palmer'. This is her first blooming. Her flowers are about 50% larger than those of the B. nodosa grandiflora and twice as large as the B. nodosa 'Little Stars'.





grandifora Little Stars

Here's the sub-compact/miniature, Gramm. scriptum v. 'Kiilani', mounted on a gnarly piece of cypress. I love those leopard spotted flowers. These plants generally bloom 2-3 times each year when mature and I know this one is now in its fourth blooming.

I like the nodosa 'Exotic Orchids' x 'Palmer' very much. Surely it smells wonderful!

Regarding the Brassavola Little Stars, it is a hybrid of nodosa x subuliflora, Little Stars is not the clonal name.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticu...

I had no idea a Gram. scriptum cultivar could be so manageable! Nice!!

The Gramm. has not been a finicky orchid for me. She gets a bit of morning sun but primarily gets (pretty heavy) dappled shade from the oak trees canopy. I have several mounted and several more potted, and she seems to prefer being mounted.