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Epilaelia Bussey x Lc. Trick or Treat, floriferous, easy to grow, short plants, blooms 1-2 months
SLC Mine Gold ‘OC’ AM/AOS, blooms 2-3 weeks, floriferous
In the front of this image is Odontioda George McMahon. In the back on the left is Oda. Golden Rialto. Both beautiful plants to grow.
The first two of these Masdevallia Orchids below are wild species Orchids and the third is a hybrid. Caring for hybrid and wild Orchids is no different - it always depends on the particular kind of Orchid. Wild Orchids aren’t necessarily any more difficult to care for, especially since they are used to conditions found in nature.
Masdevallia Orchids are part of the Pleurothallidinae tribe, or easier to say, the Pleurothallid Alliance. There are many wonderful Orchids as part of this category. Here are a few below, but just a heads up, we have a ton of favorites we will be posting in coming weeks and months, amongst other kinds of Orchids of course. 
Masdevallia princeps ‘Golden Gate’ AM/AOS - great grower, very interesting flower shape
Masdevallia tridens ‘Casa Blanca’ - unique flower shape, floriferous, high shade Orchid
Masdevallia Mary Staal ‘Sun God’ - large, bright flowers, full shape, floriferous
In this photograph from POE 2006, you can see a sampling of the kinds of amazing displays present. This particular one was a volcano exhibit in the show area.
This was the Golden Gate Orchids display at Pacific Orchid Exposition 2006. Tom Perlite, who runs Golden Gate Orchids, in the SF Bay area, is one of my favorite Orchid growers/sellers anywhere. His greenhouses are packed with high quality Orchids, many being award winners. I’ve always been amazed at the quality. He has many compact and miniature Orchids, as well as very hard to find varieties. If you can get to visit his greenhouses, you can be sure you’ll see some prolific, amazing Orchids worth buying.
This image is from the cafeteria upstairs in the Pacific Orchid Exposition 2006. This is the back part of the building and as you can see, this show is huge! It is in the Marina district of San Francisco, with this exhibition hall divided in two halves. The first half of the show when you walk in the door (furthest in this photograph) is the show area. Then, the other half, closest in this photograph, is the sales area. There is an amazing selection of exhibitors and sellers from around the world at this show. I have not yet heard of a better yearly show.
This is Odontonia Woodstir from the show area. It has large flowers on single arching stems. Odontonias prefer a colder environment at night than some other Orchids, enjoying temperatures down into the 50’s. In fact, that cooler temperature helps them bloom better during their blooming season. Flowers last 1.5-3 months depending on how care is, how many flower stems there are, humidity, and more. Flowers on this particular Orchid are about 3″ in diameter.
This is an Arpophyllum giganteum, a beautiful large Orchid from the show part. This Orchid species is easy to grow, likes intermediate temperatures, and medium light exposure.
This is Dendrobium specio-kingianum. It is an easy Orchid species to grow outdoors in the SF Bay area, Los Angeles, and other areas with similar temperatures. This plant can take temperatures overnight down into the 40’s and 50’s. It has small purple/white flowers as do most varieties of Dendrobium kingianum.
This is Masdevallia ignea displayed from one of my favorite Orchid growers, Golden Gate Orchids. This is a species which needs shade to medium light, good ventilation, and a good potting mix. These Orchids are really beautiful. Please note that since this Orchid is on display here, it is quite a number of Orchids put together in one pot.
If you have any questions, please post them in the comment field and I will answer within a day or two in the evening. More images and information coming every day to this blog.
I first have to thank Lia T. for these photos - amazing job she did at Pacific Orchid Exposition 2006!
This category, Orchid lessons learned from the Pacific Orchid Exposition 2006 event, is for information I can teach you about Orchids from these photos at Pacific Orchid Exposition 2006. I will plan to post something every evening with good insight for you to learn more about Orchids.
I had time years ago to also post a gallery of photos from Pacific Orchid Exposition here. Feel free to take a look and hopefully you learn some good information.
Ok, so now on with the photos!