Orchid Care Tips Blog

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.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Orchid Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.