Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

I have so many different plant of this species, that I don't remember whether or not I posted this one recently, and haven't bothered to check.  This, again, is Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, one of the most desirable of all miniature orchids.  It is from New Guinea and from the Oxyglossum section of the genus Dendrobium.  The plants vary slightly in size but at most are only a few centimeters tall with flowers that dwarf the plant.  This particular plant has very large flowers and has bicolor (two-toned) flowers.

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Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor

Here is another clone of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, this a bicolor.  Though the flowers are not as large as some of the more modern selected clones, this has very clear color and a very well defined between the two colors of the flowers.  Like others of this species the plant is very small, less than 3 cm, with flowers that dwarf the plant and last for months.  The species is from New Guinea and is cool-growing, but requires high light, a combination not all growers are able to give it.

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Dendrobium hellwigianum

I have two different plants of Dendrobium hellwigianum, one of them a darker pink and with less of a bluish cast to the flowers.  The species seems easy enough to grow when given cool temperatures and high light.  In this case the plant is 10 cm tall and the individual flowers between 3 and 4 cm and usually produced in pairs at the top of the pseudobulb and between the narrow channeled leaves.  Like all the Oxyglossum Dendrobiums the flowers are very long-lasting.

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Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

This is far from my best Dendrobium cuthbertsonii.  The flowers are small and the flower segments are not always very flat, nor is the color as bright as I would like, but the plant always blooms profusely and so I keep it.  The species is from New Guinea, is cool growing, as has been noted before, and likes high light.  In fact, under very high light it will also tolerate warmer temperatures.  My plant is grown in a clay pot in sphagnum moss.

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Dendrobium cuthbertsonii

It seems that's all I'm posting is Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and its hybrids, but they are all in bloom now and not much else is.  This plant is one of my better examples of the species with very large flowers that open well and good color.  The species, as those who are familiar with it know, comes in a rainbow of colors and has flowers that last six months or more.  The plant is tiny, only a few cm tall, and the flowers, 3.5 cm in this case, dwarf the plant.

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Bulbophyllum odontopetalum

Bulbophyllum odontopetalum is a micro-miniature species from New Guinea.  Its flowers, which look like a tiny Dracula flower, are only 2 cm and are produced on 3 cm growths, a tiny pseudobulb and single leaf.  The flowers spikes are wiry and 4 cm.  Mine is mounted on cork and seems to prefer cool temperatures and higher light.

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Dendrobium agathodaemonis

Dendrobium agathodaemonis is usually considered a synonym of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii and comparing this post with the previous will certainly show why.  If there are any reason to consider them separate species then the lack of dark markings on the lip and the very thin growths distinguish this species.  The growth on my plant are 1 cm tall and produce 3 cm flowers.  My plant is grown on a piece of cedar and the flowers are pendant.

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Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor

This is one of a number of bicolor Dendrobium cuthbertsonii I own, and this is one of the better examples, with very large and very open flowers.  Like other examples of this species the plant itself is tiny, only 2 cm tall, with 4 cm flowers.  Some of the plants of this species I grow mounted.  This is grown in a clay pot in live sphagnum, but does no better than those that are mounted.

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Dendrobium vexillarius

Dendrobium vexillarius is a variable species from the highlands of Papua New Guinea.  It is variable both in plant size and in flower color.  My plant is 8 cm tall but the species can be much larger.  The unusually colored flowers are 3 cm and last for many months.  They are produced at the end of the older pseudobulbs, often after the leaves have fallen off, and are usually two or three to each growth.  My plant is grown on a piece of cedar shingle and has a pad of moss around the roots.

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Dendrobium limpidum 'Ashley'

Dendrobium limpidum is from New Guinea and belongs to the Pedilonum section of Dendrobium.  This group of Dendrobiums have arching or pendant canes and most of them are quite large.  This plant is one of the smallest in the group.  It is considered by some to be the same plant as Dendrobium dichaeoides and  the plants do resemble another orchid genus named Dichaea with their closely set alternating leaves.  The canes are about 10 cm in length and produce clusters of rather small flowers that impress more by their bright color and number than by their individual beauty.  The flowers are less than 2 cm but come in clusters of around 15 flowers.  Like the other flowers in the Pedilonum section the flowers tend to be more or less tubular.  In this case the flowers are not only tubular but do not open very far and have a lip that curls up to block most of the open end of the flowers.  This can be seen in the close-up photos.  One very nice thing about this species is that the older canes continue to produce flowers for several years, though the new canes do not bloom the first year.  The older canes eventually lose their leaves but will even then continue to produce flowers.  On another note: I took this plant in for judging a few days after I posted this and it received a cultural award (Certificate of Cultural Merit) from the American Orchid Society.

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