Dimorphorchis lowii

I believe that every orchid enthusiast has that one flower that changes the way that they look at orchids. For me that flower is Dimorphorchis lowii. I was gonna save this one for a little bit later, but as I was tying up something for Phal lueddemanniana this one kept popping up into my head.

So what makes this one so special. Well the first reason is in the name, di meaning two, morph meaning form, and orchis meaning orchid. It has been given this name because it is one of the only orchids with two morphologically different flowers on the same spike. Depending on the length of the spike, the first several flowers are yellow with with maroon or purple dots. These flowers also have smother edges and a more uniform shape. The yellow flowers are not fragrant. As you move further down the spike the flowers switch into red ones with a white or tan back drop. These red flowers are fragrant! I have spoken to several people about how a plant might develop such a feature. Some say that it attracts to different insects to pollinate it. Works for me! This plant is said to be able to reach a height of 8' with an equal leaf span, they are able to produce even longer spikes! 

Pictured of the right is Jerry Fischer, owner of Orchids Limited in Plymouth MN. Jerry is an excellent grower and has been working on his crop of Dimorphorchis lowii for years.

This plant is native to Borneo, where it is very difficult to find in the wild. This plant can be difficult to cultivate, they like temps around 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit, however Jerry has come across a variety called Dimorphorchis lowii 'Farmington' that will grow and thrive in temperatures around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another reason I am writing these blogs is so that maybe one day as you read them you will find one that speaks to you, it won't be like seeing it in real life. But maybe it will point you in the correct direction so that you too can find that one flower that makes your heart beat a little bit quicker.

Dendrophylax lindenii

Part of my goal when I wright these things is to demonstrate how diverse the orchidaceae family actually is. Dendrophylax lindenii, or Ghost Orchid is a perfect example of how amazing nature can be.

The Ghost orchid does not have any leaves, or any stems. It does however have a large mass of roots which contain all of the chloroplasts. Its fun to imagine how a plant might evolve in such a way. 

This plant is packed full of fantastic attributes. One such example of this would be that it is nocturnally fragrant. Not saying that you wont get anything during the day, but it for sure smells the most excellent at night. when the Humidity is just right, this plant will blow your MIND!

This plant grows wild in the swamps of Florida and Cuba. They reside on several species of trees such as Bald Cypress, Pond Apple, and various palm trees.  There they must have ideal conditions to flourish and blossom. Many people have attempted cultivating Dendrophylax but alas, cultivation has proven to be extremely difficult.  Dont lets this discourage you though, as horticulturalist we should always be on the search for new cultivation methods to help us overcome complications!

Little, Chris. GhostOrchid.info. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.ghostorchid.info/generalinformation.htm>.

"AOS | Another Ghost Story." AOS | Members Only Area. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://www.aos.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=home&CONTENTID=7892&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm>.

Stanhopea florida

Wooo First post!! Two days early but who cares, I got excited. It was a hard decision on what to post for my first orchid. I felt like it needed to be one of those real head swingers. It had to have an attractive flower, and a exciting relationship with its pollinator, and of course, it must be fragrant. So in the end I went with Stanhopea florida. 

Like all of the Stanhopeas, this bad boy produces a chemical in its hypochile that attracts the euglossine bee, tricking the poor thing into mating with it, leaving the bee very confused and insecure. This must happen quickly though because the flower will only last 1-3 days. So enjoy it while you got it!

This particular species has a habitat range from Columbia too Peru on the eastern slopes of the Ande Mountains.

Stanhopea florida are relatively easy to cultivate. Do not allow to dry out during the growing season and do keep them moist during the dry season (winter if you live in a temperate area). They like more sun then many of the more popular orchid species, and they like it warm. I have seen them planted in bark mix which doesn't seem to work. The best Stanhopea I have seen were grown with sphagnum in a basket.

So there you go! I really do hope that my grammar wasn't to terrible, and im sure my wife will let me know ;).

"Stanhopea." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 29 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanhopea>.

Pridgeon, Alex. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids. Portland, Oregon: Timber, 2006. Print

So what this all about?

Hello, My Name is Daniel Boire and I am a Horticulture Student at S.U.N.Y Cobleskil. If you haven't heard of it don't worry, not many people have.

Like many of the plant science folk around here I have a passion for those fascinating photosynthetically active organisms that surround us. Orchids are my passion; granted I'm no expert, but who says I couldnt be. 

Over the Next 365 days I will be blogging about a New Orchid every day. Shouldn't be to hard considering that there are over 26,000species in existence, and 100,000 hybrids! (Thanks Wikipedia.) I will not be including hybrids in this, there are way to many sweet species out there. I will be covering Both "hardy" and tropical orchids and if you are reading this thinking to yourself "Gosh, I sure do hope that this fellow does one on (insert orchid here)" then Go ahead and ask.

I will be starting this adventure on January 31, which is a Monday. WISH ME LUCK!