My 5 NoID Orchid Plants

[epiphyte0]

(Can't embed imageshack links so had to attach photos below )

I don't even know how to classify these other than just "orchids"

*Edit: updated genus in red, ty all!

(1) The saddest orchid you've ever seen, don't recall where I got it. This was an almost dead plant that I stuck into my aquarium hang-on-back filter, and it magically came back to life, a root is slowly coming out the back, and this new leaf bud is in place. Probably no way to ID this. (Phalaenopsis sp)

(2) Picked this up @ Home Depot, was a juvie plant in a mesh bag, all dried out (Vanda sp.)

(3) Got this with #2, both 2-3 are sitting in dirt planters with a sand cap besides the 20g aquarium tank, under the 54W T5HO light (Cattleya sp.)

(4) A terrestrial orchid from a local nursery, was a huge plant I partitioned out, the inside plant in the aquarium filters are no longer blooming, but one outside on the balcony is in full bloom still (Spathoglottis sp.)

(5) Had this for maybe 1-2 years, garden variety oncidium from Home Depot, comes back larger each year (Phalaenopsis sp.)

[gnathaniel]

1 looks like an almost-dead Phal, I've seen plants come back from that state but it's going to take a while to get back to blooming size...

2 looks like something vandaceous, impossible to ID without blooms and even then you'll only get a ballpark idea. Re: the dirt-sand mix, most of these are epiphytes and won't do great long-term in terrestrial medium, but YMMV.

3 looks like some kind of mini-Cattleya hybrid, same deal with ID as for #2. Also an epiphyte that likes lots of air at the roots and usually to dry out between waterings. Some of the minis have a lot of coccinea and other relative moisture-lovers in them, so maybe it'll work out in a terrestrial mix.

4 is Bletilla striata or possibly a hybrid of it. I really like this species (have a pot in bloom myself right now) and it's cold-hardy in the ground in many parts of the US (will supposedly tolerate zone 5 winters with adequate mulch).

5 is another Phal, not Oncidium (Oncs are sympodial with pseudobulbs). From the growth habit and flower color I'd guess it has a dose of pulcherrima in its ancestry but impossible to ID much beyond that. Very pretty and healthy, though!

--Nat

[WhiteRabbit]

awesome - looks like you're doing great!

[epiphyte0]

Wow TY gnathaniel! I always thought phals were the stemmy ones with a lot of tiny flowers, guess I got the two backwards.

I'm definitely rethinking the medium for the two dirt planters, at least for the orchid area. Sphagnum moss? I may also just use some dried spanish moss instead. The grow area is very humid (evaporation from the fish tank).

Have a lot to learn

[Rowangreen]

If it's very humid you might do better with bark for the phal, so it can dry a bit between waterings. I imagine the same goes for plants 2 and 3, but I don't grow Vandas and Cats. Vandas are often grown with no medium and their roots hanging loose, so I'm guessing sand is a bad idea!

[Vanda lover]

2 is a vanda of some sort
I really think 4 is a spathoglottis

[gnathaniel]

Originally Posted by Vanda lover

2 is a vanda of some sort
I really think 4 is a spathoglottis

I think you may be right, I've got Bletillas on the brain right now! The spike habit looks different than my Bletillas, which bloom from the center of the growth point; this inflorescence looks like it's coming from a side node. The color is also a bit warmer than most Bletillas I've seen, which tend more toward the bluish-purples. Epiphyte, could you post a pic of the flower? The blooms look different enough that a good view of one will resolve the ID for sure.

--Nat

[epiphyte0]

Sure here's a bloom of #4, unfortunately #2 hasn't bloomed yet, got it as a dried out baby plant.

[gnathaniel]

Thanks epiphyte! Definitely Spathoglottis and not Bletilla, and a very pretty Spath at that. You nailed it, vanda lover!

--Nat

[Vanda lover]

I had one of these but the scale insects wouldn't leave it alone. I even cleaned it completely and put it in s/h. It loved the s/h but the scale came back within just a few weeks. I gave up on it.