Small and compact or miniature orchids

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I second Maxillaria schunkeana. I have had mine for 7 or more years. Super easy. Very compact. Blooms quite readily. Temperature tolerant (favors cool).

Dendrobium unicum. To me, this is the easiest Dendrobium to grow that goes deciduous and dormant. Temperature tolerant (favors intermediate conditions).

Bulbophyllum psychoon is a great starter Bulbophyllum, imo.

Aside from Phalaenopsis lobii and Phal parishii being miniature Phals, there are also Phal gibbosa and Phal lindenii. I personally think Phal lindenii is cake compared to the other mini Phals I mentioned.

Doritis pulcherrhima is pretty small.

Kingidium chibae, Kingidium minus, Kingidium deliciosa are all pretty small.

Pholidota chinensis is a mini and are pretty easy to grow.

The tiny versions of Neofinetia and Sedirea as many people have mentioned are hobbyist favorites.

[gnathaniel]

All of the above are great suggestions, I would add though that many have somewhat variant cultural needs (not necessarily a bad thing). You could probably grow all of those plants okay in the same windowsill but you might ultimately get more satisfaction if you take the time to note what conditions (light, temps, humidity and moisture, etc.) you can easily provide and how this matches up to what you want to grow. Don't forget that conditions in many windowsills will change throughout the year, which is great for some plants and not so good for others. Sorry if this is kind of vague, as a primarily windowsill grower I just wanted to point out that not all windowsills are the same!

[Vanda lover]

I have a rhychocentrum that is a cute little thing that blooms almost constantly.

[tdeprat]

Wow! Thanks everyone! There is still so much for me to learn. I have a lot of orchids to look up! I will let you guys know what I end up with.

[Gage]

Another little nugget to think about. One thing I have found with windowsill growing is some orchids have foliage that is more easily managed than others. Same with spikes. The more vertical the growth habit and the shorter the spike, the more easily managed.

[tdeprat]

Thanks Gage. Which ones would you say are easier to manage? Any examples would be helpful.

[Gage]

Originally Posted by tdeprat

Thanks Gage. Which ones would you say are easier to manage? Any examples would be helpful.

It depends on the depth of your windowsill, and how much headroom the plants will have. For me, Oncidumnia Tukoo "CT Little Cherry" has bloomed 3+ times per year with very very compact foliage and relatively manageable spikes. If you google "oncidium ct little cherry" you will see pics of it, but the actual registered name is Oncidumnia Tukoo. As my plant has grown the spikes have gotten longer and branched more, and the blooms have gotten larger and flatter. I rotate it so the new growth doesn't lean towards the window. Once the leaves are mature and hardened off they don't really lean towards the light too much. I have grown mine in a tiny clay pot with sphagnum moss, and water it with distilled water when the surface is crispy dry (at which point there is still moisture down in the bottom), which in my window is every 5 days or so depending on the season. The humidity in my house stays around 50-60%. I bought it from an Asian vendor at the Redlands show in Homestead.

Onc. Red Mini "CT Little Cherry" unfurling :)

I don't personally have Paph helenae, but from what I have seen it has super compact foliage that looks very windowsill growable.

[Paula Frayne]

I am a windowsill grower as well and have grown some of the orchids that have been mentioned with success (sedirea japonica, phal. equestris, & neo hybrids). A good book that I would recommend is Steven A. Frowine's "Miniature Orchids". It contains colour pictures of miniature orchids from many genera and gives a plant description & cultural tips for each plant. Good luck.