Den. speciosum season! - Orchid Board

Roberta · #1 02-18-2022, 07:36 PM

First of my Den. speciosums to bloom... Den. speciosum var. grandiflorum. Canes on this plant are about 3 ft (1 m) long, and 2.5-3 inches (6-7.5 cm) in diameter. Not a windowsill orchid... It's quite top-heavy... I have it tied to one of the vertical supports of the shade area to keep it from going over.

estación seca · #2 02-18-2022, 08:45 PM

Great!

Is it as pale white as it seems in the photo?

Roberta · #3 02-18-2022, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Great!

Is it as pale white as it seems in the photo?

Sort of cream. Fairly pale but not pure white.

Jeff214 · #4 02-19-2022, 12:57 AM

Wonderful! Your grandiflorum has a nice presentation of the spike. Mine (probably var boreale) is spiking now!

nhbeek · #5 02-19-2022, 02:58 PM

Does anyone know where to get a good one of these? I got a tiny seedling as a bag baby, but I would like to purchase one that will bloom sometime in the next decade.

Roberta · #6 02-19-2022, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhbeek

Does anyone know where to get a good one of these? I got a tiny seedling as a bag baby, but I would like to purchase one that will bloom sometime in the next decade.

Where do you live? Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has them. Andy's Orchids also.

nhbeek · #7 02-19-2022, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Where do you live? Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has them. Andy's Orchids also.

Thanks!
I would be buying everything online given that I am in new england...

I see that Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has size options which is good. Andy's seems to be selling seedling sized.

Roberta · #8 02-19-2022, 03:29 PM

SBOE has a very good selection of different plants. That would be a really good place to look.
Since you'll be growing in a greenhouse, look for some of the more compact varieties. var. curvicaule is a good one, var. speciosum can get fairly substantial but not huge. You don't want var. hillii or var. grandiflorum unless you have a LOT of room. (Well grown they can get enormous)
Sunset Valley Orchids may also have some of the more compact forms.

The more compact forms also tend to get to flowering size sooner.

smweaver · #9 02-19-2022, 04:03 PM

I do like those long "fox tails" of blooms. I can imagine that the fragrance is fantastic from such a great flowering. Congratulations.

PlumCrazy · #10 03-01-2022, 10:56 PM

Very nice! When I looked at the pictures, immediately this book called Popcorn I read as a kid came to mind. It's a childrens book about bears that make so much popcorn that it fills their whole house. Love the flower explosion!