The Phalaenopsis bastianii is lovely; I think we may need to scratch out some of the Phalaenopsis species though because their temperature requirements may be a bit tough (P. bastianii is warm to hot, it seems). Of course, you can always purchase it on your own... :evil:

Actually, mariae and bastianii are amongst the easiest Phal species. The only downside (?) with them is that a happy plant will turn into a space hog monster.

I grow quite a few Phal species, and many of the "warm to hot" growers are actually very tolerant of lower temperatures, and can do quite well down to 65F night temps in the winter. That being said, having neither of these 2 species I can't provide first hand experience. It may not matter anyway since Phal species, including these, are oddly difficult to source in the US...

Lots of nice choices so far. Some I've not heard of before. The Ionopsis reminds me a bit of Rodriguezia. I'm always down for another phalaenopsis of pretty much any type, but I sort of feel like projects are a good time to expand your horizons. That being said, my choices would probably be (in no particular order):
-Aerangis punctata. Always thought this genus was cool but have shyed away from them because I heard they are fussy...
-Ascocentrum. This one fell into the back of my memory until now. Never tried it.
-Paphiopedilum. Only ever had one when I very first started out growing orchids and it died. Haven't tried again since.
-Ionopsis. Never heard of it, but those flowers are lovely!

Oh that's good to know about the Phals – thanks for chiming in lol; I honestly don't know too much about the culture of these and just was relying on Google... :lol:

---------- Post added at 03:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:50 PM ----------

Ionopsis is so lovely, that's for sure. Looks like it's got a lot of flower power too. :D

So many good choices!! This is going to be tough...

I used to have this on my balcony in Bangkok, absolute treat, never stops blooming or adding more flower spikes to the display. I dare say I may not have those same results on an LA balcony :(

Regardless of this project, I'm thinking about buying a Dendrobium peguanum which is peculiar enough to catch my attention and it fits my requirements and growing conditions.

As a side note, its photo at IOSPE is from Andy's Orchids.

I think we are going to start narrowing down the options based on growing requirements and then will launch the poll soon after. :)

Camille has very generously compiled a list detailing culture requirements for all of our options so far:

**(red = probably can remove due to temperature preferences)
(orange = flagged for other reasons, eg. plant/spike size, no species listed (and no obvious options popped up during vendor searches), unsure if temp requirements an issue, etc.)**

--

*Aerangis punctata - intermediate to warm
*Ancistrochilus rothschildianus - intermediate-warm. semi terrestrial
*Ascocentrum ampullaceum -thermophile, but also intermediate to warm. Some cooling in winter. High light
*Ascocentrum miniatum ( V. miniata) - intermediate to warm, adaptable. High light
*Barkeria lindleyana - large/tall plant!. Temperature tolerant, deciduous with winter rest
*Barkeria melanocaulon (B. halbingeri) - Very long spikes. Temperature tolerant
*Barkeria obovata (B. chinensis) - intermediate to warm
*Barkeria spectabilis - cool to warm but intermediate is best
*Bulb. electrinum (Bulb. hirundinis) - intermediate
*Bulbophyllum lobbii - intermediate to warm according to several vendors
*Cadetia (now considered a section of Dendrobium, I think) - don't seem to be any species available anywhere
*Capanemia superflua (C. uliginosa) - intermediate, favoring cool winters
*Dencrobium aberrans - intermediate to warm according to several vendors
*Dendrobium hekouense - Cool,Intermediate to Warm (tolerant of extremes,favoring cool). Temp tolerant strongly leaning cool.
*Dendrobium peguanum - Warm, Intermediate to Cool (tolerant of extremes,favoring warm).
*Dendrobium laevifolium - intermediate to warm
*Dendrobium moniliforme - cold to warm, very adaptable but for best blooming several weeks at or under 50F are needed
*Dendrobium unicum - Cool,intermediate,warm. Temperature tolerant
*Epidendrum fimbriatum - cool growing and can tolerate intermediate
*Eria (umm very diverse genus; just putting it out there)
*Hexisea imbricata (Scaphyglottis imbricata) - no/little info (hot to warm?), no vendors
*Holcoglossum rupestre - cool to intermediate, favoring cool
*Ionopsis utricularioides - warm grower. Little info, no vendors
*Laelia/Cattleya lundii - intermediate to warm
*Macroclinium manabinum - warm to hot
*Paphiopedilum micranthum - intermediate with cool to cold night temperatures
Phalaenopsis lindenii - intermediate, likes it cooler than most Phals. Difficult in culture, no vendors
*Phalaenopsis bastianii or P. mariae - warm hot but do very well in intermediate temperatures
*Phalaenopsis deliciosa -intermediate to warm
*Phalaenopsis parishii or lobbii - warm hot but do well in intermediate as well. Humidity lover
*Podangis dactyloceras - recent project plant (2109 or 2020).
*Sarcochilus - no vendors for common species
*Tuberolabium kotoense ( or T. quisumbingii) -intermediate to warm

Thanks for the work you put into this, camille and neophyte :)

Probably interested but no promise :dance: