My first miniatures

[s.kallima]

I am so excited ! Just got my first minis last week at a show in Langley (BC, near Vancouver) : (sorry, no flower yet... only green stuff but the Gastrochilus will have flowers soon !)

- Plectrophora alata
- Sophronitis coccinea
- Gastrochilus calceolaris
- Schoenorchis fragrans (finally... I was looking for this one for a loooong time here in Canada )
- Maxillaria sophronitis

I read a lot about these species, but any advice is welcome regarding their culture, and you experiences as well.

Thanks for reading

[cb977]

Congrats to you!

They all look great

The only one I have is the Schoenorchis. It gets high light and I mist it (mounted) every day. You might want to get a magnifying glass for the blooms...they're tiny and oh so cute!!!

[PacMan]

they look awesome. What are you keeping them in? Im kinda new, but the list of orchids are in the same order of the pictures? I cant wait to get my minis going!

[lepanthes89]

Hi;
Great choices.I currently grow Soph.coccinea,and Max.sophronites (something about red flowers!).Both are a bit of a challenge.I grow the Sophronitis like a Cattleya only more water and shade, and it blooms reliably.The Maxillaria needs to be cool,humid,and moist.
Also dont divide it too soon/often, as an established plant is easier to manage.
I had Plectrophora calcaramata once; I killed it.
Where did you get this Plectrophora from?I love their ice-dream cone like flowers!!!
Good luck.

[Becca]

They look so happy and healthy! I have a Schoenorchis fragrans mounted, but without the sphag on the mount. You'll have to keep us updated when they bloom!

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by lepanthes89

Hi;
Great choices.I currently grow Soph.coccinea,and Max.sophronites (something about red flowers!).Both are a bit of a challenge.I grow the Sophronitis like a Cattleya only more water and shade, and it blooms reliably.The Maxillaria needs to be cool,humid,and moist.
Also dont divide it too soon/often, as an established plant is easier to manage.
I had Plectrophora calcaramata once; I killed it.
Where did you get this Plectrophora from?I love their ice-dream cone like flowers!!!
Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I got Plectrophora from Ecuagenera (pre-ordered the plants and they delivered when they came to the show last week). You can check on their website if they are coming in your area soon.

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by PacMan

they look awesome. What are you keeping them in? Im kinda new, but the list of orchids are in the same order of the pictures? I cant wait to get my minis going!

Yes the pictures and list are in the same order.
For now I keep them on a windowsill with 3x 24W T5 high output, the temp. are 80ºF max day and 62ºF at night, and the humidity high (around 70%). I have in mind an orchidarium in the next half-year...

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by lepanthes89

I grow the Sophronitis like a Cattleya only more water and shade, and it blooms reliably.The Maxillaria needs to be cool,humid,and moist.

I read on several websites that Sophronitis is the cool growing and that Maxillaria is intermediate to warm, but needs cool nights.

[PacMan]

awesome thanks again. Keep us posted with the progress. That Schoenorchis fragrans looks really intresting, i like it lots. im gonna do some research on it.

[dgenovese1]

That's a great looking bunch of minis S.kallima! Way to go on your new additions.

I am just getting into adding some minis to my collection, and I appreciate the "suggestions".