Good starting miniatures needed.

[prc11]

I want to start growing miniatures on wood, but I don't know of any good ones to start with. Light is not an issue, and I am willing to water everyday. Humidity is on the low side, but I have had no trouble with other mounts. Please tell me some good ones that I can start growing, the smallest orchid I have is a Promenaea, of which I have had great success.

[Paul]

One important criteria you have not mentioned is the temperature range you will be providing. That matters.

Also, what do you consider "mini"?

I tip my hat to you with the Promenea ... I can't grow or bloom the foolish things.

W/o knowing more about your growing conditions, Phal parishii, Phal lobbii, and Phal Lovely Kid all come to mind. Also, Dockrilla rigidum, many of the Tolumnias and some of the Bulbophyllums (the latter you will have to wait for others to chime in on -- I have issues with bulbos) and even some of the mincatts.

[phalaephila]

I echo the suggestion for Dockrilla rigida (I know it as Dendrobium rigidum - see attached photo) - it is deliciously fragrant. I also grow Cattleya (Sophronitis) cernua on a mount. Both of these seem to have no problem with my low humidity (25 - 30%).

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I have grown a few Bulbos outdoors all year round here.

In general they are not the easiest, but they aren't the most difficult to grow either.

Bulb. psychoon is a good one to start with. They're pretty easy and forgiving as far as Bulbos are concerned. Blooms easily.

I know that the following species is very tempting for a lot of people who grow Bulbos, but unless you know what you're doing with other Bulbos, and have a good grasp on where and how they grow in the wild; Bulbophyllum monilliforme is not a beginner's mini Bulbo. A lot of people bomb with this species.

I don't recommend growing Bulb monilliforme if you're a noob to Bulbos. They're very tricky to grow, and I highly recommend (actually I'd more like say, you must) own a jeweler's loupe powerful enough to allow you to see the tiny roots, and the tiny new growths. They have a unique seasonal pattern they go by that makes things somewhat unforgiving when a mistake is being made. The way this plant must be mounted in order for you to succeed in the long run, is unlike that of all the other Bulbos that are more easily and more commonly grown. They also go dormant. Humidity is a big deal with these. Not to mention, these are painfully slow growing - only putting out a maximum of 2 new growths per young mature pseudobulb.

I wanna also say, that this species is not very showy. The individual flowers are only attractive if you have a jeweler's loupe to appreciate them. Without a jeweler's loupe, the flowers look like and are about the size of a full grown Drosophila melanogaster. As a collective whole, the blooms are not all that plentiful per colony.

I know that Bulb monilliforme is being sold quite a bit lately, and that you may or may not have come across it in your searches for minis, but resist this urge to try them out right now.

Another good mini Bulbo is Bulb. macraei. Bulb. macraei is a wonderful little Bulbo that is sure to charm.

[Zoi2]

Haraella retrocalla is a fun and easy mini.
Joann

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You know what, I second the Haraella retrocalla.

There's some info on this species here on the OB.

Some people went and did a project for this plant here on this site.

Check it out.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

I heard Brassavolas are the best to grow on mounts, they may get a little large after some years, but they are super hardy and can tolerate low humidity (I think I heard they can take 30% for a while!)

[WhiteRabbit]

I'm one who participated in the Haraella project, and also recommend it
I have a Bulbo lasiochilum mounted in a frequently low humidity environment with no problems.
I also have a mounted Den bigibbum ssp compactum - pretty small plant, doing very well with low humidity.
Den kingianum maybe - I have read some people say you shouldn't mount these as they are lithophytes, but I some people have success with them mounted
(I'm not sure how miniature you are looking for... )

[gnathaniel]

Check out the cirrhopetaloid bulbophyllums pectenveneris (aka tingabarinum), gracillimum, and thaiorum. These are all small, easy growers that will tolerate low humidity as long as they get frequent water. They do well in medium light and look great on mounts. The gracillimum can be a bit of a rambler (though there's a lot of variation in the species, some clones are smaller) so you might want a bigger mount for that, but the other two are extremely compact. All three have brilliantly colored flowers and are fairly free-blooming when grown well. Hope this helps!

--Nat

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I second the Cirr. thaiorum as well. These are real cool.

Cirr. tingabarinum are also nice ones.

Dendrobium loddigesii is a neat little Dendrobium you might want to try out.

Another is Dendrobium unicum.