Dendrobium smillieae

[Roberta]

Here's one that I don't see very often, I think it's really beautiful. I love the contrast of the very pale pink flowers, the black lips, and the dark pink pedicels. Note that it blooms on the old, leafless canes.

It's a warm grower - native to New Guinea and northern Ausrtralia - so it has to live in my greenhouse but otherwise doesn't seem to have any particularly special needs. Not a small plant - It took me three years to get it big enough to bloom, canes are 22-24 inches (56-60 cm) but the footprint isn't much larger then when it got it so it really doesn't take up that much bench space. It should grow easily outside for those of you in tropical regions.