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Your top 10 favorite orchids

Discussion in 'Everything Else Orchid' started by Aceetobe, Mar 29, 2011.

  1. Aceetobe

    Aceetobe Member

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    I know this will be tough for some of you, but I thought maybe it might give some good inspiration for those of us thinking about emptying our wallets. Sometimes a plant is much more impressive than the sum of its parts (or picture) - something like Maxillaria striata comes to mind. I guess hybrids or species - doesn't really matter

    Heres mine, and they are in no particular order

    Vandopsis lissochiliodes - perhaps my favorite orchid due to its colors. I dream of the day that my tiny one will be blooming size

    Coelia bella - really a great plant all around, I wish the flowers lasted a little bit longer, but the bulbs are beautiful even not in bloom, and its a hardy plant. Grows amazingly outdoors for me which makes it even more a favorite.

    Cyrtochilum macranthum - I love most of the Cyrtochilum's, but macranthum is possibly my favorite of the 6 or so that I grow

    Cattleya warscewiczii - such an awesome plant. I go back and forth between warsceiwiczii and xHardyana as my favorite Cattleya alliance.

    Cattleya walkeriana - That awesome fragrance combined with its out of season bloomings pushes it up the list

    Clowesia Grace Dunn - all the beauty of Clowesia rosea, plus a more size and vigor. Becomes an awesome specimen

    Cychnoches cooperi - Very few people grow these well, but if you've ever seen a good one in bloom, very few orchids have such an impressive display. (Note if you're pseudobulbs are less than 30" tall, its not well grown or an adult yet)

    Bulbophyllum binnendijkii - So damn impressive in bloom

    Gongora scaphephorous - really really really long spikes on this guy

    Cyrtopodium punctatum - Grows well in CA after it gets adjusted and is always a head turner at my house, even not in bloom, people can't believe that its really an orchid.
     
  2. Karen

    Karen Species nut

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    In no particular order...

    Pleione formosana
    Angraecum popowii
    Bletilla straiata
    Cattleya walkeriana
    Pterostylis curta
    Neofinetia falcata
    Dendrobium monoliforme
    Cymbidium goeringii
    Sobralia warscewiczii
    Angraecum vigueri
    What ever is in bloom!
     
  3. Einstein

    Einstein Expatriate

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    What !!!
    No Pleuros?
     
  4. JonP

    JonP all that Supporting Member

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    Encyclia vitellina
    Angraecum sequipedale
    Cattleya walkeriana
    Coelogyne cristata
    Dendrobium spectabile
    Dracula vampire
    Laelia anceps
    Laelia purpurata
    Lycaste aromatic
    Masdevallia veitchiana
     
  5. KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Maxillaria tenuifolia
    Laelia anceps
    Bulbophyllum lobbii
    Bulbo. yasnae
    Bulbo tingabarinum
    Dendrobium unicum
    Dend. nobile
    Trichoglottis brachiata
    Restrepia cuprea
    Lepanthes manabina
     
  6. xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

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    Here's mine - I've diversified, because my true top ten would be so ang-saturated that most of you would probably vomit a little in your mouths. I also do not grow a lot of the below so I guess it's cheating, but I enjoyed compiling it and looking through many aesthetically pleasing photos. Choices are subject to change sporadically.

    Dendrobium tobaense
    Aerangis kirkii
    Angraecum leonis
    Aeranthes grandiflora
    Coelogyne corymbosa
    Caladenia tentaculata
    Dendrophylax lindenii
    Cymbidium goeringii
    Laelia fournieri
    Thunia marshalliana
     
  7. Tom-DE

    Tom-DE Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    It is not easy to choose just 10 plants from my collection...but to make it easier, I went through my own photo album here at OI and I have chosen a dozen of miniature or mini-miniature species(anything shorter than 6" will be a miniature in my book. For anything shorter than 3", I call them mini-miniatures/micro-miniatures):

    Den. subuliferum(yet to see the real impact of it, but so far, I like it a lot!)
    Den. cuthbertsonii(Love all color forms and it is always nice to see some colorful flowers year round.)
    Centroglossa macrocera(Love those green markings on the white pouch-like lip.)
    Ceratocentron fesselii(a tiny plant with sparkling orange-red flowers)
    Warmingia eugenii(not sure why I chose this one on this short list but I do like the white flowers)
    Capanemia superflua(my favorite fragrant mini species)
    Phymatidium tillandsioides(unusual looking plant for orchids)
    Isabelia viginalis(neat plant)
    Dresslerella pilossima(neat hairy foliage)
    Lepanthes calodictyon(neatly variegated foliage)
    Podangis dactyloceras(a neat Ang! I chose it to just make floozo happy but Chytroglossa aurata or Zygostates alleniana can easily push it off the table.:D)
    Oncidium coloratum(The name says it all!)

    and #13 is for Eistein, it may not be a Pleurothallis species now, but my tag still says Pthl. dilemma(very neat foliage, like green-beans). It may be slightly taller than 6".
     
  8. Tom-DE

    Tom-DE Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    I totally missed this one for my previous list and it should be one of my top five easily.

    Neocogniauxia monophylla
    Neoc. monophylla.jpg
     
  9. smwboxer

    smwboxer New Member

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    Ang. magdalenae
    Ang. didieri
    Ang. leonis
    Ang. sesquipedale
    Catt. walkeriana
    Brass. cucullata
    Brass. subuilfolia
    Brass. nodosa
    Rhynchostylis gigantea
    Rhyncholaelia digbyana
    Rhyncholaelia glauca
     
  10. Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    I can only think of a few right now.

    Bulbo woelfliae. The flowers are huge for such a small plant. It blooms throughout the year in spurts.
    Bulbo contortisepalum. I love it. The flowers are 3-4" long and have character.
    Bulbo levyae. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
    Restrepia chocoensis. Clowny looking thing.
    Bulbo macphersonii. Mat-forming mini with wicked flowers.
    Paraphalaenopsis labukensis. 60" leaves that look like a horse-whip? Yes please. The 3-4" flowers are a nice addition.

    Ones I don't have but want....
    bulbophyllum masonii
    bulbophyllum erinaceum
    bulbophyllum chimaera
    lepanthes lucifer
    lepanthes calimae

    Wow. I just came up with more than 10. :cool:
     
  11. Tom-DE

    Tom-DE Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    It is so much easier to pick out 10 favorite plants when you only have less than a hundred of plants, but when you have a thousand or more plants, that will be a different story... It is like choosing 1% of your plants as your favorites and that is tough!
     
  12. Dale

    Dale New Member

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    Papilionanthe pedunculata and nine of it's seedlings.
     
  13. Tom-DE

    Tom-DE Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Cheating!
     
  14. Dale

    Dale New Member

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    Today, my most favored species is Pecteilis sagarikii. Killer plant.
     
  15. Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    I really enjoyed seeing 7 spikes on my bulbophyllum pseudotrias this weekend.
     
  16. Dale

    Dale New Member

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    Death spikes.
     
  17. Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    Sorry Dale. You must have me confused with someone from Texas. My plants don't give me death spikes.
     
  18. Chris

    Chris New Member

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    Hardee har har.
     
  19. Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    I said death spikes. Not death roots. Sheesh.
     
  20. Boytjie

    Boytjie Out hiking Supporting Member

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    In no order - and these aren't all plants I have in my collection, particularly the cooler-growing ones - can't grow those on my indoor shelves under lights. But I guess these are the ones I typically think of when I hear the word "orchid"... -Stephen

    Dendrochilum macranthum (aka magnum)
    Cattleya walkeriana
    Bulbophyllum medusae
    Bulbophyllum lobbii
    Paphiopedilum sukhakulii
    Masdevallia decumana
    Aerangis punctata
    Trichocentrum tigrinum
    Dracula vampira
    Dendrobium unicum