Wild Paph. niveum

This is a beautiful wild Paphiopedilum niveum from Thailand. The flower and leaves are much smaller than plants bred in nurseries. Although the plant does not have the more rounded form of nursery plants, it is still beautiful in its own way.

Paph. bellatulum and Paph. niveum

The Brachys are a group of Paphs that can grow well in Singapore. I like Paph bellatulum for the nice shape of the flower and the spots. This bellatulum recently preoduced 2 very nice flowers.

A few niveums are flowering now but i like this flower because it has a pure white pouch. This plant came from Taiwan, a product of selected parents so the flower has very nice shape and is large compared to wild niveums.

Acacallis cyanea

The coelogyne-type plant from Mr. Lim in Penang indeed turn out to be the South Ameriacan species Acacallis cyanea. It has beautiful bluish flowers and a brownish red lip. I hope the flowers are long lasting as well. Many thanks to Rex for helping to identify it.

This species seem to be very free flowering because both growths are with flower spikes now.
The entire plant is so similar to coelogyne and really looks like a miniature version of my coelogyne celebensis with flattened pseudobulbs.

Interesting fact about this plant is that it comes from the Rio Negro river basin in Brazil so in nature these plants are often found semi-submerged by flooding rivers in the Amazon area and only the flowers are above the water line.
Can it hybridise with coelogyne? Worth trying.

Phal. hieroglyphica x lueddemanniana

This is a plant of Phal. hieroglyphica x luedemanniana which was probably from Mr. Lim in Penang.

Paph. stonei

I have been looking for a plant of Paph. stonei for quite some time already but not really sure if i can find one that will flower in Singapore. This plant flowered in Singapore but was grown under a bit of air conditioning. I hope it can flower again without a/c. If this happens then it may be worth to self it like my glanduliferum.

Phalaenopsis bellina. A very Round form.

This very big and round form of bellina was created by MH nursery. I bought it as a seedling and had grown it for a few years. Although different people have different taste and may prefer other shapes, i feel that we must still give credit to the many hybridisers and growers who worked toward achieving the round form that we see today.

Paph. dianthum

The fully opened flower of Paph. dianthum on 8/5/2009.

The leaf of this plant is about 4 fingers' width.

Video Clip of Bulbophyllum vaginatum on CocoFibre Pole.

Recent cool weather triggered flowering in Bulbophyllum vaginatum (collected from Upper Bukit Timah). In the video below, you will hear lots of birds in the background and even the resident roosters.

Phal. Penang Jewel and Phal. Daivid Lim

This is the first flowering of my Peneng Jewel from Mr. Lim Song of Penang. I got it from him as a seedling and had been growing this plant for a few years already.














My Phal. David Lim (from Song Orchids) flowered again. This time the flower shape seem to have improved a bit.

Unknown Coelogyne

This is an unknown ( at least to me) Coelogyne from Mr. Lim Song in Penang. According to him, this plant was collected from the wild (芭种). The plant should be a Coelogyne (or related species) as seen from the picture. It has an unusually flattened pseudobulb, about 1.5 inch long and 1 inch wide, held flat against the medium ( a piece of netting with sphagnum moss inside). The flowers have not opened yet but the flower buds are strong bluish purple in colour. Must wait for it to flower to get a proper ID of the plant.

Many thanks in advance if any reader can let me know the ID of this plant.

Terima Kasih , Kum Sia and 谢谢.

Beautiful Flawless Red Devils

A few beautiful reds from differnt sources in Singapore and Bangkok.

Phalaenopsis lamelligera and cornu cervi alba

A beautiful Phal. lamelligera above and Phal. cornu cervi alba below.

In the midst of red fever, these 2 beautiful plants showed why they deserve a place in any collection.

Phalaenopsis Princess Kaiulani

This plant is more than 15 years old and still produces very beautiful flowers. It is an old hybrid between Phal. bellina and Phal. amboinensis.

Paph. philippinense

A very beautiful Paph. philippinense with long twisted dark purple petals. This is a nursery bred plant so hopefully it will be more free flowering than plants collected from the wild. Also, nursery bred plants tend to come from selected award winning parents so the flower quality is also better.

Phal cornu cervi Red. What's Good and what's not.

Recently, lots of people have bought plants of cornu cervi Red from nurseries around Singapore. Prices range from a few tens of dollars to hundreds. What's the difference? Well, if you buy from a good source, with selected plants that are confirmed to be of good quality, you pay hundreds. If you go to a nursery that sells them "as it is" (no guarantee), then you pay as low as $12~$15 (wholesale) to $20(retail).

A good red is glossy, blood red and even. There must not be any bars, patches or spots anywhere on the flower. One place that many people overlook is the inner side of the lateral sepal especially the part near to the base. Many flowers do not qualify under close scrutiny and the value of such flowers are really around $12 at best. Only about one plant out of 20 to 30 will qualify as a true red.

Above is a true red with no bars or patches at all.

Look closely at the area near the base of the lateral sepal, a single whit bar spoils the quality of this otherwise beautify flower.

This is the worst type with lots of bars on the inner portion of the lateral sepals. Ten years ago this would qualify as good and probably cost around $50 ~$80. Now, it is worth $15 perhaps?

Paph. 'Claire de Lune'

Paph 'Claire de Lune' is an old Maudiae type hybrid. It is a huge plant with big flowers and beautiful leaves. Just checked the label again and yes this is the award winning 'Edgar Van Belle' AM/AOS.