I never knew about leafless orchids until I read "The Orchid Thief" I immediately found myself fascinated with leafless orchids, especially Polyrhiza Lindenii, one of our native leafless orchids here in South Florida. I found the plant by word of mouth. A friend of a friend heard I wanted to try it and recommended Oak Hill. To my surprise they have thousands of these plants! The day my first little mess of roots arrived, I was thrilled. I spent the better part of the afternoon showing the stick of green roots off of co workers around the station. I have ordered a total of 3 sticks containing 4-8 plants each. So far I have killed 6. The rest are doing well!

-Ray-

My most exciting purchase is always the next shipment to arrive :>)

Right now I am waiting for the weather to cooperate to add some on my wish list.

Species phals - celebenensis, tetraspis, speciosa and dowerynensis - from Dowery Orchid (thanks cj for the tip)

C. Horace 'Maxima' - a division from a private collector

And several onc. and catts from someone downsizing their collection. Lucky me :>)

While I await the weather to start cooperating, the Cincinnati Orchid Show is this week-end :>)

Brooke

Hey, Calvin. Great idea for a thread!

Like Brooke, I have a "most exciting" every few months or so, but for all of 07

The most exciting "gets" were also surprises: a Doritis pulcherrima that arrived in spike and bloomed the most intense, radiant and shiny magent; and Doritis pulch x P lindenii that had lovely grayish green leaves with tiny brown speckles. Just cute. Both were from Carter & Holmes.

AND a couple of little seedlings from Byrd's orchids that came in spike.

My most exciting *grow* was a P Brother Precious Stones from C & H that I got last March. It was a seedling with exactly two round 1" shiny blackish-red leaves (that lost the "blackish" hue over time). It never missed a beat, just grew and grew and grew and has two spikes right now. Boy, a plant like that can make you feel like a real grower!

For me it has to be :
Dendrobium cuthbertsonii !!!

Here is a link that might be useful: images

A few years ago I bought a thrilling Paph. tigrinum from Antec. It ultimately failed. I'd love to have it back now that I'm a little wiser.

John :>)

I'm going to have to piggyback on John and say my tigrinums. One is doing OK and the other is doing pretty well.

Ah! Dendrobium cuthbertsonii. Lovely! but i know what would happen if one was tried in these killing fields. When you see a lady who has two cultural awards from the AOC kill one, you know it is not for mere mortals.

Do not know about the most exciting purchase, but i was really chuffed when this beauty flowered. Credit must be given to the posters here for the little hints that helped this happy event. Guess the next exciting purchase might be if i can find a different clone.
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Arthur, I like that photograph, the angle of the shot is neat, with the flowers contrasted against the green foliage.

I'd be chuffed too :>)

Brooke

Great photo. I always thought they were a little larger until I saw the two fingers.

J

Love the neo! Also happens to be my most exciting purchase to date... Last Jan at the WOC, from Seed Engei a beautiful variegated neo (Higashidemiyako), a 6-growth plant for $45. The dude even threw in a few plain-leaved ones for free because I helped him translate...

HOHO! Great topic Calvin! Okok, now don't be too disappointed by my most exciting purchase...it's not a rare species nor a famous cultivar that I waited years to get my hands on. It was just an unregistered hybrid.

I saw it on a table at the 2006 NYIOS. It was love at first sight. I picked it up from the table and was afraid to set it back down fearing that an onlooker would decide to buy it the moment I placed it on the table. Is it just the NYIOS or does this happen at all shows? You pick up an orchid and shoppers within your vicinity will all turn, take a gander and develop a sudden and keen interest in what you're holding...waiting to snatch it up the second you put it back on the table.

Anyway, I cradled my baby all the way home, ready to nudge and shove any fellow subway riders who came dangerously close to my treasure.

So that orchid has a very special place in my heart...and also I had registered that particular cross myself (after attaining permission from the breeder of course). And here it is:

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Lovely colours in that Cattleya and anyone who uses that floof word should be kicked in the shins.
I should have mentioned that the falcata photo was taken by Petrichor in a gale hence the slight out of focus and the mitts in the photo.
What do you call a plain old garden variety Neo?
Googled Dendrobium Peng Seng mentioned in post 1 and the images look interesting, something to look forward to when the seedling blooms.

Neat to see everyones responses! definitely different tastes all around. Steph - amazing magnificent colors on that catt!
Ray - I'm sure your patience will pay off! Is it terrible of me to wait until you manage to keep yours alive and then leech off your experience? :)

Brooke - I must say that you and mehitabel are guilty for making me look at species phals closer....can't wait till spring as well. :)

John - mmm you know I really don't have a thing for paphs but sometimes one just hits the right spot for me. That one does!

Arthur - yes it's quite the treat! But it pales in comparison to it's species parent which I will never get..but we all need something to hope for, right? :)

Rita - My neo is going to be my most exciting rebloom I think

Mehitabel - googled precious stones....WOW you'll have to let us know if it is really that red!!

Tman - that is one crazy dend....are all those color forms different cultivars?

Hi kellyincville - nice to see you on the forum - how's the plans for your g/h going?

OHMYGAWD I would kill for that catt :>) More details on it PLEASE!

Brooke

Calvin, this is a very thought provoking question. I have been thinking about it ever since you started this thread. i have been trying to recall each occasion when i purchase orchids. i would have to say it is the first standard cymbidium that i bought: it is NOID at Loblaws. I bought it 5 years ago and every year it blooms and the blooms usually stay on it for about 3 to 4 months. and thanks for starting this thread. i have been enjoying everyone's input.
sue

My most exciting purchase was Dendro Ellen, a primary hybrid of Dendro kingianum and Dendro tetragonum. Someone was showing off theirs in another forum and I instantly fell in love with it. And then made the sobering discovery that the nearest vendor offering one was situated in Australia. :(
I was lucky though, the person who had shown off the pictures didn't like their plant all that much and so offered it to me. *g* I'm still in love with the little beasty. :)

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You know, Calvin, this is an EVIL thread. Ever since I posted I've been tempted to find another Paph. tigrinum. Of course if this one does well, I'll kick myself for killing the first one (which was a costly division).

J :>)

IÂve seen many Cattleya walkerianas and literally thousand more in pictures. I regularly scour the internet for them, visiting a productive list of foreign orchid forums and other sites IÂve compiled over the years. I have an enormous collection of walkeriana pics

Needless to say, I love this species. But there is one overall favorite among numerous favorite cultivars. Not the most famous or most sought after or most awarded, but its unusually chunky, yet graceful flower is so appealing to me that if I could own only one walkeriana, it would be this one. A Brazilian cultivar called ÂLuiz Castro - available only as a division, only in Brazil or Japan, and only rarely. Not something I ever expected to see in real life.

And then one morning in November 2007, a surprise! An imported division had just been listed on Ebay by rxorchids (now known as rxcattleya.) Suddenly in the here and now, three stubby-chubby p-bulbs for a big, fat buy-it-now price or best offer. I submitted an offer on the spot, one I knew he would accept because it was just low enough so that I wouldnÂt look like a complete sucker by clicking on the buy-it-now button.

It arrived in perfect condition and quickly initiated new root tips and new growth. Judging by its vigor so far, IÂm looking for the first bud(s) within 12 months.

John - the evilness goes both ways - I am now tempted to get so many of everyone else's favorites I'm in danger of breaking the bank....again!

Well, now that a beagle has won Westminster, I'm no longer in a position to get another show dog, add to that my doctor has said no more riding (or at least no more falling off of)horses and I was in just the right mood to expand my orchid hobby into something that I could put my passion into went I went to my local orchid society auction last Saturday.
I came home an announced to my family that I bought a "litter" of plants. Actually I bought a compot of Phrag. Wossner Supergrande(3N)
I have raised seedlings from compots and have phrags, but this litter has me really excited.
now I have seven years or so while they grow up to search for an affordable divsion or clone of SLC Precious Stones.

It's got to be Cattleya aclandiae for me. Saw pictures of spotted Catts on the galery side a couple of summers ago and just fell in love. Then I saw a pic of Catt. aclandiae and I had to have it. No vendors had it. But then, at our show last year, one of the vendors who has a lot of "peculiar" orchids, had a small plant with purple spotted leaves tucked away behind other plants. Could it really be... no... yes, it was! Needless to say, I grabbed it and never let go. It's even spiking for me right now, so fingers and toes crossed that it will flower soon.

Julie

Ah then Julie, may I ask:

Which is MORE exciting, the purchase or the blooming of "your most exciting purchase"?

(question is of course open to all, not just for Julie)

My most exciting purchase wasn't a purchase at all, but a gift from a generous friend! She sent me a wonderful cutting from her Epidendrum Radicans, orange flowered, I believe... and the most exciting part is that it wintered over in my east window and is still alive!

It's not only still among the living, but it recently began growing little plantlets from two of the leaf nodes, and they're just the cutest little keikis (sp?)!

I have the rooted cutting planted in a mixture of orchid bark and well-draining potting soil, in a clay pot... I don't have very good conditions for most orchids, and as proof, lost my first Phal recently... but the Epi seems to not mind the less than perfect conditions, and is flourishing!

I must get more of these reed-stem beauties! I see they come in a host of colors, and the best part is they are easy to grow!

I like these reed stemmed beauties, but only those where the hybridiser has reduced the plant size somewhat. So try and buy from some of the nurseries that offer the latest breeding.

Julie, i am going to have another go at Cattleya aclandiae if i can find one. Someone further up said that this thread is evil and they right.

Here is a link that might be useful: Epidendrum Gold Valley 'Hildos'

dragon, I really think it's both, but actually finding it and purchasing it had a much more gleeful kind of feeling to it. Blooming it is more of a feeling of accomplishment, what with the amount of extra light it required and everything.

arthurm, I love it. Small and cute spotted leaves too. Good luck in finding it. Burleigh Park has flasks of it. They don't list plants of it, but maybe they've got one or two... You're very welcome! (evil grin)

Julie

i would have to say it's of my baby neo. since i lost my first one. which was an amami island clone died due to the house fire last year. i went and got my self one from the orange county show in february now like the last one i sit and wait till it puts forth it's first spikes.

Gaston

I will never forget the sight of my first C. aclandiae. I know my jaw dropped to the floor. It's still my favorite orchid and my most exciting purchase.

Julie, you say your C aclandiae is 'spiking?' That's interesting. I would love to see a picture. When my aclandiae blooms, it sends up a bud between the wide open leaves of the newest psb.

Marci

I can't wait to see it, either, since I've only seen pics. If memory serves (at work, wish I were home with the 'chids), there's a growth coming from the top of the newest PB, the end is a bit swollen, and I'm assuming that that is the stem with the bud coming in. I'll take a pic and post tonight.

Julie

Thanks for the link, ArthurM... very good reading!

And thank you for sharing your orchid photos! I really like the Neofinitea falcata... the flowers are so delicate-looking and the white does look really nice against the darker green of the leaves!

Thanks to all who shared photos! Lovely flowers!

I only wish I could grow such beauties... my apartment is just not a very orchid-friendly environment... which is why I'm thrilled my Epidendrum is doing so well!

Grew these in a West window and summer outdoors. The orange one was over 12ft long, the yellow -8ft. Found them a nice home in a greenhouse:
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Jane

I'll have to say that for me, it was 3 purchases:

Nanodes medusae (only had about a month...so far, so good)
Epiphronitis Veitchii (has a tiny little bud just starting and the leaves are variegated)
Epidendrum ilense (should get here next week)

L8r,
Don

is the one I most recently purchased!

hello, Jane, your pictures are really nice. i really like the red one. thanks for sharing. I have an orange one and a red one. the orange one is blooming now - have posted a picture on another thread: little bit of sunshine. my red is not blooming yet. both have been only in south window.
sue

Today i got myself a Phalaenopsis gigantea and a Vanda coerulescens which was pretty exciting but my most exciting purchase would have to have been when i got my Dendrobium "Hilda Poxon". I think it was my 14th or 15th birthday, went to my local orchid nursery and found they had these in and i had been after one for ages. Still got it, i'm 20 this yr so its only been 5-6yrs since i got it, needs some more TLC to get it happy again.