Very cool! I do like Angraecoids, and may have to keep an eye out for this one. The only one I grow now is Angraecum didieri, another miniature species. It looks like it may have a flower bud, but I'm not sure yet.

Good luck with the new orchid, and the possibly dead one especially! I'll be waiting for that picture.

Aerangis punctata is such a sweet little orchid. I used to grow this one before my orchid case days and eventually lost it. The lower humidity of an open room made all the flowers deformed so I never got a photo of it before mine died. I rarely see this one offered these days or I would replace mine.
My favorite Aneragis is distincta, what an incredibly beautiful plant and it can grow in very shady conditions. I lost this one as well when I was forced to repot after it's basket rotted, this is usually how I loose my big Angraecoids because they really hate when you mess with their roots.

Here is a photo of my Aerangis distincta blooming about seven or eight years ago. I have yet to see one for under $50 or I would have jumped at the opportunity to grow this species again. Oh how I miss that plant. :(
There are some other Angraecoids in that photo album but of those plants I only have the verdickii and it's finally blooming sized.

I couldn't resist posting this seeing as we are talking orchids but this one was in bloom for weeks and is just now dropping it's flower.

Paphiopetalum bellatulum

I can't go without enabling a little so I will show a link to a mini orchid I finally found after more than a decade of searching. My plant flowered right after I got it but I never did take a photo because I figured it was not my growing that cause that blooming. Each growth sends out a spike when it matures but every bud has blasted. This to me is the Holy Grail of miniature orchids, Psychopsiella limminghei and I will show a photo of my plant blooming one day!

I have some other first time bloomers in bud right now as well so if there are no objections I might post them to this thread when they bloom.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Psychopsiella limminghei

I also have a paph bellatulum but it has not bloomed yet.

Michelle

Those are absolutely beautiful! It's a shame I kill EVERY orchid I touch . . .

Carolyn

That's a beautiful paph. I don't do well with them, for some reason. I had delenatii, and finally sent off my last one to another home because I was tired of losing them, little by little.

I've never really seen punctata available before, except via the Meyers Conservatory as an established seedling. I jumped on that (you have to be quick, they go almost immediately) and was lucky to snag one. It was the cutest little thing. I think it is possible it got too much light. My timer went batty at some point and would go through phases of staying on 24-7, to staying off 24-7, and shifting the start and stop time. I finally had enough of it and switched to a digital one. Anyway, I thought that little guy was a goner, but it might actually be making a comeback!

Distincta is a difficult one to find here as well. I tried to get a flask of it, but the germination attempt failed. I don't think my chances of getting one were good anyway. Kirkii is my rare find that I love very much. It is unfortunately in the case infested with bush snails but seems to be doing great anyway. It is one that I would definitely get a second one of, if I can. But after I've moved. I wasn't planning on getting any more orchids but I had to grab a punctata while I could.

Psychopsiella limminghei is pretty cool looking! Those are great leaves. How does this one grow? One of my very favorite minis is Pleurothallis alata, but I keep losing them. My first one was awesome, got nice and big (for it, that is) then someone said I needed to change the potting medium regularly, and I hadn't in a while. It died after that. I replaced it with a couple more, but those were no where near as vigorous as my first one. Sigh. I'll try again later.

Paphs are notorious for looking great up top while loosing all their roots so you are not alone in finding them tricky. I only have two but that's just because I used to have a Bulbo only collection for quite a long time. I have been getting much more into Asian orchids as a whole lately.
I think my biggest challenge lately is growing the micro mini Phalaenopsis species like Phal braceana and wilsonii, who said Phals were easy?

Psychopsiella limminghei is a warm to intermediate grower that likes it moist. I grow mine on treefern and it does well.

Pleurotahllids and I are not on the best terms. I think the best way to grow these is in a case with a misting system so that they can just be mounted on treefern or epiweb with some live moss. I find they have shallow roots and they don't like soggy stale conditions at all. I have only one species.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/pleurbrighami.htm

Carolyn orchids just have very specific needs but once you get that down they are pretty much just like any other plant. There are of course fussy humidity lovers and you really need to research each species but information is much more available than it is for Hoyas. I am sure we could be your orchid coaches if you every try again.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Psychopsiella limminghei on Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia

Quinn, that is a really cute orchid. I wish you luck with it. I have no luck with paphs. I have one that I believe it came from you. I have it on my kitchen windowsill. I has never bloomed for me in the house, but I'm glad it's alive and doing well. I lost most of my cats, all of my dendrobiums and vandas this past winter. The just couldn't survive the cold weather. I'm hesitant at replacing them all. I will probably stick with hoya. At least I can bring them in the house (if I'm home when it gets cold). My african violets suffered too this past winter. We were up north in December when the freezing temps came. Must have lost power too, because my violets sat in the dark for two weeks. I guess I should look around for a 'plant sitter' if I have to travel up north. LOL

While on the topic of Aerangis, I thought I'd include a series of pics of my Aerangis mooreana from last fall. This is the best performing Aerangis I have right now.

A lot of people like the Angraceums, but I'm partial to the Aerangis. This plant is in triple spike again right now, as well as it has started two side growths. So next year, I should have even more spikes and flowers.

Renee

Renee that is a very well grown plant and I can only imagine how impressive it will be in another couple of years. Some of these Aerangis can produce a stunning number of flowers.

Mike

Okay this is what I have to say:

1. Quinn, that Aerangis punctuata is so cute. Congratulations!!

2. Mike, if I broke into your home to steal a plant and saw that buy Paphiopetalum bellatulum, I might forget about Hoyas for a couple heartbeats. It's MY favorite of your orchids. 3. Renee, I love that Aerangis mooreana. What a beauty! I love the way white orchids instantly summon visions of moths and moonlight.

4. Okay, brilliant orchid people. If you were going to recommend 3 orchids that were interesting yet tolerant enough for someone who was still learning, what would you suggest?

Apologies, Hoya-growing friends, for the orchid hijack. I got excited when I saw this thread started by my friend Quinnfyre. I found this thread because my level of enthusiasm runs so deep that I actually have an automatic robot that e-mails me every time a new website/forum has the word 'aerangis' or 'angraecum' pop up. No joke (and no judging plz!)

Q - Great acquisition - punctata is so uncommon these days, although a few nurseries now have plants maturing or so I've heard. Mine doesn't remember how to grow and just sits there :-(. Distincta is available (finally) from Jason Fischer at Orchids Limited (a bit pricey though). Kirkii is basically completely gone and we're still waiting on the ever elusive splendida.

Renee - your mooreana is stunning, and one of the best displays I've seen. Good growing! Please share cultural conditions if you feel like it!

Greedyghost - how apt that these aerangis conjure up that imagery for you, considering that is precisely how they are pollinated: by moths, under moonlight. The moths stick their tongues into those spurs to reach the nectar, and in the process, get covered with pollonia. If you need anymore enabling, the flowers of this genus also release fantastic fragrance at night.

Mike - another ang grower in Ontario, what a rarity! I know of only one other lady in Toronto who grows lots of angraecoids. I recently got some interesting and impossible to find ang-related stuff that you might be interested in - feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you're still growing and interested in trading.

Since we're on the topic of angraecoids and it seems to have brought some of you ang-growers out into the open, I hope you don't mind my shameless sharing. Here's a plant I have recently blooming and it's really awesome: Aerangis arachnopus

Beautiful little orchids. ENVY! ENVY! ENVY!
I will not, I will not, I will not, buy another orchid. After losing most of my orchids, I think I would die if it happened to me again. Therefore, I will just drool at all the orchid pictures posted here on this forum. I don't even visit the orchid forum anymore. I don't want to be tempted. Poor me.

GG I think the perfect orchid for you would be Brassavola nodosa. The Brassavola species are highly night fragrant and also pollinated buy moths but generally speaking they are much more forgiving than Angraecoids. I posted a photo of myself holding up my Brassavola nodosa in full bloom that you might remember but my Flickr pro account just expired and I can't access that photo to post at the moment.
I have my plant mounted on cork and it hangs in a sunny but slightly shaded South facing window and gets misted heavily once a day and a soak once a week, nothing too demanding and then you never have to worry about repotting.

Calvin that is a gorgeous Aerangis and one I have never seen offered or even displayed at any of the Toronto or Southern Ontario shows. I have always loved the swept back dorsal, petals and lateral sepals of this species and the way the flowers are presented.
Alan Tetzalaff of Black Dragon Orchids in Port Stanley has some nice Aerangis cryptodon plants available as well in case you are looking, not a commonly seen species by any means.
So is the Ang crazed MrBreeze still posting over in the orchid forum? When I used to post over there he and I were both very much into Angraecoids. I ended up wiping out about 80% of my orchid collection when I tried out a mychorhizal inoculant and was completely heart broken and off orchids for quite a while before jumping back in over the past few years.

Mike

Sounds perfect, Mike. Thanks so much for the advice. I definitely trust your opinion and I do remember that picture of you with yours.

White orchids really are my favorite, even thought saying that out loud always makes me feel like I'm announcing my prom corsage preference.

I'll second Mike's suggestion - it's a gorgeous plant and is divisible which means you can have pieces for friends and trades within a few years.

Mike: Mr. B is still quite active but not much on GW anymore...I don't visit the orchid side of GW much, although I still frequent a few other forums. One in particular has the largest group of angraecoid growers I've found online, and we all share pictures, culture ideas and sources for new plants. Aerangis cryptodon is regrettably one of those giant beauties that I can't fit in my 4x2 feet growing space. But one day....

I'm so sorry to hear about your fungus mishap, but I'm glad to hear you're getting back into it. I'm making it my mission right now to start propagation of some of the hard to find angs in Canada and North America...a bit of a joint effort with some friends and ang enthusiasts. So don't give up - these things will appear again. Again, I'm happy to connect if you are interested in anything so shoot me an e-mail whenever!

Wow, Aerangis punctata brings Calvin over to the hoya forum for a visit! Hi Calvin, how's your kirkii doing? Mine is looking good again. I think I burned it a little when my timer spazzed out. I think the lights stayed on 24-7 for over a week. Also, I KNEW there were Aerangis growers out there. Renee, your mooreana is gorgeous. Reminds me a lot of mystacidii. I seem to gravitate heavily toward the Aerangis vs the Angraecum orchids too. There's just something about them. I love that arachnopus, Calvin. They look so delicate. Me, I'm swimming in seedlings as of late. I now have those modesta seedlings still, a bunch of mystacidii seedlings, and Neofinetia falcata Shu Ten Nou seedlings.

GG, I think almost all of my orchids will bloom white. Then again, almost all of my orchids are Angraecoids. I'm gonna let Mike do the orchid recommending, because I seem to be the contrary one about orchid growing stereotypes... the ones that are supposed to be easy to grow I do very poorly with, yet the supposedly trickier Angraecoids are much easier for me. I mean, everyone says the best beginner orchids are Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilums, and I have killed both. Numerous times. Oh, and Oncidiums and Oncidium intergenerics. Percentage wise, I have killed far far fewer Angraecoids. I'm still struggling a bit with Pleurothallids but I love them.

One that is doing really well for me even during the time when I felt overwhelmed by life was Chaemangis (or Microterangis) hariotiana. It actually blooms pumpkin orange, but each individual flower is teeny tiny. It has bloomed faithfully in April every single year since I've had it. It is super cute! Here's an early pic of it:

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Looking at this picture now I realize just how much this guy has grown. Maybe I'll get a new picture of it this weekend.

I have four species of Brassavola and I have to say that they are all great plants and I would add more species if I see them available. The scent is very sweet yet smokey although it changes from species to species. I will forgo posting that photo of myself again and offer a quick look at the Orchid Species Group on Flickr
. It will give you an idea of the Genus although Brassavola nodosa would probably be the best to start with.

Calvin it sounds like you have an orchid case as well? I have been able to bloom so many more of my difficult orchids since I got mine that I would never want to be without it.

Quinn that is a cute plant.

Mike

Thanks guys, and Mike, yep hoping it continues to do well for me.

GG - As for a suggestion for an "easy" orchid, if you like species, one of the most tolerant orchids I have is Dendrobium moniliforme. White flowers, spectacular fragrance, when well grown can bloom twice a year.

But the best thing about it, I leave it outside down to freezing in the winter, and it just laughs at our numerous high 90s to 100F days in the summer. Relatively tolerant with watering, relatively tolerant with light levels.

But I would add, if you do a search on them, although the variegated ones are prettier, they don't seem to be as tolerant as the standard green ones.

Calvin - nothing special for the mooreana. Since it is mounted, watered pretty much every day in spring, summer, fall, but here that still means it dries out every day. In winter, I actually give it brighter light than summer, and let it dry out in between waterings more.

Temp - outside until nights consistently go down to 50F, summertime it gets whatever Mother Nature brings our way.

Renee

A couple pics:

New guy:

The first one, not dead? It is surrounded by snail pellets because I saw one right next to that baby leaf. Also, I may have been mistaken, but I swear I saw a nubbin of new green growth of a potential even newer baby leaf, but didn't see it the next day, so the bleepity bleep bleep snail may have munched it. It's a little hard to see, it's the tiny red edged leaf in the middle, not the bright green root in front. (I decided to put in an arrow pointing to it.) These two punctatas are not in the same case, the case with snails is quarantined:

Actually, I take that back, I DO have an orchid recommendation. Neofinetia falcata. This is a fairly small orchid, and I find it pretty easy going, overall. It will bloom multiple times a year, and the blooms are really fragrant. Sort of jasmine-y to start, then becomes vanilla/coconut-y. Don't go for the crazy expensive special Japanese varieties with variegation and different colored flowers to start, but the basic white flowered one. I love mine. That being said, I have managed to get my hands on one of those fancier versions, but it will be a while before I see any blooms. I think it will be worth the wait though!

This one's mine:

And a link below to how the new ones should bloom someday. If you want to see some of the crazy expensive ones, there doesn't seem to be a link back to the home page, but just go to http://www.newworldorchids.com/pages/neofinetia.htm. There are some there that are running over $100. Per growth. Just for reference, mine is a 6-7 growth plant. And I think I got it for $11. Huge difference in price between a common one and the rare guys!

Here is a link that might be useful: Neofinetia falcata Shu Ten Nou

Very cute little babies, Quinn! I had a couple of baby orchids appear and I didn't know wtf was going on, so I emailed Mike and he patiently explained what to do. Then, when I returned to my orchid, the baby was lying on the ground, apparently bitten off by my cat. So I'm snail free, but not home free...

Okay so...

Brassavola nodosa
Dendrobium moniliforme
Neofinetia falcata

Thanks for the continued beauteous recommendations. I'm writing everything down and look forward to taking my first baby steps after some extensive research.

Out of the last three pics, only one is a baby. The other two are blooming sized. That is how small these guys are. Well, my Neo is not THAT small (it is in a 3.5 or 4 in pot, for reference), but punctata is. If it should bloom, punctata's flower will most likely be as big as or bigger than the plant.

Oh kitty. Why must you hurt plants? Mine don't tend to, but I try to make them seem like furniture and therefore not interesting. For example, most of my plants are shelved, and pretty packed on each shelf, so there is no room for a cat, and it kinda looks more like a wall. Or they are encased behind acrylic or glass. Although I have had my one cat sitting atop the acrylic lid. She can't fathom why I shoo her off. I've considered getting those clear plastic pigeon deterrent spikes, and putting them on top of my case so she doesn't walk on it, but I fear having her poke her eye out. So, she struts, I shoo. Ah well. It's not that often, at least.

One of these days I want a brassavola too.

Quinn there is a very cute little species that would fit in your case as well, Brassavola martiana. This is the only Brassavola I have ever killed so maybe it just wanted to have more humidity. Brassavola are pretty darn tough orchids generally speaking so I was shocked when I lost this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brassavola martiana

Renee - thanks for the recommendations. I think I probably under-light mine. I will try more light in the winter and see if that does the trick

Mike - Yes I grow in cases with misters. This is the first time I've left them to fend for themselves for 7 weeks, so I'm hoping when I get home, things are still alive! A truly stunning plant is brassavola cucullata...I finally got one of those, a mere 2 growth seedling. Lets see if it does well.

Q: Very nice plant! I have had limited experience with punctata but I feel like it likes bare cork and dislikes moss..but who knows. Could be condition specific!

Calvin I have a huge Brassavola cucullata specimen on a cork slab that's about 12" tall by 8" across. My plant never seems to have more than two or three flowers open at a time and I suspect that it would be happier with higher humidity.

I was lucky to add Brassavola acaulis to my collection last year and I am hoping it flowers soon. I really have a thing for terete leaved orchids and especially the pendant growers.

I have to manually mist the plants in my orchid case and I would love to get an automated system for when I am on vacations. Going away for more than a week makes me really stressed out.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Brassavola acaulis