WOW! that is beautiful! You must have very bright lites to have a dend bloom in your terrarium.
Ana :)

My dend looks just like that. When it blooms, I'll take a pic for comparison.

Sam

Actually, this is the strangest dend in that it is the most tolerant of all my orchids of low light! Even more so than my phals!! I know, everyone says 'Dends need very high light!', but I think that dend-phals must need less, because this thing is insane. . . not that I mind, of course. =) The colours are actually the best they have ever been at this flowering. I have noticed that higher light really makes a difference in this. My phal that is currently blooming was outside this summer, and it's amazing! The colour is way better than the last time it flowered (two years ago; I'm still learning). The first time it bloomed I thought it was just evenly deep pink, but now it has a darker lip! Oh, I have a pic of it. Here it is:

{{gwi:1271478}}

There would have been two more buds/flowers between the current blooms and the top bud, but my baby got ahold of it when I wasn't looking and broke them off! I was not impressed. . . but there isn't anything that can be done now! There's always next year. . .
And I am now totally sold on keeping orchids outside in the summer!

Sam: does yours have veining in a darker colour on the petals? Do you know the name of yours? Also, mine is a little pinker than this pic shows, and the tips of the sepals aren't suppsed to be white. That happened because they are a bit burned from the lights. Hopefully the next blooming will be more 'accurate'. =)

Sahoya-

Mine is called "Den. Blue Violetta No.199". THere's nothing blue about this guy! The veining was slightly darker than the petals, and the color was a very intense purple/pink. Now I really want it to bloom so I can show you!

It's grown a huge cane since I got it this winter, so maybe it'll yield soon. I bought it from my local Target store.

Sam

Are you saying it's a dendrobium x phalaenopis hybrid sahoyaref?
Are you saying dendrobiums won't bloom without bright lighting ladybug_guam? I have a few that I've found that are shade plants (5 I think, perhaps 6) but if they won't bloom only a few are interesting enough foliage wise to go for it.
Darn it! you people give me as many questions as I get answers. More stuff to look up. SIGH! :)

No, dend-phals are not hybrids. They are dendrobiums whose flowers resemble phal flowers, so they are called dend-phals. They differ from the nobile type dends in that they are evergreen, requiring no dry rest period, and the flower spikes come from the tops of the canes, not the bottom (as with nobiles). The nobile types need more light, IME.

Sam: as much as I wish mine were the same as yours so that I'd know the ID, I'm pretty sure they are different. Mine is a 'mini'. You say yours has grown a huge cane. Mine stays nice and short, max one foot tall. I still want to see pics of it's blooms though! =) Always love seeing orchids. And they are SO rewarding when they bloom!

I wouldn't call this a mini, but all of the canes are less than one foot long.

Sam

Hm! That is interesting! And no, it's not really a mini, but in terms of height, most dendros get much more than 1 foot tall, so I think it is considered a mini, just not a micro-mini like many bulbos and other 'true' mini orchids. Now I really want to see yours bloom!