Very pretty, colorful blooms! Do you know names? Particularly the two plants in the first. Picture. They are both so pretty.

Unfortunately, I neglected to take shots of labels & many were not labeled. I'm a member now, so I'll try to remember to look for names on my next visit.

Ola Ariel. Do you grow any of the native species? Do you see them in the jungle? Thanks, Harvey

At the moment, I don't have any natives. I have only recently started to get plants again. I gave everything away when I moved here rather than try to deal with red tape to bring them into Mexico. Presently I have a dendrobium nobile that I split into 3, an unidentified possible stanhopea that was thrown in as a bonus with the dendrobium, and 2 cattleyas I bought at the VBG.

I haven't been hiking other than at the botanical garden, but people tell me that one can see orchids on forested mountains here.

Lovely pics from a Mexican botanical garden. Would be a nice adventure to see them in the wild.

I want to go on an orchid-spotting hike. Unfortunately, I am lazy & out-of-shape.

shavedmonkey, I have discovered that I was wrong. I do have a native, a gongora galatea.

Does it grow near you? Is it easy to grow because the plant is home?

Mine has made lots of roots but hasn't produced a new pseudobulb yet. It wasn't in fantastic shape when I got it. Some leaves had been burned by fertiliser escaping from a bag in the same box. It actually was a bonus thrown in with a dendrobium I ordered. So this particular plant came from the other side of the country but not a huge difference in latitude. I'm guessing it should grow easily. Most orchids than can take heat & sun do really well here. I haven't been on an orchid-sighting (rescuing?) trip yet, but I want to do it.

As long as it is growing a p-bulb will come. The plant knows when...Not native to you but Vanda's love the sun...

I just haven't found a vanda I want yet. The dendrobium I ordered & the freebie gongora that came with it weren't in the best shape, so I'm probably not ordering for shipment here anymore. The botanical garden sells plants & they have a programme devoted to conservation of native Mexican orchids, so that will be a source, probably. They do also have & sell vandas. On my last visit, there were only two vandas & neither spoke to me, so I'm going to keep an eye out. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the catts I have are holding up to the sun I force on them. I think because I tend to water a bit frequently & there's fantastic air movement, they're accommodating my conditions. I'm really hoping to convince the guy who runs the (very inactive) orchid society to take me on some orchid rescue hikes in the jungle or to agree to an orchid show here.

Ask if they have any scheduled meetings or any events...If your plants drain quickly and do not hold much water watering frequently can be a benefit. I do. My plants are in clay pots or mounted on trees or cork. In the pots i only use lava rock around 3/4". Never breaks down. Roots need and get air. All of the brassavola's would grow well there. Also known as lady of the night as its aroma comes out at night only. If you feed and water them it will take over.

I use mostly lava rock, but I have a couple of experiments going.