Hello! I hope someone here can help me out... I got this orchid as a gift maybe 2 months ago & have no idea what it is or even what class of orchid it is. I have NO idea what requirements it may or may not have as all my other orchids (except for a single dendrobium) are all phals. The flowers are about 2" wide & 2.5" tall. It is also VERY fragrant. Any help would be massively appreciated. K. in Canada.
You may want to look at these. Burrageara Nellie Isler 'Pololei Flame' Burrageara Nellie Isler 'Swiss Beauty' Jim
Jim, Thanks so much for your time & research on my behalf! It would appear that I have a cross somewhere in between those two. The top half of the flower is the same as the Pololei Flame whereas the bottom half is more rounded like the Swiss Beauty. How wonderful to know that I have a Mitonia x Oncidium x Odontoglossum x Cochlioda cross. I'll tell you what though, the thing is SO fragrant (not a bad fragrance just strong) that when there's daylight, I have to keep it outdoors because my apartment is small & it just becomes overwhelming. Is there anyone here in Midtown Toronto that might be interested in having it? I hate to just leave it to someone who won't care about it & I can't just throw it out... I have successfully rehabilitated it & it does have 4 new growths coming from the base of 2 of the bulbs. If that fails, I will hang onto it & hope I can get it to flower only in the late spring & summer months. Anyone have a guess on how often it will bloom? Thanks again Jim! Karen in Toronto.
It looks like a Miltonia or Miltiniopsis. check in the web in google.com and write miltonia orchid you can read about it/ amir_rad68
Karen, just a quick note: I wanted to get you in the ballpark. Your Orchid is closer to being one of those I listed more so than the other. The difference is in the base color (background color) of the "flag" as one is more white and the other seems to be more reddish pink (yours). I would not just give your plant away. I'd keep it. If you want to mask over or cover up the fragrance, perhaps have an intriguing blend get one of these. The sweet chocolate like fragrance is wonderful and amazingly potent. No need for potpourri with one of these around. Oncidium Sharry Baby Jim
Jim, It's hard to get a good picture of the flowers now b/c the plant has been outdoors for about 2 weeks - the sun has really made a change in the way the colours present themselves so I can't really tell what colour the background/flag is or was. Funny thing though - I have received a couple of orchids from the place I work at - they get them in full bloom and when the bloom period is pretty well finished, I get to bring them home. Last week I got exactly the plant you mentioned there! You can see it there in the "that's how to fit them all back on the table after watering" picture I took the day after I got it. It smells so tasty & is so very lovely! Sadly, because it was dropping flowers everywhere, I had to cut the spike off & hope to see a new one soon but have no idea how long it will take or if the conditions by my window are optimal. The miltonia cross that I have here is UBER-fragrant in comparison and I have to be pretty careful with the fragrances in my home as some scents can actually trigger migraine headaches for me. Luckily, the smell of chocolate is not a problem but the smell or maybe the strength of the fragrance of this one is too much for me to handle. I spoke to my Mum & told her the problem and she has decided that she can make a little room for this pretty red "whatsit" in amongst her other orchids. She has some sort of magic thing going on with plants of all kinds & I'm sure it will be very well taken care of. I do have another question for you though - do you know how to tell if a Dendrobium is going to send out a flower spike? I think I read somewhere that it sends a spike out after the bottom leaf on a new cane falls off. Any truth to that rumor? I think the bottom leaf fell off mine about a month ago & I'm still waiting. It's a solid purple one & looks like a Dendrobium Phalaenopsis but it came without a tag so I'm just guessing. Thanks for your interest! As a newbie orchid grower, it's nice to know there are people out there willing to help me out! Cheers, Karen.
I do not think the leaf falling is a very reliable way to tell. My dendrobium spiked after the new growth ( a new cane that grows out from an old one) has finished growing. The spike came out from the top of the growth. The only way to tell that your den has spiked is to see the spike, which should be thin and greenish. I noticed no leaf falling. I'm not saying it's impossible for a den to spike if it has lost its bottom leaf...so keep your hopes up.