u/DruidicEpiphyte

I've had this wonderful miniature in my collection for some time now and have even posted about it a few times. She is finally ready for that macro treatment that I give all my overacheiving and beautiful orchids!

I absolutely love this one! Very easy to care for, unique fan palm-like foliage that has an orange tint when receiving enough light and constantly flowering year round! I recall being jealous of u/Llumina_Starweaver 's for having so many spikes in the past. Completely unnecessary on my part 😅 I just needed to give mine patience and persistent conditions it favors...6 spikes is wild 🤯!

🎶 Soul Sounds - Hella Dank

Lepanthes tsubotae

It's been just under two months since I posted about this orchid for the first time. It has already given me an additional flush of blooms between then and now, but there's so many open blooms and developing spikes compared to before! I felt like this gorgeous gem deserved one more video. It is definitely one of my favorites now and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

My very first bulbophyllum bloom! I have a good handful of bulbos in my collection, however most were bought as seedlings. I received this one as a bareroot clump in the beginning of the year which I then mounted to a chunk of cork bark with some dried moss and then placed in my indoor greenhouse setup. It took a lot of time and patience to find the right spot to place this one where it was receiving close to the right amount of light. Once I got it right, it doubled it's pseudobulb count and doubled said PB's size! The biggest PB is putting out two flower spikes and a third spike is hidden behind all the foliage of this nice (imo) specimen. Regular weekly fertilizing and consistent high moisture have made all my bulbos noticeably beefy- but this one and the macranthum take the cake and are much larger than most of my miniature collection. The blooms smell faintly of fresh cut strawberries in the morning hours (so far)!

Today I'll be showing off my first bloom with this newly described orchid species! This miniature occurs naturally on the underside of mossy branches in Laos. It's deciduous and will lose these gorgeous, fan-like leaves by late fall/early winter where it will go dormant until spring. I'm very fortunate this beautiful plant gave me a flower near the end of it's growing season 😊

I keep this one in my indoor greenhouse in intermediate to cool temperatures, 80+% humidity with good airflow and misted/watered daily since it is mounted to a small cork slab. Important to note- this growing habit is a product of it's natural growing environment. It likes to poke its leaves out from underneath wherever it is growing. You'll notice that the leaves almost function like an umbrella for the delicate flower beneath. This is on purpose! Take caution when watering this plant to not get the blooms wet. It should be carefully watered near the base of the plant.

I hope you enjoy! I felt this one deserved a slightly longer video 😍

I've been rehabilitating this one pretty much all year! It had a less than ideal shipping experience and had to cross a few borders, no less! I've been very excited for this first little bloom. You couldn't ask for a better thumbs up from your plant who was on the brink of death 6 months prior.

While I know this one isn't as popular as some of the other lepanthes that I've posted recently, it definitely holds a special place in my heart. It's one of the few blooming orchids I have that features green petals. To me, this bloom looks like a green luna moth resting on sparkling fire! How about you? Are you like me- a moth drawn to this flower's flame? 💚🔥

This miniature phal doesn't seem to take breaks and has already giving me it's 2nd spike under my care since I obtained it less than a year ago. Looks like I'll have a nice flush of fresh blooms to look at every 5-6 months with this one! (It already has 2 new spikes starting at near the crown 😊). While this spike has less blooms than the last one, I suspect that has to be from not quite having the schedule that is has now initially. At any rate, the original post is here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/orchids/s/hC4BPMZ4GJ

Another gorgeous, strange and tiny gem! With blooms resembling yellow and red eldricht fairies, this orchid likes to be an overachiever and bloom year round when conditions are right. I can't take credit for all these blooms, however. I've only had this orchid a few days and it came in spike right out of box (thank you, as always, Tarzanegroup). Here's a close up of one of the newest lepanthes to join the collection 😊

I got this cute miniature back in May and it has continuously flowered for me. It always seems to be working on new blooms! So, I figured it's time I give this beautiful tiny orchid the close-up treatment it deserves. I keep this one in intermediate to cool temperatures, above 80% humidity constantly, and in a shady spot within my indoor greenhouse. I hope you like the tiny, orange umbrellas as much as I do! 🧡⛱️

This is footage fresh out of the box from Tarzane Group, so I will not be taking credit for blooming this lovely miniature. Instead, I'd like for it to be a shining example of what to expect when ordering from Tarzane. Lush and beautiful, safely packed to where it won't lose it's flowers...just all around excellence in an online orchid shop! Tomas and Yair simply do not miss with any individual orchid I have purchased (and I've purchased many at this point).

At any rate, enjoy the close-ups from my macro lens.

So glad to finally cross this one off my wishlist for a great price and already so healthy 🙌

This is my first dryadella species and I got it from Tarzane Group several months ago. Finally, some blooms! Here's a close up look at this miniature orchid 🔍I'm officially obsessed!

I've gotten a handful of questions and requests regarding my setup and how I keep a lot of my orchids. It's a tall order that's difficult to fulfill without simply taking you inside one of my little slices of green heaven 💚

The setup itself is a small greenhouse made of wood and polycarbonate sheets that I purchased off Amazon during a Black Friday sale. Inside I've installed several Barrina t5 full spectrum led bars, a Reptifogger unit that runs vapor through two hoses (one for the intermediate/warm chamber up top and one for the intermediate/cool chamber down below), and some 4" oscillating fans. Beyond that I took wire mesh storage cubes and even some spare 8ga coated steel wire to create a space to hang many of my orchids. For cooling and additional ambient humidity, I employ a lot of natural methods such as slabs of diatomaceous earth and fluid filled, unglazed terracotta to get some nice evaporative cooling effects. I have still found this to be somewhat inadequate for strict cold growers and also use a mini fridge not seen in the video. Other than that, it's important to note that this is located in an air conditioned basement which has allowed me to grow so many different cooler growing orchids than typical of someone who lives in my climate zone.

This is the culmination of a LOT of experimentation while also growing 104 individual orchids among 87 different species and hybrids within the setup. This is not my whole collection, but a good chunk of it. The full span of my collection is about 144 individuals among 120 different species/hybrids and rising. I've still got so much more room for precious minis and that's the biggest appeal to me. My numbers look huge (to the average hobbyist...I know some of you out there are more crazy than I am), but you just saw well over half the collection 🤯

I hope this was sufficient enough for the curiosity of those who have asked me about this in the past. As I said, it can be a LOT of info to take in at once and to do it with a picture or two doesn't do it justice.

A special thanks to:

The myriad of great online orchid shops such as Tarzane Group, Louisiana Orchid Connection, and Seattle Orchids.

My local orchid nurseries Rainbeau Orchids (Hi, Ramya! 👋) and Peach State Orchids

The amazing friends I've made along the way like

u/Llumina_Starweaver and u/rtthrowawayyyyyyy

And most importantly- thanks to my loving wife, son and family for putting up with my obsession ❤️

I wanted to reminisce on everything I bloomed this year. Unfortunately, I hit the image cap long before I had finished attaching pictures to this post 😅 Sadly, this means I will have to cherry pick my shots even more and simply include everything else down in the comments if there's enough interest. I will also be listing everything below as well, just in case someone felt inspired by one of my orchids!

I got this lovely micro miniature orchid from Tarzane Group less than 2 months ago and it's already spiking like crazy! Here's a close look at it's first bloom under my care 😊

I finally got a macro lens attachment this past weekend and wanted to show off all the details of a very, very tiny flower I posted a few days ago. I have absolutely fallen in love with this little baby. Something so small with so many little details! I'm looking forward to future blooms with multiple flowers!

As stated on the previous video, this is the smallest known phalaenopsis species orchid currently known and only occurs naturally in and around the state of Pahang in the Malaysian penninsula at elevations of 100 meters or less on mossy bark near water sources within the rainforests. It is easily my favorite phalaenopsis that I have flowered and the most difficult. I've been so impatient the past few months 😅

I hope everyone enjoys the super close-up shots I took! Now we can see all my minis in much greater detail moving forward with my posts. I'm looking forward to showing everyone my personal slice of heaven one tiny orchid at a time!

I am very pleased to share my very first blooming of the smallest phal in the world! I got this lovely miniature from my favorite vendor, Tarzane Group, last year.

Found only in the state of Pahang on the Malaysian penninsula, this particular species can be a bit more difficult to keep happy than your standard phal. It grows at elevations of only 100 meters or less in the rainforests near streams and requires a stable and constant humidity to even bloom. Sudden shifts can cause bud blast and the leaves can be semi- deciduous and or burn if the light gets too strong. Suffice to say, it can be a bit difficult keeping this princess happy AND intact with all its parts!

It is smaller than my thumb 👍, but strikingly beautiful in both shape and coloration! It is not known for fragrance, but I could swear I smell a faint sweet smell off of it when it finally began to open. I have been watching this baby since the beginning of March when I noticed the spike emergence!

Got this orchid in rough shape potted in all sphagnum durung fall of last year. After rehabbing, I mounted it to a cork slab that it decided to quickly take over and start spiking like crazy! I actually cut off the first two spikes it made, because I wanted some fresh foliage and more roots (vegetative growth) over the spring. After putting out a new, beautifully lush leaf, it began spiking again! So, I just let it do its thing. This is the first bloom of 1 of 3 spikes it's currently working on. Quite the vigorous monster! I keep it in my indoor greenhouse's warmer chamber @ around 72° and 85%+ constant humidity.

No fragrance, but look at that little soul patch of hair on the lip 😳

I was hoping I could get some help figuring out the ID on this masdevallia.

Long story, not so short- Last year for Ecuagenera's Black Friday event I ordered a decent amount of orchids. One of those orchids was supposed to be a Masdevallia deformis. Shipping didn't go great either as it was shipped beginning of this year in the middle of winter without the heat pack I paid for. Despite almost losing this one (note the burned leaves that remained once I stabilized it and now has healthy leaves in contrast), I've managed to nurse it back to health and it's now flowering for me. The flowers look nothing like a deformis, though 😅. I had contacted Ecuagenera about it earlier this week- afterall, I paid for a deformis and still would like one (and the tag even says deformis), but I'm not too upset with what I got and have explained to them that I simply want an ID so I know what I even have. Complete radio silence. So, I figured I'd try to use the Reddit collective mind to help me find out what I have.

Additional notes about this orchid- the petals are semi transparent and you can see the flower's internal parts from the outside. The lip of the flower also wiggles. There is a very light, sweet fragrance to the blooms. It has been in my indoor greenhouse @ around 68°F days, 64°F nights, constant humidity above 80% with airflow.

Again, I'm not trying to complain or make a fuss over Ecuagenera- I just want answers. What is my mystery masdevallia's name? Or maybe someone can point me in the direction of a masdevallia specialist. There's a particular redditor in mind I may DM if they don't see this post and no consensus is reached 🤔

This miniature orchid has flowered and multiplied continuously once I brought it home and gave it stable humidity. I have been able to divide it and grow it in a variety of conditions very quickly which makes me feel as if this particular masdevallia standout from it's peers.

Masdevallia have a tendency to be fussy, but this one takes cool to warm temperatures. As warm as what is typically expected of bulbophyllums! It will even tolerate lower humidity than other masdevallias. Pictured below in the comments is yet another division that didn't make it into the video. It is potted in a miniature glazed terracotta vase with tree fern fiber, charcoal and perlite and sits on a shelf with relative room humidity of around 55-60%. It is important to note that while it tolerates this treatment, it does not grow as quickly or vigorously as it would in higher humidity levels.

Another great miniature species phal in my indoor greenhouse. This particular orchid was a birthday gift last month and it came potted with a double spike! I carefully mounted it to some cork bark with live moss and it looks like it is finally warming up to it's new surroundings 😊

I feel as if my last post and video on it while it wasn't even fully bloomed could've done a better job illustrating this beautiful plant.

A couple things to mention: I apologize if my manner of speech comes off slow and full of filler words like "um" and "uh". I typically do not make content like this and at the time of recording, it has been less than a week since I had oral surgery. The pain medicine and swollen mouth and face make it difficult to pronounce clearly AND quickly. I did not want to miss the chance to feature this gem again before the blooms start falling, though!

All that said, I hope you enjoy! If you really like this orchid, let's talk about it! That's why I'm posting here in the first place 😊