r/miniorchids

This compact, epiphytic Stelis (resembling Stelis dussii) likely thrives in humid, shaded tropical forests on Guadeloupe’s Basse-Terre, possibly in cool, misty montane rainforests (400–1100m), perhaps near La Soufrière. It grows on bark, branches, and trunks in the forest’s under- or mid-canopy, where constant moisture and filtered light create ideal conditions.

A true indicator of intact, old-growth tropical forests, its delicate inflorescences and narrow leaves love warm temps and high humidity. Fun fact: If humidity drops, the flowers close fast, even just opening my orchidarium door can trigger it!

This miniature, caespitose epiphytic orchid is found from Cuba to Bolivia (70–2100m) in wet montane and piedmont forests. Its short ramicauls carry a single narrowly oblanceolate, dark green, leathery leaf, while the 10 cm long, zigzagged inflorescence bears 8–11 simultaneous, pale brown, 4 mm flowers in spring through late summer!

Care: Needs high humidity, shade, and good airflow. Mount on cork or grow in fine bark mix. Easy to grow, perfect for miniature orchid lovers! Often confused with P. marginata or P. pissina, but S. picta has simultaneous blooms.

Got these photos before I went on a little camping trip. Hope you guys enjoy this plant has been an and absolutely amazing one to take care of and it also has little pseudo bulbs.

Allora, ho questa mantide orchidea femmina da 2/3 mesi e 2 settimane fa ha fatto l'ultimo calco e le sono spuntate le ali. Stamattina ho trovato il suo terrario Exoterra attaccato al retro della mia scrivania. Non lo attacco mai sul retro perché c'è un tappetino riscaldante sul retro del terrario e temo che possa danneggiare il legno. Inoltre, la presa d'aria anteriore era chiusa e non la chiudo mai per massimizzare la ventilazione. L'ho trovata anche sul substrato, il che è molto strano per una mantide orchidea o per qualsiasi mantide in generale. Quando l'ho guardata, sembrava stare bene, ma ho notato che solo uno dei suoi occhi era viola, il che non è normale, e dopo diverse ore aveva ancora lo stesso occhio viola. Sono molto preoccupata che possa aver subito un trauma cadendo. Credo che la donna delle pulizie di casa mia abbia urtato il terrario e questo spiegherebbe perché era spostato indietro e la presa d'aria anteriore chiusa, e la mantide potrebbe essere caduta a causa dell'impatto. Sono molto preoccupata. Ha preso del cibo, ma ha solo morso un ramo ed è rimasta immobile per un minuto intero prima di lasciarlo andare.

This miniature, caespitose epiphytic orchid from coastal Venezuela and Colombia (700–1500m) thrives in warm to intermediate conditions. Its erect, slender ramicauls carry a single elliptical, leathery leaf, while the 12 cm tall, flexuous inflorescence bears many simultaneous, brilliant violet, star-shaped flowers (4 mm each) in spring, summer, and fall!

Care: Needs high humidity, shade, and good airflow. Mount on cork or grow in fine bark mix. Easy to grow, perfect for miniature orchid lovers!

hi was hoping someone can help me ? My boyfriend gifted me this orchid in May, she dropped all her flowers since then except this one that’s stayed on since then. It recently just started growing that new leaf out. I cut the second spike thinking it would help my orchid rebloom but I don’t know now, what can I do to help rebloom? 🙁

The Vandachostylis Blue Star is forming a new spike!!!!!!

So... I hate this plastic mounts and basically all my other orchids are mounted on wood.

Is there a good way to transfer it without much harm? Did it once with a schoenorchis and it is only now growing, after 2 or 3 months... not the best experience (mainly for my heart hahaha)

Ps. I'll not change anything yet, since it seems to be flowering

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 ❤️

These flowers have been going for a few weeks now. They're super bright, if not tiny. This is my first attempt at a macro focus stack - I think it worked out well enough.

Hello everyone, another call for help from my side.

I’ve had these two Draculas (chimaera and vampira) for about two months. I didn’t get them in a perfect condition, but in the last week their condition deteriorated significantly (see the leaves).

To be fair, the temperatures where we are were way to high for them (in the room they are standing the temperature was as high as 30 degrees Centigrade), could it possibly be the reason their leaves are like this?

They are making new leaves and chimaera is about to bloom, so I’m rather confused 😵‍💫

I’m really pleased to bloom this cool grower in my warm-intermediate conditions. I acquired this plant early in my orchid growing journey (a few years ago) before I’d learned much about proper care for highland species. It has sat in the back of my enclosure growing nice glossy leaves ever since then, but never flowering…until now! Not sure what changed, but I’m thrilled. The flowers have a vague scent of pool chlorine.

This miniature epiphytic orchid (200–1500m) thrives in warm to intermediate temps (day: 18–27°C, night: 10–18°C). Loves 75–80% humidity, partial shade (4.000–8.000 lux (75–150 µmol/m²/s PPFD)), and a well-draining mix (bark, charcoal, perlite, sphagnum). Water to keep moist but not soggy, drier in winter helps bloom induction!

Care tip: Mount on cork with live sphagnum or use fine, airy mixes in pots. Avoid ferntree for mounting, roots are too delicate! Needs a 10°C day-night temp drop to flower.

Handcrafted necklace with an orchid preserved in UV Resin. Available.
r/orchids
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r/Handmade
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I just got these Restrepia from Andys Orchids, how often should I water them? I’m thinking daily or maybe every other day? They should stay moist constantly right? Also unsure if I should be using my squirt bottle or just dunking the bottom in water?

I have her in a NW window because my bedroom doesn’t have any east ones, unfortunately. The inner pot liner has drainage but the ceramic pot doesn’t. Humidity in my house is also like 45%. I’d like to keep maintenance as manageable as possible, but what I’m reading is stressing me out a little - will she be better off if I switch the pot, get a tray of rocks with some water, and put her on top? Or am I overthinking and I should see how she does first?

Thanks in advance y’all!