The following article comes from a Wichita newspaper, with the title
mentioning Martha Stewart. What do you growers out there think of these
suggestions, meant for beginners?
I myself am having a terrible time with L. pumila. #*§%$!!!

Mini orchids for different conditions

Make sure to select a plant that can grow easily in an environment
you'll be able to create and maintain. Keep in mind that you may have to
experiment with different locations to achieve the right
light-and-temperature combination.

Here are some guidelines:

• Heat lovers

Miniature warm-climate orchids, such as the white-flowered Aerangis
distincta (native to central Africa), welcome summer daytime
temperatures as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with nights that dip down
10 to 15 degrees. Their maximum winter daytime high is 80 degrees, with
the same nighttime dip.

Others in this group include the Brazilian Leptotes bicolor, with its
twice-yearly white-and-fuchsia blooms; the fragrant Aerangis citrata
from Madagascar; the yellow-blooming Polystachya bella from Kenya; and
the Colombian Masdevallia herradurae, which has dark-red flowers.

• The in-betweens

Intermediate-climate growers, such as the Philippine Dendrobium
gonzalesii, with its purple-tinged flower clusters, favor a similar
day-to-night 10- to 15-degree drop, with winter days around 75 degrees
and summers only slightly warmer.

Scented Laelia pumila, a Brazilian with yellow-throated lavender blooms,
is also in this bunch, along with Epidendrum porpax, a 3-inch-tall
dainty from Central America; the even smaller Pleurothallis ornata, a
native of Mexico with fringed flowers; and Masdevallia infracta, which
hails from Brazil and produces lavender to copper blooms every season.

• Cool customers

The cool miniature-orchid group, which includes the Peruvian Cochlioda
densiflora, with its sprays of flaming blooms, prefers a daytime winter
range of 60 to 65 degrees and a summer daytime range of 80 to 85
degrees, both with a 10- to 15-degree decline at night.

Also included in this group are Encyclia mariae from Mexico, a
5-inch-tall plant with green flowers nearly as wide; the pink-blooming
Masdevallia uniflora from Peru; and Brazilian Sophronitis coccinea,
whose fiery-red blooms may keep growing after they open.


--
Reka

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