Being around plants lifts my spirits. Watching my plants produce vibrant and healthy green leaves gives me endless pleasure, but I understand that many people favour growing flowering plants. Leaves are often taken for granted, as foliage is assumed to be a permanent fixture that doesn’t change and lives on forever; whereas the fleeting presence of a flower commands interaction and appreciation.
Let me introduce you to Phalaenopsis parishii alba, a miniature, epiphytic orchid species that originates from Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Assam, Burma, and the Himalayas.
Phalaenopsis parishii alba is the white flowered form of Phalaenopsis parishii.
Phalaenopsis parishii alba growing conditionsIn the wild, Phalaenopsis parishii can be found growing in humid areas. This miniature orchid species produces flattened roots that nestle into the damp, moss laden branches, which overhang streams and ponds, in the areas where this plant makes its home.
If you’re looking to purchase an orchid, it’s always good to buy an orchid species, or a hybrid, that has a predisposition and willingness to flower. So, with this in mind, today I want to share the joy of two floriferous orchid species with you!
Dryadella simulaI trialled this Dryadella simula specimen very successfully inside my Miniature Orchid Trial BiOrbAir Terrarium.
In this my first update, you can discover how the Aerangis, Amesiella, and Angraecum orchids that are housed inside my Rainforest Terrarium have grown and developed over the past eleven months – from April 2018 to March 2019. Discover which plants have died and which orchids have thrived during this time frame, in my first plant update for this custom built terrarium.
This year, I’ve enjoyed getting to know a couple of new Phalaenopsis hybrids. These plants were grown in the UK by Double H Nurseries, they’re part of the nurseries’ new range of Phalaenopsis plants, which have all been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
The Award of Garden Merit was set up by the Royal Horticultural Society, to help gardeners find plants that will perform well in regular growing conditions, without any specialist care or attention.
I love looking at this orchid; I so admire Angraecum distichum‘s shape and form, this plant’s simple, leafy stems are a thing of beauty. I love to see young and old Angraecum distichum specimens; whatever the plant’s size, I find Angraecum distichum utterly mesmerising!
Angraecum distichum is a miniature to small sized epiphytic orchid species. Angraecum distichum plants can be found growing upon a range of tall trees in a variety of different environments including: rainforests, humid forests, deciduous forests, and plantations.
If you’re setting up a terrarium, vivarium, or bottle garden, and you’re looking for miniature orchids to add to your indoor garden, you may find that it is not always easy to tell which orchids are truly miniature and which aren’t.
Many orchids that are sold as miniatures are miniature sized when they are young, but as they grow and develop, many of these plants will soon outgrow a traditionally sized terrarium or bottle garden.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are currently hosting their 23rd annual Orchid Festival. You’ll find an array of colourful orchids, inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew, until Sunday 11th March 2018, when the Orchid Festival closes for another year. I hope that you can make it to Kew to see this impressive orchid spectacle during the next couple of weeks!
Phalaenopsis honghenensis is an epiphytic orchid species, which is native to Honghe in Yunnan. This is the region in China which gives this orchid species its name, but Phalaenopsis honghenensis can also be found growing in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Phalaenopsis honghenensis can be found growing at about 2000m above sea level, on the trunks and branches of mossy, lichen covered trees in Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Welcome to the ninth part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial. In this update I look forward to sharing the growth and development of these delightful, white flowered, epiphytic, miniature orchid species with you. I am thrilled to show you Aerangis hyaloides, Amesiella minor, Brachypeza semiteretifolia, and Hymenorchis javanica flowering inside this White Orchid BiOrbAir Trial Terrarium.
Welcome to the fifth part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial.
I decided to plant up this White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium in April 2017, after receiving many requests from readers asking about white flowered, miniature, epiphytic orchids to grow in terrariums. I didn’t have a spare terrarium available to plant at the time, so I decided to empty, and then re-plant my long-term review BiOrbAir terrarium with a variety of species of white-flowering orchids, to showcase how beautiful a single colour planting scheme for terrariums, vivariums, orchidariums, or bottle gardens, can be.
Gastrochilus retrocallus is a species of miniature, epiphytic orchid that originates from the Ren-ai Township, Nantou County, in Taiwan. Inside this precious, beautiful nature reserve, Gastrochilus retrocallus can be found growing on trees, in areas of cloud forests. This particular area is very rich in flora and fauna; there are many other special plants that originate from this area, including other orchids, such as Cymbidiums.
Aerangis luteoalba var. rhodosticta is a beautiful miniature, epiphytic orchid species, from Kenya and Africa. Plants produce long, arching, or pendulous flower spikes, that feature large, white, crystalline flowers with orange-red columns or centres. Aerangis luteoalba var. rhodosticta flowers are borne in double rows along each flower spike. As each of the flowers open, their petals unfurl; one by one the flowers adjust themselves to be held horizontally on the plant, with their nectaries held directly below each bloom.
Welcome to the fourth part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial.
I decided to plant up this White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium in April 2017, after receiving many requests from readers asking about white flowered, miniature, epiphytic orchids. I didn’t have a spare terrarium available to plant at the time, so I decided to empty, and then re-plant my long-term review BiOrbAir terrarium with a variety of species of white-flowering orchids, to showcase how beautiful a single colour planting scheme for terrariums, vivariums, orchidariums, or bottle gardens, can be.
Welcome to the third part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial.
I decided to plant up this White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium in April 2017, after receiving many requests from readers asking about white flowered, miniature, epiphytic orchids to grow in terrariums. I didn’t have a spare terrarium available to plant at the time, so I decided to empty, and then re-plant my long-term review BiOrbAir terrarium with a variety of different species of white-flowering orchids, to showcase how beautiful a single colour planting scheme for terrariums, vivariums, orchidariums, or bottle gardens, can be.
I am so very lucky to have a beautiful, new BiOrbAir terrarium!
I decided to plant up this very special terrarium with orchids that are endemic to Madagascar, to highlight and raise awareness of the fragility of this very special place on Earth, and showcase the beauty of Madagascar’s plants. Many of the orchids that are found growing in Madagascar are not found anywhere else on Earth.
If you’re looking for beautiful miniature orchids to grow in a terrarium, I hope this planting list will help you. I have planted many of the miniature orchids that feature on this list inside my specialised, automated terrariums, including my Miniature Orchid Trial Terrarium, my White Orchid Trial Terrarium, my Madagascar Terrarium, my Orchidarium, my Rainforest Terrarium, my Tall Orchidarium, and my other terrariums and vivariums.
I love creating terrariums and bottle gardens! Here’s a list of plants that are great choices to grow inside terrariums, vivariums, orchidariums, and bottle gardens, I hope this information will help you, if you decide to set up your own indoor garden!
