Specimens.

[Stone]

I love growing specimen sized plants. (as I'm sure we all do) So which species can we expect to grow like this (say 6 flowers or more?)
Some I've seen are insigne of course as well as charlesworthii, fairrianum, henryanum, purpuratum, spicerianum, villosum and looks like tigrinum too!
But some never seem to grow this way eg. superbiens, hookeri. or do they?? But then I was astonished when I saw this malipoense:
http://www.soos.ca/images/paphmalipoense.jpg

 

[JeanLux]

Wow, that's an extreme speci!!!! Lots of spikes with 2 blooms :clap: !!!!

I have one coccineum developping act. 4 spikes! Jean

 

[Trithor]

You can add gratrixianum, stonei, roths, barbatum, barbigerum and exul to your list. Under my culture sanderianum seems to only mature one growth at a time, as does argus, so although these have been in my collection for some time now, they remain single growths.

 

[Stone]

You can add gratrixianum, stonei, roths, barbatum, barbigerum and exul to your list. Under my culture sanderianum seems to only mature one growth at a time, as does argus, so although these have been in my collection for some time now, they remain single growths.

Yes and callosum (although a bit difficult it seems?) and venustum. I also have a pic of henissianum in the habitat with 7 flowers but I'd like to see one in cultivation do that.

 

[reivilos]

How about:

(source: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7379714008_6affe35dae.jpg)

Villosum:

(source: http://www.pflanzenfreunde.com/orchid-photos/orchids-8.htm)

That stonei:
http://www.orchids.it/2008/07/17/gli-anni-passano-e-i-bimbi-crescono-anche-le-orchidee/

That volonteanum (I saw this one):

You need a growth to have a spike... So no clumps, no multiple spikes...
I think it depends on the species tendency to clump (insigne) *and* the specimen (*and* the age of the plant, etc etc). Check out the hangianum I acquired rencently:

Around 10 mature growths, and 4+ new growths at a time! It grows a leaf a month.

 

[Trithor]

That insigne is insane! #*$k me! Eeeeyoouweeee!
I am going to work especially hard in my greenhouse tomorrow (after coffee and before lunch with its inevitable bottle of wine). I am going to have to learn how to grow properly!(belated New Years resolution to replace not eating so much chocolate)

 

[gonewild]

That insigne is insane! #*$k me! Eeeeyoouweeee!
I am going to work especially hard in my greenhouse tomorrow (after coffee and before lunch with its inevitable bottle of wine). I am going to have to learn how to grow properly!(belated New Years resolution to replace not eating so much chocolate)

Orchids like wine, do you share?

 

[Trithor]

Orchids like wine, do you share?

I will go get another glass, all are welcome to my little party!

 

[gonewild]

I will go get another glass, all are welcome to my little party!

They don't need a glass, just tip a little to the Earth.

 

[Rick]

Exul (already mentioned), philipinense ,and hirsutisimum/esquirolii are big easy clumpers. I've seem some big druryi and venustum too.

I have a big clump of malipoense but it never has produced more than 3 spikes in a season. My delenatii are heading towards specimen.

I agree that emersonii and hangianum have great potential for clumping into big plants. My emersonii is up to 5 growths in the last 2 years after "trading new for old" for years (without ever blooming).

I've also seen huge specimen roths and kolopakingii in collections. Wilhelminea clumps readily.

 

[Rick]

Actually I'm hard pressed to come up with a majority of species that have problems turning into big specimens.

Maybe we are down to those south pacific barbata types as hold outs.

 

[SlipperFan]

And haynaldianum album. At least not mine.

 

[reivilos]

The insigne guy:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/jvinoz/7379701466/

 

[Trithor]

And haynaldianum album. At least not mine.

Exactly!

 

[Stone]

How about:

(source: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7379714008_6affe35dae.jpg)

Villosum:

(source: http://www.pflanzenfreunde.com/orchid-photos/orchids-8.htm)

That stonei:
http://www.orchids.it/2008/07/17/gli-anni-passano-e-i-bimbi-crescono-anche-le-orchidee/

That volonteanum (I saw this one):

You need a growth to have a spike... So no clumps, no multiple spikes...
I think it depends on the species tendency to clump (insigne) *and* the specimen (*and* the age of the plant, etc etc). Check out the hangianum I acquired rencently:

Around 10 mature growths, and 4+ new growths at a time! It grows a leaf a month.

I have actually seen that insigne in person. The grower brought it in to our club meeting last year. He grows it sitting in water all summer (as I do now)
And feeds it now and then with a little pelletized chicken manure and dolomite thrown on twice per year.
The volonteanum is fantastic! It gives me hope! Who is the grower and what are his conditions?

 

[Ozpaph]

those photos are amazing. Mike, where is the insigne guy living (ie what climate)?

 

[Stone]

those photos are amazing. Mike, where is the insigne guy living (ie what climate)?

Melbourne Victoria Australia

 

[Paul]

Hi,
Even delenatii can grow to big clumps after some years... I hope to show you next winter/spring in one or two of my plants.
Some species make very big clumps very fast, other take much more time to clump and others almost never do ...

 

[NYEric]

canhii! :evil:

Just kidding. hirsuit is the clumping champion.

 

[Rick]

Just kidding. hirsuit is the clumping champion.

Yes. Not always the blooming champion (in the GH), but if you can't get hirsuit to clump, then you have a problem:wink: