I want an itty bitty orchid

[Tikva]

Well, I do!!!
Any suggestions for a hardy one for NH in home growing with no special neat plant growing contraptions? I'd like pretty flowers of course. And just a cute tiny one
And a PM with an actual place to get it would be great - cause, well, I could get a great suggestion but find it impossible to obtain LOL!!!

[orchid-man]

a tinny little orchid that Im growing at the moment and flowered last year
is Den amuelum and some more would be
Den.linguiforme
Onc.bifolium
Den.toressae
Den.lichenastrum

I let others find where you may get them from over there.
The Dendrobs are all Aussie ones

[orchid-man]

If you want to go smaller than before here are a couple to look for

bulbophyllum globuliforme......the bulbs are about the size of a pinhead or a little larger

pleurothallis minutissimum.....this one is only 1 1/4 inches high

[Tikva]

Wow a pin head is small :c)
Thank you for your suggestions. I will do some Googling :c)

[orchid-man]

this one seems to of had a name change since what I have was published

pleurothallis minutissimum----suspect Bulbophyllum minutissum

Thats right ,my reference is Native Orchids of Austrailia by David L James
page 510

if you can find it and would like first hand knowledge of natural enviroment give me a call.

[Sue]

How tiny are we talking? Like "big many-growth plant in a 3in pot"-tiny, or "hey take a look at this neat plant, here's a magnifying glass"-tiny? Also, are there any particular plant groups you're interested in, i.e. Catt relatives, Onc. relatives, V. relatives, Pleuro. relatives, Bulbos?

Until I hear back about those questions, some of my experience with some notable tiny things:

I've never been able to keep those tiny Bulbos happy. I can't get the watering cycle right for them; they either dry up or rot away. So I can't say I recommend them as easy care.

Platystele misera is a Pleuro relative that seems to be quite tolerant of different conditions, intermediate grower. Although in my conditions it's a bit of a reluctant bloomer. Still, relatively easy for a Pleuro relative. Zootrophion endressianus is even easier, but larger.

Den lichenastrum is a good call. Very easy care. I've got one mounted on cork with its first bud right now. I'll be posting a pic when it opens.

Scaphyglottis behrii has also been very easy for me. It's a Cattleya relative. Here's a picture of it with a larger cousin:



It's the one on the left. Here's a close-up:

[Tikva]

I want itty bitty like magnifying glass tiny I think :c)
But it has to be able to live with my house - in the winter it gets chilly and very dry. In the summer it can be very hot and humid... I do have heat and AC, but I like to keep them at a minimum because I tend to be thrifty?? haha!!
I am home all day so I can mist it if it needs moisture... but I like the H. odorata that Tindomul1of9 posted pictures of. And I love this one - Schoenorchis fragrans

I hope I am not breaking rules to post this picture!! I will take it down if I am...
Yeah, itty bitty tiny small... :c)

[Sue]

I want itty bitty like magnifying glass tiny I think :c)
But it has to be able to live with my house - in the winter it gets chilly and very dry. In the summer it can be very hot and humid...

The dry winter will limit options a bit.

I'm fairly certain that Den. lichenastrum fits the bill perfectly. Mini-mini (i.e. not just a tiny flower, but a tiny whole plant), and needs a dry cool rest over the winter. And it did fine outside for the summer, so I know it'll at least tolerate hot and humid. There are probably a bunch of other similar species Dens which would also do well for these conditions, but I don't know my Den. species well enough to list more, perhaps somebody else can help out there.

[orchid-man]

there are about 3 or four plants that are in the same grouping as Den.lichenastrum there are
Den.prenticei
Den.pugioniforme
Den.cucumerinum

These 4 plants they say grow in rainforest?????But the Aussie rain forest is a funny place.Hot and humid in the summer,(well,6 months of the year and very dry the other 6months )
I could never work out how they got called rain forests.Summer highs in temp would be around 45 degress celius during the day and down to (in some areas) 15 degress Celius.In the cooler months Where there is now rain the day temp would still be around 24 degress celsius and a night temp down to frezzing.

[sake of silence]

Easy small plants that I have on my dining room table:
Sederia japonica
Aerangis lueto alba v. rhodastcita

My aerangis just got mounted and put out roots a new infloresence and new leaves. So happy for it.