Orchid Photo Identification Guide

[Dave]

Are you having trouble figuring out which orchid you have? Is it a Vanda, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Lady Slippers, Dendrobium, Miltoniopsis, Oncidium? Not to worry this photo identification guide should help you out a little .

(please note this thread will be updated to include more detailed pictures of leaves and the whole plant as more pictures become available. Pictures are courtesy orchidgeeks picture gallery)

Vanda Orchid

[Dave]

Phalaenopsis Orchid

[Dave]

Cattleya Orchid

[Dave]

Paphiopedilum

[Dave]

Dendrobium Orchid

[Dave]

Miltoniopsis Orchid

[Dave]

Oncidium Orchid

[fancyspot25]

Thank you for the picture guide! I know that I, for one, was really helped by it. Thank you very much!
fancyspot25

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Here is my attemp to give a broad sampling of plant pictures. Will be up dating it from time to time. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ
http://www.pbase.com/schnitz/orchid_plants

[janet_a]

ooh nice........

[sk8rlynn]

Hi Everyone,
I'm entirely new at this (orchid growing and being on a forum), so please forgive me if I mess up on protocol. A friend gave me an orchid about a year ago and more recently I received an orchid from my son for my birthday. I think it may be the type that is the last picture on Dave's site. The orchid that I received from my friend (I'm not sure what kind of flowers that it has and so no clue as to the type that it may be) doesn't seem to be doing too well and I don't want the same fate to happen to the one that my son gave me. The older one's base(?) has started to shrivel and the leaves are becoming limp. The new one that I just received also has a shriveled base. Is this normal? What about the limp leaves on the older plant? (Obviously, I haven't repotted it or given it any plant food.) After reading the questions of other newbies, I plan on going out to buy some today. Please give me any other suggestions of how I can bring the older one back and to keep the new one from dying off on me.
Thanks ahead of time for your help! Lynn

[taradale]

Hi Cynthia,
I took a look at your orchid web page - and wow!! I especially like that your pictures include the entire plant. Many of the orchids I've never heard of; which in my case is not saying much.

I'm in love with Papilionanthe (Vanda) Just exquisite. And found the Barkeria skinneri & Bardendrum Nanboh Pixy most interesting. I think because of the plant itself.

Thank you for sharing.

Kath-

Originally Posted by Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

Here is my attemp to give a broad sampling of plant pictures. Will be up dating it from time to time. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ
http://www.pbase.com/schnitz/orchid_plants

Dave, what a wonderful site. It's especially good that in some instances you included a picture of the whole plant. Often newbies have plants with no blooms and haven't a clue about what they have. Most sites and books only show the blooms, so they remain clueless.

[flora]

Hi Dave, thanks for the beautiful pictures. They definately help in the identification of the many orchids I see in the greenhouses. I am brand new to this orchid passion. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. flora

wonderful post. i am waiting for the chance to post as i have not reach 15. haha. keep up the excellent work mate.

[bong12302002]

hi everyone! i think i am very lucky indeed to be here in the philippines, where some of the most beautiful and rarest orchids grow. it is a pity that i was introduced to orchid growing just today! but with you guys around, i think i will do just fine.

[Tess]

Lovely pictures!

[pinkpetals21]

Hi Dave, the pictures are very nice! Although I wanted to ask...A few months ago I bought a phal from a nursery and it was sickly, I nursed it and fed it and waited to see what the blooms look like. It bloomed a few days ago and then I saw your picture and that's it!! It's the same color combination (white/purple), do you have any idea of a name or anything?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Dave may give you a name, but please don't assume your plant is the same. There are may hybrids out there with that color combination. Putting an incorrect name on a plant may result in someone else with a keiki of your plant trying to breed with it. This is a no-no. We don't want to breed with mis-identified plants. Please don't attach his name to your plant. Instead, put a label in the pot that reads: Phalaenopsis - White w/red lip. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[flaorchidfan]

hey, glad to have you in the forum. if it looks like the one in the last picture then it may need water more frequently. the bases "plump" up when they hold water and tend to shrivel when dry. definitely fertilize and try to water more frequently. how much do you water now? what kind of pot/material are they in?

[pinkpetals21]

thanks for the response, I don't plan on "attaching" a name to it just for a personal name, when I say something I hate saying "you know the white one with the purple lip...," I don't breed either so I'm not particularly worried about that. I water about twice a week, the temps in Galveston have been around 100 degrees and the humidity is high so things dry out very quick. It's in a plastic pot with bark,charcoal, perlite, sphagnum,etc. Thanks for the input guys.