Epiphyllum oxypetalum, grown here epiphytically on a date palm, and showing a huge flush of flowers that can reach nearly a foot wide. Image © Kiwoncello; image retrieved from Compagna del Giardinaggio.
Epiphyllum oxypetalum, grown here epiphytically on a date palm, and showing a huge flush of flowers that can reach nearly a foot wide. Image © Kiwoncello; image retrieved from Compagna del Giardinaggio.
A small colony of young Sinningia pusilla, growing comfortably in a 2" nursery pot, with blooms nearly the size of the plants. Image © In Situ Plants
A small colony of young Sinningia pusilla, growing comfortably in a 2" nursery pot, with blooms nearly the size of the plants. Image © In Situ Plants
Columnea microphylla being shown at a Toronto Gesneriad Society meeting. Image © The Toronto Gesneriad Society; image retrieved from their website.
Columnea microphylla being shown at a Toronto Gesneriad Society meeting. Image © The Toronto Gesneriad Society; image retrieved from their website.
Stapelia gigantea, shown here with a ridiculous amount of huge stinky flowers. Image © gardenmaniac; image retrieved from the Dave's Garden website.
Stapelia gigantea, shown here with a ridiculous amount of huge stinky flowers. Image © gardenmaniac; image retrieved from the Dave's Garden website.
Lepanthes telipogoniflora, a tiny species with a huge name and a huge flower. Image © Thomas; image retrieved from the Species Specific forum.
Lepanthes telipogoniflora, a tiny species with a huge name and a huge flower. Image © Thomas; image retrieved from the Species Specific forum.

What follows below is a short list of several species that have a wonderful aspect to their morphology; they just happen to have ridiculously large flowers, either in fact or in proportion to themselves (perhaps it’s the same as in ants and other smaller creatures, which are able to lift many times their own body weight, that only smaller plants can grow a flower that is larger than the rest of the plant). These are all species that can be grown indoors, though some are more challenging than others.

Epiphyllum oxypetalum and related species

One of the many plants with the common name ‘queen of the night’ (and also known as ‘orchid cactus’ ‘Dutchman’s pipe cactus’ or ‘night-blooming Cereus’), E. oxypetalum is an epiphytic cactus native to Mexico and a good part of Central America. It produces dinner-plate sized white flowers that open for a single night and are heavily scented. This plant grows easily enough in a pot or hanging basket, and will bloom well enough indoors if care is up to snuff. It is pretty rambly by nature, and can get awfully large if you give it room, though it is easily pruned to shape, and at least the stems are spineless, which makes brushing past one in a tight space not as uncomfortable as it might be with some of its close relatives.

Sinningia pusilla

I know that terrarium gardening has been a fad of late, but I fear that the concurrent popularity of succulent plants may cause people to be frustrated by limited success with terrariums (this being for the simple fact that succulents by their very nature are not good candidates for terrarium culture); more on that whole thing later, but in the interest in promoting terrariums as an actually quite easy way to grow plants and have them do well (read grow well and flower), I would like to make Sinningia pusilla the poster child of terrarium gardening.

This species has everything to recommend it; they are adorably tiny (leaves are around 3/8″ long), have fuzzy, somewhat iridescent foliage, and, best, throw huge (relative to the plant, at least) pale tubular flowers. They self-pollinate and are quite prolific, able to quickly start colonies of seedlings that form an attractive ground cover. They also are quite easy to grow if provided with one thing above all: humidity. Enter the terrarium; given the added humidity, these plants will flourish when the soil is kept reasonably moist; if allowed to dry too far or too long, they will go dormant, reducing themselves to a tiny tuber to await the return of more favourable times. They are also fairly undemanding of light, which sets them worlds apart from succulents and other plants commonly toted for terrariums.

Columnea microphylla

This species and S. pusilla above both belong to the family Gesneriaceae, which contains a great many species well suited for growing indoors, of which the ubiquitous African violet is a familiar one. Columnea is a large genus with much variety, but Columnea microphylla has to be one of the most impressive. Again, it is not the largest plant (the one to the left looks like it’s in a 3″ pot), but the red flowers absolutely dwarf the leaves.

This species makes a great hanging basket plant, and the pendant stems will trail downward and show off their freakishly large flowers. This one will need a fair bit more light than the Sinningia above to bloom well, but won’t take up much space in a sunny window.

Stapelia gigantea

A first glance of the foliage and you might want to call this one a cactus, but not only is it not one of those, in fact its more familiar relatives are Hoyas, the tropical vines native to Asia commonly grown as houseplants, as well as the common milkweeds here in Ontario which are the chief food supply for monarch butterfly larvae. Stapelia is a genus restricted mostly to southern Africa, and so need a cooler rest period over the winter. making them a good candidate for a bright but poorly insulated bay window in a century home, say. The flowers can be up to a foot across, but have the unfortunate characteristic of reeking of rotting meat in order to attract flies, which are their natural pollinator. A beautiful plant to be sure, but I suppose not for the faint of heart; perhaps I should recommend that this one be brought outside in summer.

Lepanthes telipogoniflora

I’ve saved the best for last, and this little one is, to me, one of the most incredible orchid species out there, despite being only a couple inches across.

Lepanthes telipogoniflora is a diminutive orchid endemic to Colombia, where it grows in some of the wettest rainforest on earth (one spot once reported 43 FEET of rain in a year), which gives us a pretty fair hint as to how it should be kept in cultivation. Alas. I have personally killed this plant (twice); it understandably does not take to drying out in the slightest, and small plants are completely unforgiving. Enter again the terrarium; many people grow this plant successfully in those little round glass hanging terrariums that are quite easy to find these days, and as long as they’re kept happy (you’ll know it is so because the plant won’t be dead) they will bloom pretty consistently, with the flowers being relatively massive and at least the size of the plant in younger specimens. Another important cultural note is that they, as are many of the Pleurothallidinae orchids, are intolerant of hard water, and require rain or otherwise filtered water to do well. This species is, so far as I know, not produced by any Canadian orchid nurseries (presumably because of the aforementioned cultural challenges), but is brought in by Ecuagenera when they attend regional orchid shows here, and presumably by others as well.

This list of huge bloomers is by no means exhaustive; in fact, I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface. If any other plants fit the bill, list them in the comments below!

 

Unknown Phalaenopsis hybrid. Photo © Arad; retrieved from Wikipedia
Unknown Phalaenopsis hybrid. Photo © Arad; retrieved from Wikipedia
In Situ Plants interior landscapes, vertical gardens, and other plant installations in Toronto
Bulbophyllum 'Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry', probably one of the most commonly grown plants in the genus. Photo © Ed M.; retrieved from The Orchid Source

Did your eye even register the photo to the left? You can be forgiven if so: a beautiful sight it might be, but the now ubiquitous Phalaenopsis has become such a commonplace sight in homes and commercial settings that it’s nearly impossible now to regard them as the spectacular plants they are.

Tissue culture, offshore production and improved shipping techniques seem to have contributed most to the availability of these plants at nearly any place that sells plants (and quite a few that don’t): the US imported an estimated 400 40-foot containers of Phalaenopsis in 2010, and that number has surely risen since then. The plants are then forced into flower in greenhouses and then make their way to the mass market a few short weeks later. (This hasty method of production, though certainly bringing production [and thus retail] costs down, can also produce plants which may not perform as well after they leave the greenhouse, but that is a whole other post for another day.)

But why has Phalaenopsis become the poster child for the entire orchid family? After all, there are more than 26,000 species of orchid worldwide (many of them, admittedly, not suitable for culture, such as this exceptional species). Phalaenopsis was already being grown as a cut flower, which made it a good candidate for the early research into commercial production, and it is a very easy plant to grow commercially, growing rapidly and flowering reliably under the right conditions.

I don’t really have anything against Phalaenopsis in particular: there are over 60 species in the genus (check out the photos here), to say nothing of the countless hybrids therefrom. I’m definitely glad that more people are trying these plants out and having success with them. But it just seems a shame that the full diversity of orchids isn’t well represented in the mass market. The whole charm of orchids, after all, is their exoticness, and it certainly gets a lot more exotic than Phalaenopsis.  Even other commercially produced genera offer a little more curiosity, and these are often easier of care for the novice than Phalaenopsis, and can also have more unique foliage so that they hold visual interest when not in flower.

It doesn’t seem as though the humble Phalaenopsis is going anywhere any time soon. Perhaps the best we can hope for is that other species become equally well-represented in commercial production. And my personal hope is that many species become so well-represented: the Orchidaceae really are incredible, and everyone should have the opportunity to try growing something a little different.

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