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SPIDERS!!

© Linda Fortner

I would like to extend a warm welcome to The Orchid Garden!

Because it is getting so close to Halloween, I decided to help you get in to the spirit by talking about "SPIDERS!" I am sure most of you would prefer not to have spiders crawling around in your home, but I think you might really like my spiders because they are very special. If you are a regular visitor to the Orchid Garden, you know by now that I have some strange and wonderful things in my green house -- things like Moths, Dancing Dolls, Slippers and even Sticks, so having spiders is not really strange for me. The spiders that live in my greenhouse are the beautiful and very fragrant Brassia orchids.

The artistic rendition of a spider in its web posted here is actually a Brassia hybrid - a cross between a Brassia and an Odontoglossum (Odbrs. Kenneth Bivens 'Santa Barbara'). There are currently many beautiful hybrid crosses because growers often use Brassias to obtain the large exotic spider-looking flowers. Brassia crossed with Miltonia is called 'Miltassias' and Brassia crossed with Miltonia and again with an Oncidium results in the hybrid called 'Aliceara.'

There are approximately 30 Brassia species found throughout tropical America. They have been called the "Spider Orchids" every since their discovery due to the shape of their flowers. The long, slender sepals and petals stretch out like spider's legs. The lip often looks like the body of the spider. A long Brassia inflorescence (flower spike) bursting with blooms looks like rows of spiders crawling through the air. The blooms are usually very fragrant. When my Brassias are in bloom, you can smell them all over the greenhouse!

Brassia caudata blooms in the fall forming flower spikes over 15" long and blossoms up to 8" in size. This is quite a site to see! In summer and fall, Brassia lanceana should be in full bloom. Other favorites in my greenhouse are Brassia verrucosa, Brassia maculata, Brassia arcugera, and Brassia signata, and Brassia warszewiczii .

The largest Brassia species is Brassia gireoudiana which has blossoms up to 20" from the top of their dorsal sepal to the bottom of their petals. The blossoms have yellow to green sepals and petals which are spotted and barred with brown. The plants can get quite large, up to 5 feet and have over a hundred blossoms on many flower spikes.

There are also many beautiful hybrids being grown now, such as Brassia Huygo and Brassia Edvah Loo "Hellis" AM/AOS. The beautiful hybrids of Brassia Rex are outstanding, such as