The bright red flowers of the "Christmas Bell" heads our list. Dendrobium lawesii is nicknamed the "Christmas bell" because it produces clusters of bright red to purple flowers that look just like bells. These beautiful flowers appear around Christmas time (as well as several other times of the year). The lawesii species is a warm to cool grower that originates from the Papua and New Guinea areas. They love to grow on tree branches high in the forests, and grow very well when mounted. The flowers are borne on short racemes that appear on the old leafless canes and produce up to 6 flowers. Like many Dendrobiums, the blooms appear on these old pendent canes year after year so don't be in a hurry to cut off those old leafless canes. This Dendrobium is quite easy to grow and would be a wonderful addition to your collection.
Next on our Christmas list is Artorima erubescens which is known as the "Christmas Flower" because it too blooms around Christmas time and loves cold weather. This species is native to Central America and once belonged to the genus Epidendrum. It is also known as the "Blushing Artorima" and is the only species in this genus. This orchid grows in the cloud forests at high elevations around 3100 meters. The flowers are very fragrant and appear in winter through early spring. This orchid is quite difficult to grow in the average greenhouse because this orchid blooms when the night temperatures are below freezing! If you are brave enough and fortunate enough to actually own one of these unusual orchids, keep in mind that it grows best when mounted and be sure to keep it cold. Now this one I think I will try, I sure have the cold weather it wants!
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