- Angraecum didieri is a wonderful miniature, and suited for windowsills. Mine were never happy potted, so I'd recommend mounting or propping in an empty clay pot. - E. cochleata is not a miniature, at least by my def. My (late) plant was bursting from a 7" pot and the spikes ran at least 2-3 feet high. - Neo. falcata is also a great choice. Stays small, beautiful in all seasons. Probably the easiest to grow of those listed here. - Dendrobium unicum. A neat mini dend, only 3-4" high, 2" pot. Gorgeous orange flowers. Light more toward the lower, dend-phal intensity. Drawback: deciduous, so the plant looks like a cluster of dead sticks for about 5 months of the year. Positive: you can mostly ignore it during the winter. - Rupicolous laelias from Brazil, including L. milleri, briegeri, lucasiana, liliputiana, mixta, etc. Small plants (usually under 6") with nice flowers. Needs more light than the plants above, and will definitely need a summer outdoors. - Mini dend hybrid and mini catt hybrid people, what say ye? Gotta be some good, cast-iron miniatures out there. (Sorry for the powerpoint style post.)

Lovesplants, I live in zone 8 and your Alabama house is north of me. Of the plants you listed, the only ones that I believe will live in the ground or outside is Angel Trumpet. I have several Angel Trumpets and they are killed to the ground each year but sprout out from the roots in the spring.One is in a 10 gallon pot and it surrived from the roots also.Personal experience tells me staghorns will not survive the winter outside. Maybe there are bromileads that will survive, but for the most part--No. There are terrestial orchids, but you can forget cattleyas and such like outside in winter. Even Cymbidiums can't take more than some light frosts. However, if you have a frost free area to overwinter you might bring most of these plants through the winter. Our winter this year so far (near Auburn) has consisted of two nights in the teens, but that finished off most stuff outside. If the house is in town, you may be able to find some micro climates that are less cold. Or you could chose another tack that allows you to explore plants new to you. Good luck!

I love ground orchids and here's mine from last year: I grew them in pots in Chokoloskee Zone 10 only because I didn't think they'd like the oyster-shell-sand. They were in the shade of my vitex tree and the foliage seemed to like that better than full sun. I gave them a lot of Bloom Buster-type liquid fertilizer, but I think they'd prefer Mir-Acid. When I moved them to Lake Placid Zone 9, I put them in the ground because we have actual dirt-sand. That was last June. They were full of flowers and expanding outward. Then in Dec they got too cold even though I covered them with a blanket. I had to dig them up. They sure look dead, but I know they'll come back from the bulbs. I wish I would've kept them in their big pots, I would've moved them into the greenhouse and they'd probably be alive and blooming right now! I think they'll survive your summer if they are in the shade of trees so the sun won't scorch their leaves. And I don't remember having any trouble with bugs bothering them. Let us know how they do for you, okay? Susie

Be very cautious about buying a "Hong Kong Orchid" from a nursery when it is not flowering. The true Hong Kong Orchid is B Blakeana and is sterile. We bought a "Hong Kong Orchid" about 12 ft tall with a 2" trunk for $600 only to find out it was a B purpurea. We rescued four volunteers from the seeds, then asked for our money back from the nursery. After much back and forth, with the nursery claiming that even Hong Kong Orchids have seeds, we got our money back. When we told the nursery to take out the false Hong Kong Orchid, they cut it down instead. Our volunteers are now 12 ft tall with 2" trunks, grown from seed in 3 yr. We are now growing others from the seeds of these volunteers. Our neighbor, who lives on the water, has a 30 ft tall by 30 ft around B purpurea that is 25 yr old. Our Miani daughter's tree is the same size and age. Bauhinias can be ravaged by high winds and freezing temps, but they come back.