Hands down the larger angraecums.

This is in no way a plug for Mr. B either.

I really like cymbidiums; especially, when there are several spikes in bloom all at once.
sue

Clowesia Grace Dunn (warczewiczii x rosea)

Here is a link that might be useful: Clowesia Grace Dunn

CJ, thanks for the picture. I was hoping for some :)

Very beautiful. Fragrance makes it a double winner. I love the fringed lip.

My favorite phal - violacea var. alba {{gwi:145337}} And smells good too.

Epi. ilense {{gwi:207067}} I love the frilly lip.

Paph. Annabellechen {{gwi:207068}}

C. Sapphire {{gwi:207069}}

Phrag. After Glo {{gwi:169052}}

This was liking trying to decide which of your children you love the most!

This is always a hard choice to make, but whenever my Phal. Lindenii blooms I'm in heaven.

Here is a link that might be useful: Phal lindenii

What Laura said!
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-MB

Wow! All of these white things are drop dead gorgeous. (Not that I don't love color, either)

Mr B, it's beautiful! No exaggeration, either. The thick creamy white with just a spot of yellow is really wonderful.

Amy, that P lindenii is charming. Love the little striped lip. I have a Doritis pulcherrima x P lindenii I got from C & H, and it has the same speckled foliage. Can I ask if the lindenii is easy? I'd love to try one if it's not too finicky.

Brooke, that Epi ilense is beautiful. Love the fringed lip.

Your violacea alba is lovely, too. You would love P In Charm Jade, which is v. alba x P Timothy Christopher. Gorgeous, thick, creamy white v. alba flowers in clusters. Tho I didn't pick up a scent yet.

Littlem, do you have a favorite among the cymbids?

Thanks for the wonderful pictures, people. This is like the three beautiful sisters-- each one is more beautiful than the others.

And, errata -- It was Gold Tris, not Little Emperor. Still blazingly gorgeous, tho.

Although, not the bigger of the angraceums:leonis

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And a big ang. magdalenae x sesquip cross:

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Can't find a pure sesquip pic at the moment. They are drop dead gorgeous in their simplicity and the fragrance....

Love my Trichoglottis
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and my Dend Lituiflorum(it is so hard to keep this thing happy- makes me want it more!!)
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Mehitabel,
The lindenii is very easy in my conditions. It grows (and blooms) happily alongside of my other phals, some species but mostly hybrids.The speckled foliage is a nice bonus. If it's finicky, I don't do it..
As for pure whites, this little mini is pretty, too. It's an older picture because I knocked the plant over a little while ago and lost this year's spike :(

Here is a link that might be useful: amesiella monticola

Thanks for the info, Amy. I am going to try it. Now I just have to find it/watch for it.

The amesiella is also very beautiful. Love the teacup to show off its tininess.

I think that it's difficult not to include some of the little guys!
Trisetella pantex
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Or some of the American natives!
Cyp. californicum
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Calypso bulbosa var occidentalis
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Not to mention, all of the Neos!
They not only have that spur thing going for them, they also have an intoxicating perfume!
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I won't even get into the Catts or Bulbos! ;~)
With colors, shapes and scents from the horrific to sublime, it would take up endless amounts of time.

Scott

I think Phal bellina and Schoenorchis fragrans take my break away the most whenever I see them.

The one that is in bloom for me at the moment.
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And that may change when the next one comes in bloom.

How to pick just one? C. aclandiae and its spotted progeny always curl my toes, as do C schilleriana and C violacea. Brassavola cucullata is way up there on my list, too, as is this one - B Aristocrat.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:207062}}

This is a great thread - everyone has such different taste! :D These are some that I find particularly beautiful (none of these are grown by me! I have cited where I got the pictures from!)

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Coelogyne nitida from Botanická zahrada a arboretum: http://www.mendelu.cz/arboretum/orchids/Coelogyne/Coelogyne.html

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Aerangis kirkii from Orchid Pictures by Sue and John Erickson: http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v/Vandaceous+Alliance/Aerangis/aad.jpg.html

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Cym. ensifolium, by our very own Pheli

there are many
but my all time favorite is Sobralia macrantha
their 9" diameter flowers are just incredible
along with the fragrance
the flowers being short lives gives one even more appreciation

Many I have seen that amaze me I either do not own, or do own but have not bloomed them yet.

The favorites that I have pictures of are on my website.

Here is a link that might be useful: My favorite orchid pictures

Sorry to post again but if you check out the website I made it so you can leave comments on the photos.

I am new to this web program so I am trying new things out.

So if you have any good tips for any of the orchids I have on it please give me them!

If I had to name just one, it would be Laelia purpurata var. carnea.

I also have a soft spot for:

Almost any Sarcochilus hybrid
Masdevallia veitchiana
Coelogyne cristata

I could go on and on and on...

Plants I do not have, but find breathtaking:
Coelogyne cristata
Masdevallia coccinea
Phrag besseae
Cycnodes Wine Delight
Lycaste skinneri
Pendulous Cymbidiums, wine colors - cool growers
Aerangis species

Have, but not flowered
Cattleya bowringiana var caerulea
Cattleya Bactia Grapewax
Dendrobium Speciosum
Laelia purpurata - at least 10 vars...

Some of the ones I flowered
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Sorry, could not find a winner :)
Olya

Wow there are a lot of really NICE orchids posted here. It would be hard to really pick any over the others as being the most gorgeouss one of all. BUT in my browsing I ran across the outstanding hybridizing work that has been carried out first in Japan and now in America with Lycaste skinneri hybridization. The Japanese hybrids are most impressive. So my pick would have to be these. To illustrate check out the image on the link below. SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:207064}}

I'm generally with barbcoleus--whatever is flowering at the moment!

I do have an especially soft spot for Laelia purpurata! I currently have 5 different varieties!!

--Stitz--

WOW Olya those are gorgeous. I've always loved the big cattleyas. And the vandas are outstanding as well.

Tuzeday you give me something to look forward to with my ang leonis. very soon i will be able to experience something no one i know has ever been able to experience (HA HA) ohhhhh i cannot wait, the bud was produced upside- down so it is twisting itself upright,i did not know that they did that, the tail is still lengthening and is begining to curl! an on my campobello mendenhall there the two buds are exposed finnally, soo exciting!!!!! when my babies bloom i am going to be so happy but untill then i cant show you guys any pics :- (( so sad but untill then keep an eye out for them! and Barbcoleus What is the name of that plant i want it on my wish list. So beautiful!!!!!!!! Mrbreeze is that Angreacum magdalene? its really Drop dead gorgeous!!!

{{gwi:192060}}I got this Brassolaeliocattleya 'Sundance' in the spring of 2003 thinking it was a mini-catt. It wasn't.

I mounted it on a nice piece of wood and always liked the look of the plant. This summer it bloomed for the first time and I had that feeling about it, that it was breathtakingly gorgeous. The effect of a well grown mounted plant in bloom was wonderful.

I have no plans to change the direction of the collection away from species. I think species flowers are often under appreciated. But having a surprise like this show up from time to time adds spice to an orchid collection.

Angraecum magdalenae, yes, yes it is.
-MB

calvin_orchidlover, your cym ensifolium looks pristine. Is it fragrant?

Scott, your orchids are outstanding. You should take some video and upload to youTube.

Mehitabel your original post now has me looking forward to blooming my Phal. Little Emperor 'Orange'. I bought this at the end of the summer and it is now producing a spike. I have never seen one of these 'live' only in a couple of pics.
Great pics everyone.

If I weren't so lazy I'd go look for my L. purpurata and anceps pictures, as that is primarily what I grow. If this thread is still going in a couple of days, I have an anceps v. werkerhausi (or however it's spelled) and a L. dayana just starting to open.

If you aren't blooming your laelia, it's because you are being too kind to them.

This thread has made me come out of hiding. Years itÂs been. (I was streetmorris, now zotcat.) Anyway, the four best orchid sights for me have been finding Cyp. arietinum and Calypso bulbosa in the wild (thatÂs two!), visiting New World Orchids for the first timeÂlight, warm rain, all the Neofinetias outdoors with many of them in bloom, and I have to include catching a glimpse of a tall and perfect Paph. malipoense in Fox ValleyÂs "stud room" with just a bit of late afternoon light hitting it the first time I visited said nursery. All of these species are consistent showstoppers for me personally. Great choices from all though! I LOVE angraecoids and grow manyÂno brainer in the beauty category, though I remember seeing my first Angraecum didieri and its diamond texture in a wardian case at a Michigan Orchid Society show more than any of them I think. Showstoppers can be minis for me, clearly. Very jewel-likeÂI also have to mention Masdevallia ignea for that reasonÂit does in fact look like a small flame.

I have way too many faves. But I'll never forget how I felt the first time I laid eyes on (and smelled) this. Not my blooming, though I've had some nice once since. This is how she was the first night we met....

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(Don't tell, Ok? I've also had some serious flirtations with miltoniopsis. And Angraecum magdalene was a total heart-breaker in my conditions.)

John :>)

I have 2. The first is the Flying Duck Orchid, Caleana major. I've never seen it in real life, but there is a fantastic picture of one on flickr.

The other is the Masdevallia priceps. :)

Snasxs, wouldn't orchid video's be like watching the grass grow?
Plus, if they're outstanding (still to be determined),
that's partly because I refuse to show anyone my larger collection of horribly ugly ones!! ;~)
But, (blush, blush) I take complements were I can get them.
God know they're hard to come by, anymore! ;~)

Although any native wild orchid is wonderous to find...
The first time that I found both Cyp. californicum and Calypso's, I just stood there shaking for a while.
I couldn't even focus the camera!

And...O.K!
I'll admit that I have had a serious lusting after some of the species Phals for more years than I want to think about!
Damned things hate me and always die! :~(

Jeeze!
Now I need one of those duck thingies!;~)
Too cool!

Hmm, I was pretty stoked when my R.digbyana 'Mrs Chase' bloomed and my first Drac.
But still, those natives were the top thrill!!
I've found four different ones and this year, I'll try to find more.
I know that they're out there! ;~)

Scott

Lol, Scott, my real aim is your sunfish. I am hoping that when you film the orchids, you will film my favorite fish too ;-)

C

So...
You're just usin' me to get to my fish!
Now, I feel so dirty!
...and used!
(sniffle)
I may be easy, but I'm not cheap! ;~)

Scott, come on :-) I merely request to have a look at your fish. What you say is way dramatic. It sounds like excerpt from Shakespeare.

Helcia sanguinolenta, could only be better if it were fragrant.

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Travis