That was quite a mislabel. If they were that badly mislabeled...I doubt it was a Brassia species. I even doubt it was a cross strictly within the Brassia genus. So my bet would be that it's an intergeneric Oncidium family hybrid. They are ubiquitous. There are quite a few cooler growers in the Oncidium family so I wouldn't be surprised if you could grow a random intergeneric cross outside year around in the bay area. So if it's a real "deal"...and you don't mind a bit of a gamble...then go for it. It's always fun to gamble a bit and discover an excellent outdoor grower. But doing a bit of homework will definitely provide you with the most bang for your buck. Here in my relatively dry and warmer conditions...I've found that the Oncidium intergeneric crosses appreciate a bit of moss. Of course it also depends on your watering frequency. More frequency means less moss. They also seem to do best with slightly shadier conditions...but they'll require less shade the closer one is to the coast. Speaking of Brassias though...here's Brassia brachiata on a Jacaranda tree in Australia. I tend to think of Brassias as being more on the intermediate side...but I'm sure there are some species from higher elevations.

Will definitely try and get down there - thanks for the reminder.... Lynne

This coming weekend Raulston Blooms has many family gardening activities, the annual Birdhouse Competition and includes a plant sale with over 300 varieties to chose from. Here is a link to information about these events and a list of plants. http://jcra.ncsu.edu/events/details.php?ID=900 Here is a link that might be useful: Raulston Blooms

This sounds very interesting. I would like to come down to that, I would like to visit the Rose garden and take some pictures of some early roses and that would make a nice day in Columbus.