I bought this plant at the 2009 Naples Orchid Society Orchid Show from Florida Suncoast Orchids.  It had three spikes.  In 2010 and 2011 it produced five spikes.  I repotted it last Spring, so now I am expecting lots more spikes J. Unfortunately this plant only flowers once a year, but the good news is that it usually blooms just about “Show Time.” It produces large numbers of flowers and stays in bloom for at least a month!  (Jim Longwell has a nice large specimen plant of this grex that produces many spikes and always gets a blue ribbon at the monthly NOS meeting J )

This is Eplc. (Epilaeliocattleya) Pixie Charm.  It was created by crossing Laeliocattleya (Lc.) Pixie with Encyclia alata.  The cross was made by H&R Nurseries of Hawaii and registered by them in 2001.  It has earned four AOS awards, two AMs and two HCCs; as well as an award from the TawianOrchid Growers Association.  Pixie Charm has yet to be a parent in any crosses.

Encyclia alata, of course, is a well-known natural species that produces tall spikes with numerous two inch flowers which are shades of chartreuse, yellow and chocolate.  It is a native to Mexico and Central America.  The species has been used as a parent in 76 registered crosses and has 68 registered “grandkids.”  Lc. Pixie is an old cross, created by Woodlawn Nurseries of Hawaii and registered in 1954.  It produces clusters of three inch yellow flowers.  It has been a parent in 16 registered crosses including Eplc. Pixie Charm.

Pixie Charm is a medium sized plant and a rapid grower in all directions, so it doesn’t take long to become a specimen plant.  The pseudobulbs and their single leaves are about one foot tall.  . The spikes, however, are taller yet, rising above the leaves with many 2 inch flowers (the tall spike and numerous flowers are inherited from the E. alata parent).  Olympic Orchids, in their Internet ad, described the flowers as “shades of burnt orange, yellow and copper,” which is a pretty accurate description.

My plant appears to be doing well in a 10 inch plastic bulb pan in a mixture of lava rock, charcoal and Hydrodon. I keep the plant in a west-facing pool cage and fertilize it weakly about once a week.

Unfortunately all of the species and greges involved in creating the one parent, Lc. Pixie, have had their names changed in the recent name-shuffling in the orchid world.  So Lc. Pixie is now Cattlianthe Pixie, thus our “charming little Pixie” is now Enanthleya Pixie Charm.  Go figure!  Whatever we call it, it is still a nice addition to any collection for a charming little bloomer in the Spring.

Contributed by Dick Pippen

The meeting will also include the NOS members plant sale.

The Naples Orchid Society presented two scholarships to the Naples Botanical  Garden for two volunteers in the Garden’s Orchid house to attend the Society’s classes. The Culture Class is a six-week course on the growing and care of the more popular orchid genera that grow well here in Southwest Florida. The recipients of the scholarships are Nina Iraggi and Mike Brewer. They will also serve short internships at the NOS orchid house as well as the Botanical Garden’s new orchid house.

Photo:  Pictured from left to right:   Dick Pippen, NOS President and Culture Class Coordinator, Nina Iraggi, Kris Morton, NOS Newsletter Editor and Master Gardener, and Mike Brewer.

Click here for more information on the February 2013 NOS Orchid Show and Sale. Click here for one dollar off coupon to show.