ascocentrum miniatum

I've never been a big fan of orange. It's not as bad as yellow, though. Orange is okay. I grew to like it at one point, but now it is back to being okay. Unless it is my Ascocentrum miniatum. Then it is fabulous. According to my blog, the spikes began appearing about January 20, now in full bloom.

I've had this plant since about 2002, and it has traveled with me wherever I've moved to. It moved with me to California and back, and didn't like it, but recovered.

The roots are now growing through the supports and mesh of the orchidarium, so I left the plant there instead of taking it out to the studio lights to photograph.

 

The individual flowers are 9/16" across, natural spread, and a black button nose. 

 

The plant is getting old enough that the stems are starting to trail out of the pot, on leafless stems (trunks?).

 

When I first got it, it didn't seem like it was getting enough moisture, so I put it in whatever cache pot I had to hold moisture around the roots. It began to grow much better, but  it turned out to be an unfortunate choice, being lavender, which clashes horribly with the orange flowers. But to remove it from the pot now would mean cutting off all the roots, which have attached themselves as orchids do. I've grown to like it.