Best orchid gardening books according to redditors

I wish I had good news for you, but I don't think I have any chocoensis left.

Another name for the list: Troy Meyers.

I don't see any flasks of chocoensis on his site, but he may have plants in the future.

Troy kinda needs support right now. I've also offered a copy of this from my personal collection to help raise money for Troy. $250 donation to Troy, and you get a copy of the book, domestic (delivered) or international (+shipping).

Going from the book understanding orchids (which is pretty great), it looks like we can sterilize glass jars (boiling in a pressure cooker sounds like enough), then fill them with germination medium.

Although it sounds like you can ship off your seeds to flanking services that will do it for you!

Rhttps://www.amazon.com/Masdevallias-Orchid-World-Mary-Gerritsen/dp/0881927376

I haven’t gotten very far into this book, but it does have a fair amount of info on the historical discoveries in the genus and it’s certainly a niche book. It, of course, does have car info too. Not sure it’s what you’re looking for but may be worth checking out!

Also, not books but you may be able to find some more scientific reads over on Google Scholar- a review paper on a groups evolution may be easily found and for your bill as well.

I would recommend trying species from the group Aerangis, Specifically Aerangis hariotiana, hildebrandtii, fastuosa, and citrata as these are low light species from very humid regions that would fit the temperature range you have.


Also try Pleoruothallids, Group includes Masdevallia - Pleurothallis - Dracula - Lepanthes - Restrepia and so on, that are warmer growing. Species from coastal Brazil will work well in your conditions provided they are also miniature in size. Dracula lotax, Pleurothallis tribuloides, and Platystele umbellata are some of the easier to find members from the group that stay fairly small while flowering regularly.


Bulbophyllum nitidum and tingabarinum are two species that are readily available and have very dramatic flowers, Bulbophyllum depressum and laxiflorum are two others with smaller blooms but are just as easy to cultivate.


Gastrochilus species, especially fuscopunctatus and dasypogon, are suited to growing very humid and warm while staying tiny and small respectively. Haraella retrocalla is a close relative and is also quite adaptable to being grown in tanks with lower light levels.


Miniature Orchids by Steven Frowine is a good reference for more commonly cultivated plants that are suitable for beginners.

If you have the willingness to grow rare and very exotic species I recommend A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species by Ron Parsons (2 volumes). It is a very detailed book on growing some of the more unusual varieties with extensive detail on conditions and growing needs for the species described in it. it is, however, quite expensive and would be a better choice for someone intending on amassing a moderate to large collection rather than a small tank of miniatures.

For slipper orchids, one of the latest is Slipper Orchids of the Americas, a comprehensive and authoritative review of Phragmipedium, Mexipedium, and Selenepedium. It was released last year, so it's very up to date. It has sections on taxonomy, ecology, and evolution. It takes an in-depth look at each species, has lots of amazing full color photos and while it's very technical at times, it's also very readable and understandable.

The Genus Paphiopedilum is another book by Phillip Cribb, and as the title suggests, it's focused entirely on Paphiopedilums. It's a little dated now, and there are at least a dozen or more species that have been discovered since, but it's still a great resource. There are sections on ecology, evolution, hobby care, etc. Similar to above, there is a lot of technical terminology, but even if you aren't well-versed in the terms, it's still very readable.

Cribb has also produced Genus Cypripedium and Hardy Cypripedium: Species, Hybrids and Cultivation. The former is a monograph similar to The Genus Paphiopedilum and Slipper Orchids of the Americas and a very similar format. I read through the entire book several times back after it was first released, but I do not own it. The newer book was a surprise to me since I wasn't aware of its existence until just a few moments ago, but I can only assume it's a great source of information since Werner Frosch and Cribb are involved.

Tropical Slipper Orchids is a book by Harold Koopowitz (another important name in slipper orchid taxonomy and breeding). I don't own this one and have only seen it in passing, but it's perhaps a little more approachable for hobby growers and breeders. It covers Paphs and Phrags, and it differs from the Cribbs books in that it spends more time on breeding and hybridization (there's a short chapter in the Cribbs books, but nothing particularly exhaustive).

Anyway, many (maybe most) of the common genera of orchids have similar resources.

Grow your own helped me understand the basics of growing enough to get me going. i also got Gardening under lights and found it very helpful. Its not about cannabis specifically but will give you needed knowledge about growing in general.

If she is an indoor grower and likes miniatures, Miniature Orchids by Steven Frowine is great. Anything he writes is pretty awesome and easy to understand.