Renanthera orchids

Renanthera is a Southeast Asian monopodial genus of around twenty species, native from India through Indonesia to the Philippines. Plants grow upward from a single stem (like Vanda), produce thick aerial roots, and when mature can throw enormous branched inflorescences carrying dozens or hundreds of vivid red, orange, or yellow flowers. The genus is a parent of many bright-coloured Vandaceous hybrids.

Renantheras grow large. Mature Renanthera imschootiana or Renanthera storiei plants can reach a metre or more in height, with correspondingly large flower displays. In cultivation they do best in warm humid greenhouses or tropical outdoor gardens; they are rarely practical as windowsill plants.

General care for the genus (species, hybrids and cultivars vary, so check with the grower for a specific plant): very bright light (4,000+ footcandles), warm temperatures year-round (no cool dormancy), high humidity (65 to 80 percent), heavy watering with rapid drying between. Grown in slatted baskets with no medium, or in pots with coarse bark and perlite.

Species include Renanthera imschootiana (protected under CITES Appendix I in the wild), Renanthera coccinea, Renanthera storiei, and Renanthera monachica. Intergeneric hybrids with Vanda, Aerides, and other genera produce the red-and-orange commercial lines popular in Thailand and Singapore. Listings below come from the nurseries we index, most of them re-checked nightly; prices are shown in USD.