Acanthephippium mantinianum

This has been one of my favorites since I got it several years ago.

 

I think the best thing it had going for it was that I bought it as a big established plant That being said, I keep it outdoors under shade cloth in the summer and bring it in to a grow room/tent in the winter. It's in a pretty dirt-ish looking mix, as opposed to big chunks of bark and sponge-rock.

I have better luck with this than with some other orchids. It made good growth last summer, but then squirrels chewed up one of the psuedobulbs and it rotted. I cut that off and dosed it with cinnamon, and it seems to have weathered that. (I think that may be why I got two new growths this year instead of just one like the past few years.)

Just got a sylhetense at the SEPOS show this spring. Also good sized, so hopefully I get some good results next year.

 

I'm in the Mid-Atlantic area, so we aren't quite as hot as Georgia. But, I believe that this is a low-altitude, warm-growing plant.

It's pretty big, like a bigger Lycaste - bulbs are about 6 inches tall, 2 to 3 inch diameter, leaves 2 feet tall. Weighs a lot with the terrestrial mix.

I think most other Acanthephippium species are somewhat smaller.