It definitely sounds like a slipper orchid - in fact it sounds like it's very
much like the P. insigne that I've just bought. I can't confirm this yet, as
the two flowers on my plant are not yet open. The plain green leaves wipe
out a large number of the fancy hybrids and possibly species (most are
attractively specked) but my insigne has a V-shaped leaf profile - not flat
and not particularly thick. The hairy scape and "sheaf" at the base of the
single flower definitely rules out the Moth orchids (as does your description
of the flower) which have multi-flowered scapes which are thin and smooth,
with scalelike bracts along them when the rather flat, broad flowers emerge.
The only details on cultivation I've found state that these orchids should not
be allowed to dry out - unlikely most others which need short dry spells
between watering. The soil mix varies, but most seem to use about 10-12 parts
orchid bark with extra (single) parts of propagating sand, peat/finely chopped
sphag, perlite, charcoal, etc. depending on which book you read. If you plant
is a P. insigne or a subspecies/hybrid of it, it should be quite hardy. It
probably wouldn't hurt to mist the leaves each morning (especially if the
office is air-conditioned), but avoid leaving large droplets of water on the
leaves overnight - some orchids develop rotten spots on their leaves.
| John Taylor [The Banshee] | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |