Petals with frilled edges opening like egrets taking flight, or pearly blooms up to four inches across, each centred on a red-spotted labellum: white orchids express joy and love with pristine clarity, which is why they fill wedding halls and bridal bouquets. Choose a species that matches your experience and Phalaenopsis amabilis will hold its flowers for over six months.
That’s why white orchids are often a great choice for brides and grooms to decorate the halls for weddings and receptions. Slender and immaculate, these orchids even find a place in bridal bouquets!
Here is a selection of five fabulous white orchids that are particularly beautiful.
The five white orchids below differ in when they flower, in the size and number of their blooms, and above all in how demanding they are. Use the table to pick the one that matches your experience.
| Orchid | Flowering | Flowers | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Habenaria radiata | Summer | 2 to 8 flowers, just over an inch (3 cm), slightly fragrant | Rather difficult |
| Angraecum sesquipedale | Flower scapes of one to three blooms | Six-pointed star shape, scent released at dusk with a hint of vanilla | Difficult |
| Phalaenopsis amabilis | Winter and spring | 5 or 6 blooms of 3 to 4 inches (7 to 10 cm), lasting over 6 months | Relatively easy |
| Sobralia leucoxantha | Weeks on end, in sequence | One or two white flowers with a yellow labellum, fresh scent | A bit difficult |
| Dendrobium nobile ‘alba’ | Winter to spring | Abundant blooming all along the cane, light pleasant scent | Easy for beginners |
Beginners are best served by Dendrobium nobile ‘alba’ or Phalaenopsis amabilis; the other three reward experience.
The egret orchid has all it takes to impress collectors and give you a never-ending sense of surprise and wonder. During the summer season, this white orchid produces a cluster of 2 to 8 flowers that aren’t very big, just over an inch across (3 cm).
Slightly fragrant blooming that looks like a flock of birds arising to the skies. Truly, the flower petals of this orchid seem to deploy their frill-edged wings like a host of doves or of egrets taking flight.
To learn more: The Egret orchid, fascinating and poetic
This Angraecum orchid produces magnificent flower scapes with one to three white flowers with a greenish hue. The position of its petals, like a star with six points, makes these wonderful flowers look amazing.
In addition, there arises from this exceptional blooming a lush, appealing scent. You’ll only notice this fragrance at dusk, and when flowers start wilting away, a hint of vanilla can be tasted in the air.
Many tropical foliage houseplants, such as calatheas, philodendrons, and monsteras, generally do best with year-round warmth, high humidity, and bright light filtered through a sheer curtain rather than harsh direct midday sun.
Phalaenopsis amabilis, or mariposa orchid, mostly blooms in winter and spring. It then produces 5 or 6 blooms at once, and keeps its pristine flowers for over 6 months.
This makes it a great flower to admire at home, since its large white flowers last for so long. They’re 3 to 4 inches across (7 to 10 cm). Each bloom has 3 oval sepals and 2 round lateral petals. At the center of all this pearly white space, a yellowish white labellum with red spots catches the eye.
To learn more: Phalaenopsis orchid: how to get beautiful blooming
Orchids that are part of the Sobralia genus usually only have one or two white flowers with a yellow center at a time. These blooms are short-lived, but they keep coming up in sequence as the flower scape extends longer and longer.
Sobralia leucoxantha thus has white flowers with a yellow labellum that open and wilt every few days for weeks on end. A pleasant feature of this blooming is a fresh, agreeable scent. Note that even without any flowers, Sobralia orchids are stilly surprisingly ornamental thanks to their foliage. You can keep the plant in place even when it isn’t blooming!
This species is often confused with Sobralia powellii which is another of the most beautiful white orchids yet found.
Dendrobium nobile is the most famous and easy-to-find orchid of all bamboo orchids. The name comes from its long “canes”, near-perfect cylinders that are quite similar to those of full-grown bamboo.
Dendrobium nobile ‘alba’ blooms from winter to spring. Its owners and their guests can relish its magnificent and abundant white blooming. Flowers open up along the whole length of the stem, and they release a light but pleasant scent.
