Essence of Stanhopea: Stanhopea Wardii

Friday, February 15, 2008

Stanhopea Wardii

Another of my Stanhopea’s flowering at the moment – Stanhopea Wardii. This variety been around since 1838 since its discovery in Colombian forests and remains popular with Stanhopea collectors all over the world for its beautiful yellow/orange vanilla scented flowers. This variety producing medium-sizes flowers but more than compensate for it with its reliability and yearly abundance of flowers. I repotted this stanhopea in early spring and once it’s established in its planter, it’s started sending flower spikes. It sent 3 x flower spikes from the sides of the planter with 5 flowers on each spike. Stanhopea Wardii is mid-season flowering variety here in Sydney and my personal “old favorite”.

2 comments:

CableGirl said...: Hi there. I just stumbled across your blog through a google search and I'm glad I did.

I recently acquired a stanhopea wardii and it is not at all happy with me. I have been keeping with all that I've read about the care and treatment of this little beauty but its leaves seem to be slowly dying on me.

I water it with a fair amount of frequency to prevent it from drying out, but never drown it. It is indoors and is hanging near a window that allows is a fair amount of indirect light for large portions of the day but never direct sunlight.

I'd love to talk with you (a successful grower) about some tips.

Thanks in advance.; June 14, 2008 10:07 AM
essenceoftime said...: Hi cablegirl

Stanhopea's naturally will drop some leaves now and then - sometimes after repotting, but excessive leaf drop indicate that plant is stressed and trying to preserve its energy in the bulb.

At the request of some of my customers I've done growing instructions for Stanhopea orchids in .pdf - just a couple of pages of tips - if you are interested, send me email to stanhopea@lycos.com and I'll forward them to you.

Kind Regards

http://essenceofstanhopea.blogspot.com; June 14, 2008 1:40 PM

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What Works For Me...

All of the known species of Stanhopea’s found in rainforests of South and Central America –some in the mountains and others in the valleys. They require humid, warm conditions to grow and to reproduce their beautiful flowers. Here in Australia we are fortunate to be able replicate their growing environment outdoor – our winters are mild and we don’t need (if we don’t want ) create special orchid houses or conservatories as our orchid friends do in Europe, Canada, US with controlled temperatures, humidifiers, mystifies, etc.. Still, the closer you can replicate their natural growing environment, the more they will reward you with their beautiful, unusual flowers.

Sadly, a lot of Stanhopea’s varieties are disappearing from their natural habitat and these days only existing in private collections. Since their discovery in the early 1800’s by British explorers many varieties are now extinct in the wild due to extensive and systematic land clearing in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela. As an orchid species certain varieties of Stanhopeas can only be reproduced by straight divisions of the plant and do not easily lend themselves to tissue culture reproduction like many other orchids, hence commanding of the high prices.

When you ready to plant your orchid, don't position the bulbs deep in the soil – some years they’ll send out flowering shoot through the top, instead of bottom of the plant and the flowers will be cascading instead of coming through the bottom of the containers.

Stanhopea orchids take approx. 7 years to mature and to start producing flowers and if your first Stanhopea was a seedling, it would take about that much time to start flowering.

Stanhopea orchids have to grow in open hanging baskets so that when they start flowering they can send their flower spikes through the sides and bottom of the planter. They usually start sending flower spikes in our Australian climate from about mid-November. The flower spike will be maturing for about 5-6 weeks, getting longer and thicker until you can actually start seeing flower pods and then one day the flowers will emerge with the most heavenly perfume.

The earlier flowering Stanhopea's will flower here in Sydney at about Christmas time and different varieties will flower later - anytime between January and mid-April. Flowers usually open for about 7 days and penetrate the whole house with their perfume. The scents of different varieties are - chocolate, vanilla, orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint, apricot, citrus, fruit, jasmine, lemon, cherry, medicine, etc...

Beautiful home for your treasured plants

Our planter’s range was created out of necessity - being an orchids collectors we looked everywhere for a suitable planters to display and enjoy our beautiful, majestic plants. We looked for something that would compliment all the work and enjoyment that goes into growing and raising orchids. All we could find poorly made, unappealing, held by wires that rusted after a few waterings, roughly put together, completely unsuitable to our Australian climate “planters” – so we decided to create and make our own.

Our planters constructed from treated pine and joined by galvanized nails. They are light, durable and look great indoor or outdoor. Great for mounting variety of orchids, ferns, bromeliads and many other of your favorite plants. Can be used with liner or by simply placing your favorite pot plant in a planter. They are also suitable for greenhouse, balconies, pergolas, patios, verandas.

The prices and sizes of our Planters are:

Large – 300mm x 300 mm x 180mm - AU $11

(12in x 12in x 7in)

Medium – 250mm x 250mm x 160mm - AU $8.50

(10in x 10in x 6 ¼ in)

Small – 195mm x 195mm x 130mm - AU $6

(7 ½ in x 7 ½ in x 5 in)

We also make special planters for Stanhopea’s with galvanized wire bottom. Our design ensuring that Stanhopea’s can send their flower shoots through the bottom of the basket. These planters available in same as above sizes with additional $2.50 for each ( Sm - $8.50, Med - $11, Lg - $13.50)

If you interested obtaining any of the above planters, we can be contacted via email – stanhopea@lycos.com

Essence of Stanhopea

Friday, February 15, 2008

Stanhopea Wardii

2 comments:

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What Works For Me...

Beautiful home for your treasured plants