Stanhopea deltoidea - very rare beauty!

 Here is one of the rarest Stanhopea species - Stanhopea deltoidea. It flowered early this morning and I am delighted to see this stanhopea in flower. I’ve been waiting for quite a while to see this Stanhopea orchid blooming and this season it decided to reveal it’s beauty.

Stanhopea deltoidea 1

Stanhopea deltoidea 2

Because of it’s extreme rarity not much information available about this specie - we know that it was first named by Lemaire back in 1862 from the plant imported by Riedel from Peru, and that there is a drawing by Pastorelli showing in detail this beautiful orchid.

The plant and the flower is of the medium size and the blooms heavily spotted with burgundy colored blotches with yellow middle. The scent is very interesting - it’s very “fresh” smelling blooms with the background of grassy, herbal undertones. There is a bit of sweetness in the scent, but it's not strong or overpowering. Overall, very “clean” , refreshing, invigorating kind of scent.

It’s a beautiful, very rare special stanhopea for anyone who appreciates these orchids and I am thrilled at  being able to see this remarkable  orchid  in bloom this season.

Our New Stanhopea flowering season

Here are we are right in the middle of our stanhopea’s flowering season now and all of my plants displaying their much awaited flamboyant blooms. The greenhouse filled with unmistaken scent of these special orchids and Nature continue to delight me with beauty of these exclusive blooms.

This summer been very difficult for the whole country with bushfires and so much loss on so many levels that its difficult to comprehend the scale of distraction but here we are witnessing the strong sense of community and the Australian spirit of 'never giving up' in the face of such devastation and adversity.

Stanhopea saccata

Stanhopea inodora alba

 

 

Stanhopea graveolens aurata

Stanhopea devoniensis x Assidensis

 

Stanhopea maculosa

Stanhopea oculata ornatissima

Stanhopea intermedia

Stanhopea intermedia1

I am delighted to see this specie in flower this season. It came to me some time ago and  I’ve been patiently waiting for it to bloom.

It’s one of extra ordinary stanhopea’s that is so difficult to find and even rare to see blooming and it have very colorful history.

 It was first imported in 1885 by orchid collector Wolter from Germany together with other stanhopea species from Mexico. From his collection, one of the stanhopea intermedia plants was given to the orchid collection of the Botanical Garden of St.Petersburg in Russia. The plant took it’s time to flower and finally bloomed in 1896 for the first time. Only in 1898 it was inspected, studied, documented and named as new specie stanhopea intermedia by J C Klinge based in that plant in St.Petersburg. The fate of the remaining plants in Germany is unknown.

Stanhopea intermedia2

Stanhopea intermedia native to Mexico’s slopes of the Pacific side of the Sierra and it’s very rare orchid, not often seen. In my life I have seen a few stanhopea intermedia  plants in some other private collections, but they were yet to flower, so one could not be sure unless one can see it blooming, and this season my own plant sent out flower spike that I have nurtured.

For anyone trying to bloom this specie I can only relate my own personal experience - at the time it bloomed with me, we had very hot and humid summer. It wanted copious amount of water, but really enjoyed when we had days of stormy, raining weather. It’s totally dislikes any form of sunlight, the darker the better seems to be for this specie so it’s been moved around greenhouse a lot in an attempt to shade it even from average light.

The scent of stanhopea intermedia is complex, with many layers - one can smell initial strong herb/spices notes and then very strong sweetness, reminiscent of something like heavy rose oil. Very unusual combination of perfume for stanhopea.

This specie demands attention in cultivation and may or may not be for a casual stanhopea grower, but for someone who exhibit dedication and persistence it will reveal it’s beauty, rarity and special place created by Nature.

Stanhopea gibbosa

Stanhopea gibbosa 1

Stanhopea gibbosa 2

Stanhopea gibbosa 3

Stanhopea gibbosa 4

Stanhopea gibbosa 5

My stanhopea gibbosa finished it’s seasonal flowering not long ago and it’s a delight to see this beauty in bloom.

It’s one of the oldest stanhopea species, first described in Gardener’s Chronicle in 1869 by Reichenbach from plant collector Veitch from Chelsea who imported many plants and orchids into Europe at that time. Stanhopea gibbosa is a beautiful stanhopea , very distinct in it’s colouring and deserves it’s place in any stanhopea collection.

The flowers are of creamy colour with many purple dots all over the blooms and it have darker colour eyes, the scent is very strong herbal/spicy and stays around for a long time, there is no sweetness to the scent - just sharp, bold, strong combination of many spices and herbs, complicating and overpowering.

The plant is of medium size yet the flowers are large and full. Because of our hot and humid weather I had to take pictures of gibbosa very early in the morning, just as the flowers started opening up.

The cultivation of this stanhopea can be a bit tricky, because it have it’s own requirements - it’s native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and can be found mostly in very wet forests, often close or straight above open water and require copious amount of moisture during it’s growing season.

I am delighted to see this beautiful stanhopea in bloom and as usual marvel at the Nature creating this special orchid.

New stanhopea flowering season started.

Here we are right in the middle of new stanhopea flowering season now. Many of my orchids have flower spikes bringing anticipation of seeing beautiful and majestic flowers soon. Every flowering season is different and brings a lot of surprises - colours, scents, textures. Some of the early flowering stanhopea’s already in bloom and it’s so nice seeing them again in all their glory. 

Here are the plants that flowered first this season - 

Stanhopea Mem Paul Allen1

Stanhopea Mem Paul Allen 2

Stanhopea Great Expectations 1

Stanhopea Great Expectations 2

Syanhopea Bellarensis x Inodora 1

Stanhopea Bellarensis x Inodora 2

Stanhopea orchids in the wild

Many stanhopea growers and collectors love to see images of stanhopea orchids growing in the wild.

Unfortunately, not many of these pictures available for obvious reasons - the flowering season is short and a chance to encounter flowering stanhopea in the wild is still just that - a chance.

Also, it seems rather difficult to find large specimens of stanhopeas in nature that we in the cultivated situations are familiar with - insects, animals, bad weather and other elements in stanhopeas habitats contribute to this. Here just a few images that I was able to find of flowering stanhopeas in their natural surroundings.

 Thank you to Eduard Faria, Philip Davison, Luc Rubrecht and all others who was able to share these stunning images with all friends of stanhopea orchids around the world.

Stanhopea wardii

Stanhopea panamensis

Stanhopea cirrhata

Stanhopea insignis

Stanhopea hernandezii

Stanhopea xytriophora

Stanhopea xytriophora 1

Stanhopea xytriophora 2

This special and very rare stanhopea just finished it’s flowering season and it gave me a great pleasure to see this beauty in bloom. It’s one of the rarest species in the stanhopea orchids range and not many plants of stanhopea xytriophora around, making it very desired stanhopea for any serious collector.

 Stanhopea xytriophora specie was first documented by Reichenbach in 1868 - he received unknown orchid from Peru, studied it and gave it it’s current name - xytriophora and for a while no more plants of this specie was collected. Later on, in 1921, in 1958, in 1965 this specie was mentioned in some publications by various collectors, including Barney Greer in 1998. My plant is one of the plants from his collection that I treasure.

 It’s beautiful stanhopea with white/creamy medium size flowers, red eyes and many red spots on the petals with very strong, piercing scent of spices - there is no sweetness to the scent - just strong, spicy smell that lingers for a long time. The plant itself is of medium size and it’s rather a slow grower that perhaps will test the patience of any stanhopea collector because it’s flowering cycle truly left for the Nature to sort out  - stanhopea xytriophora flowering have it’s own timing and rhythm and all one can do just go with it. And then to enjoy it’s special, rare blooms.

Stanhopea insignis

Stanhopea insignis1

 

Stanhopea insignis2

 

This beautiful stanhopea just finished it's flowering and I always love to see this beauty in bloom. Stanhopea insignis is one of the first stanhopea orchids been discovered in 1818 and as usual it have very colorful and interesting history. In 1829 it ended in Kew Botanical Gardens  and from there on been appearing in various private collections.

To trace appearance of stanhopea insignis is like immersing oneself in stanhopea orchids history and archives - it's been described and mentioned in various publications by orchid collectors such as John Frost, William Jackson Hooker, Jenisch/Kramer of Hamburg,  Demidoff of Italy,  Hoffmannsegge of Dresden, Linden of Ghent, Loddiges of Hackney, and Sir Phillip Henry Earl of Stanhope the president of medical-botanical society in London - all of them made tremendous contribution to bringing stanhopea species to the world. Stanhopea insignis was the first stanhopea specie named.

The plant native to states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santa Caterina and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and it's habitat rather dry which gives clue to it's successful flowering.

This specie extremely variable in  colors, there are quite a few different clones about, some a pure pristine white and my plant showing white background with many purple dots all over the flower. The scent to me smells like pure cinnamon - strong, piercing, penetrating.

Stanhopea insignis ( from Latin - remarkable) beautiful stanhopea orchid to love and to admire and to reflect on it's interesting history.

Stanhopea Tigrina x Assidensis

Stanhopea Tigrina x Assidensis1

 

Stanhopea Tigrina x Assidensis2

 

 

This beauty have an abundance of flowers and the scent is very strong and pleasing - it's everything every stanhopea grower and collector wants to see. It have multitude of sculptured blooms, heavenly scent, strong hardy and vigorous growth, plant not shy at all sending many flower spikes during it's growing season. My stanhopea's Tigrina x Assidensis frequently flower couple of times every season.

Technically, of course, it's 2nd generation cross since stanhopea Assidensis is a hybrid between tigrina and wardii and in this orchid it seems to be able to show it's fine qualities to the full. Standing next to this stanhopea when it's in bloom an experience not easily forgotten when one enveloped with strong, penetrating vanilla and marshmallow perfume.

Stanhopea embreei x graveolens

Stanhopea embreei x graveolens1

Stanhopea embreei x graveolens 2

Our new stanhopea flowering season already started here and I am looking forward again being surrounded by beautiful and exotic creations of Nature. Hopefully, I will be able to feature and share some of my flowering beauties again in this blog.

The first one to flower in my collection this handsome cross  of stanhopea embreei x stanhopea graveolens. It came to me as small unflowered seedling couple of years ago and I've been waiting for a while to see it's blooms.

It's a strong, robust plant, strong grower that develops many leaves and bulbs during it's growing season, establishing quickly and the flowers are very nice and perfectly sculptured.
From graveolens parent it inherited deep yellow tones and from embreei many purple dots on the petals, distinct eyes and really strong fruity and spicy scent - really nice combination.

It's always great to welcome new variety of stanhopea to own collection and to love and admire and to reflect on the beauty of these orchids.

Some of my flowering stanhopea's

Stanhopea Wetley Secret

 

Stanhopea Wardii Clear

Stanhopea Spindleriana

My stanhopea flowering season continues with many of my orchids putting up spectacular show.
Our weather is hot and humid at the moment and it's a race for me to take as many pictures as I can of my beloved stanhopea's while the flowers are fresh at their opening stage. Watering and misting of plants during this time is of paramount importance and after that - just enjoyment of beautiful scented blooms.

Stanhopea Hidden Agenda

Stanhopea Hidden Agenda1

 

Stanhopea Hidden Agenda2

 

 

This beautiful orchid just finished it's flowering season and it's stanhopea Hidden Agenda - rather special and interesting cross of stanhopea insignis and stanhopea posadae. it was registered in 2004 by D Pulley of California and it's extraordinary, unusual looking stanhopea.

I've been patiently waiting to see it bloom for a while and this season it decided to flower, it did not disappoint - bold, mysterious, unique, dramatic - hybrid created with huge respect to both parents by one of the leading orchid's experts. One can see an intelligently planned design in this cross with tremendous affection for stanhopea's.

 The plant is of medium size and the blooms of bright yellow with many burgundy color markings. The scent is just as mysterious as the flowers -   strong, heady with many layers of spices and herbs - sharp and penetrating. 

Hidden Agenda is a special stanhopea that will be much welcomed by any collector and grower of these beautiful orchids.

Flowering stanhopea's this week

Stanhopea Bellarensis x inodora

 

Stanhopea nigroviolacea

Stanhopea inodora x wardii aurea

Our stanhopea flowering season continues with many of my new plants started it's blooming season and some old favorites showing off it's beautiful scented flowers.

Every stanhopea grower knows that each season brings something different and it's all to do with weather changes during the year. All the elements are playing their part producing this wonder of Nature so when your plants start flowering it's always an anticipation to see beautiful orchids once again.

Stanhopea's in blooms at the moment

stanhopea x fowlieana

stanhopea tigrina Glory of Mexico

stanhopea Jack Quigley

Here we are in the middle of stanhopea's flowering time and many of my orchids are displaying splendid blooms again.

It's a pleasure to see lovely perfectly formed flowers and spikes and to re-connect with majestic multi-layered scents created by Mother Nature. The ultimate goal would be to able to capture this "Perfume of the Gods" so that one could smell it at any time one needs a pick me up, but of course that would be encroaching on "time" and for everything under the sun there is an appropriate "time".

So, like every stanhopea grower I have to satisfy myself with short-lived flowers and short-lived stanhopea scents - and marvel at the nature for creating such beauty. Many times during the day I visit my greenhouse just to be able to immerse myself in heavenly exotic perfume. I love how these beautiful orchids play on unsuspected grower - if one stay with them for a few minutes they will release first base notes of the scents which are usually forceful and strong, but if one spends a little bit of more time near them - then the whole kaleidoscope of secondary perfumes start revealing itself - completely different yet so complementary that comes in waves.
It's like composing a colorful palette where every color and scent  paints a beautiful signature and picture with the senses.

Stanhopea Great Expectations

Here is an interesting stanhopea cross from my collection - it's a hybrid between stanhopea nigroviolacea and stanhopea hernandezii, registered under the name Great Expectations by D Hartley of England in 2007.

It flowers with beautifu, flamboyant blooms and one can see both parents in the structure of flowers. It always producing flower spike with two flowers, just like hernandezii and it's always showing very clearly hernandezii lip structure, but the petals of the flowers inherited nigraviolacea coloring. The scent isvery sweet vanilla with herbal undertones, very strong and penetrating.

Stanhopea Great Expectations is another attractive addition to any stanhopea collection.                                                                                                                                                                  

  

Stanhopea panamensis

This beautiful stanhopea bloomed right at the end ouf flowering season and it's stanhopea panamensis. Its native to Panama and it appears to be only growing in the area of the Cerro Campana, approx 50 km southwest of Panama City in high altitude of wet rainforests.

It was first mentioned in one of the orchids publications in 1988 and to date number of colored plants been discovered from pure white to heavy spotted varieties however all of them have stretched hypochil, flat and long.

My panamensis orchid have light coloring with a few spots on the petals, very interesting combination and it flowered with the most magical scent, layered with many tones to it. One can smell top floral tones followed by musk followed by herbal mixture - pure delight!

This specie well worth growing for any stanhopea collector, it's unusual and sometimes temperamental in cultivation - some years it appears to be just resting and then suddenly decides to reward patient stanhopea grower with beautiful blooms.

Stanhopea's New 2014 blooming season started!

Well, it's been a long weit for me, but finally new stanhopea flowering season is upon us here in Australia. For a dedicated "stanhopea lover" like me a few months without fabolous flowers at times difficult to endure, yet while logically I understand that one can not harry-up Nature, good luck explaining THAT concept to the heart...

What helps me during cold winter months is going over many many stanhopea pictures that I take during blooming seasons, remebering scents and smells, reading and learning more about natural envirnoment of some of the species, trying to replicate at least some of them in cultivation and collecting more of these beautiful plants. As with any stanhopea collector, it all comes down to patience - these orchids have way of testing it like no others...

And of course when one finally discovers some flower spikes pushing through the planters - everything is forgotten - just huge anticipation from seeing old friends in bloom again and meeting and discover new for me varieties and species.