Pop Goes the Orchid

My husband George proudly announced a couple of weeks ago that an orchid he's been nurturing in the garden sent out two flower spikes for the very first time. Meet Stanhopea stevensonii, an epiphytic (plants that grow on other plants rather than rooting in soil) species orchid native to Colombia.

A friend said the unopened flowers look like a ballerina's feet, and I agree! They're quite large, about 3 and half inches. You can tell from the photo that the flower spikes grow downward out of the bottom of the basket. For that reason, this wikipedia article explains, they're sometimes called upside-down orchids.

Then we waited ... and waited ...  George was afraid they weren't going to open, and I had to hold him back from peeling one apart! Patience paid off, and nearly a week later bloom day arrived. It was worth the wait! The flowers are spectacular.

We weren't there when they opened, so we didn't get to hear the "pop" that can occur when the flower emerges.

The flowers are really fragrant, but I was having trouble pinning down what the scent was. This great passage from Robert Lauri's wonderful blog, Stanhopea Culture, says it well:  "The fragrance of this Stanhopea is difficult to describe and smells sweet but rather chemical-like. The fragrance is similar to sweet grass with trace amounts of fresh pine needles. Some individuals have described the fragrance as being similar to moth balls, but I have not detected this fragrance in fresh flowers."

According to an article on a German orchid website, the strong scent helps attract the pollinator, a male euglossine bee, to the flower because it doesn't bloom for long.

Check out the closeup of the flower from the side. And the photo of the proud orchid whisperer with his newly emerged babies. 

What spectacular flowers are you growing in your garden?

You can read the original post on my blog by clicking this link.  Or click here to see my other photographs on my website.