Monday, August 5, 2013

Stanhopea wardii?

I bought this as Stanhopea wardii when I first moved to Florida. Now that it's blooming it smells like Stanhopea wardii, but doesn't look much like the other pictures online of this species. My husband nailed the smell though.... it's white TIC TAC® candies, really strong like a whole crate of them cracked open on a hot sidewalk. I sent pictures to the place I purchased it from to see if they can ID it, and they said it was wardii, so I guess that settles it? There are a few Stanhopea species that look fairly similar such as occulata, dodsoniana and whittenii, plus hybrids. The smell seems to give it away though.

Either way, I friggin' love it!










The buds ended up growing up and over the side though, not down, which is why they're a little oddly placed.


Mmmm, TIC TACs....

5 comments:

  1. Stunning Orchid, I have one just about to bloom as well!

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  2. Hey Melody, what a wonderful orchid, I've got a couple of these and they put on an incredible show when they get even bigger, when they're in flower you can smell them from anywhere in the yard (I live on 5 acres) :D

    I'll email through some photos of mine to hooray_plants@gmail.com (underscore removed), so you can compare between yours and mine :)

    Happy Growing,
    Michael

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    1. Oh my gosh, yes, the smell! It's so strong even with the wind! I love them, I have to get more. Please do send photos, I'd love to see them either way. The vendor said in the email that they are a variable species, and by pictures online, that does seem true...but none look anything like mine, so I've still got some doubts it's not maybe a hybrid with occulata or something.

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  3. Awesome, spectacular flowers. Love the size, colour, pattern (and smell too, wow). One of the best orchids I've seen. Likey. :)

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    1. Thanks, I love this one too! I just wish they stayed in bloom for longer, or bloomed more often! Looks like I'll have to wait a whole year to see it bloom again :(

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