Stanhopea impressa

This species is native to the western foothills of the Andes Mountains and is found in moist montane forests in Colombia and Ecuador.  The orchid grows at elevations between 1,640 to 6,000 feet (500 to 2,000 m).  The 4 inch (10.2 cm) wide flowers are cream colored to white and have a few sparse reddish spots along the petals and more on the sepals, hypochile and column. The center portion of the flower is infused with an intense yellow-gold color. The fragrance of the flowers is similar to basil and is slightly herb-like, but with an undertone of moth balls.

Stanhopea impressa inflorescence

This is the first to bloom of three clones that I have, so there may be more variation in the species than at first glance. Stanhopea impressa is a mid summer bloomer and tends to bloom after a related species S. embreei which has a fantastic fragrance.  Stanhopea impressa is easy to care for here in southern California and requires cool to intermediate temperatures to perform well.  The horticultural requirements are similar to other Stanhopea species such as S. tigrina, though the species tends to perform better with more shade and water.

Stanhopea stevensonii

This orchid is native to Colombia.  It grows in intermediate to warm mountain forests at approximately 1,312 feet (400-m) in elevation.  This species requires shade and copious amounts of water.  I grow the plant on the north side of my house, and  it appears to need more shade thus it grows better here than with greater sun exposure.  This species has golden yellow flowers with pale red eye spots on the upper hypochile, and few small red spots on the petals and sepals.  There are also small red spots on the epichile and column.  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. 

Stanhopea stevensonii inflorescence

 

The flowers are 3.0 to 3.2 inches (7.6 to 8.1 cm) wide with several flowers (5-7) on an inflorescence.   The inflorescences are rather short, to 6 inches (15.2 cm) in length.  This is one of the smaller Stanhopea with short inflorescences, so it is best to grow it in a small basket.  I grow my specimen in an 8 inch (20 cm) basket and it has been doing well in that size basket for years. The leaves of this orchid are a light green, and are 7.5 to 10.5 inches (19 to 26 cm) long and 3.9 to 4.8 inches (10 to 12 cm) wide.  The pseudobulbs are 1.6-2.2 inches (4.0 to 5.6 cm) long and deeply furrowed. 

Stanhopea stevensonii flower

Stanhopea candida

Stanhopea candida

Stanhopea candida inflorescence

This orchid is native to warm forests and foothills of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.   It is found at elevations from 330 to 1,970 feet (100 to 600 m).  This is one of the several Stanhopeas that need warm temperatures all year around, so I bring the plant inside the house from November through March.  I grow it outside in the spring and summer months on the north side of the house where it receives indirect light and mostly shade.  This orchid enjoys a warm and humid atmosphere with a relatively moist growing medium.  It also grows well in ventilated ares with a good breeze.  The fragrance of S. candida is primarily the scent of wintergreen.  Wintergreen is one of the major components in the pain reliever Bengay, so that is exactly what this flower smells like, though it is rather light in scent.  This is a fall blooming species of Stanhopea, though some have reported that it also blooms in the spring.

 

Stanhopea candida hypochile with
small pink spots

This Stanhopea is closely related to S. grandiflora and S. reichenbachiana.  The flowers are small (2.75 to 3.15 inches – 7.0 to 8.0 cm) wide, primarily white, and have no real horns.  There are two short curved projections on either side of the upper hypochile.  The remaining hypochile is joined into a short tube that opens to both the upper hypochile and epichile.  On the front side of the hypochile are small pink spots, the only other color on this flower.  The epichile is a short lanceolate shaped projection.  The column is an off white color that is infused with green and is almost florescent. The leaves of S. candida are usually 9.8 to 19.6 inches (25 to 50 cm) long; however, my form has shorter leaves 9 to 12 inches (22.8 to 30.5 cm) long and 2.5 to 4.2 inches (6.4 to 10.7 cm) wide.  These orchids are  rather short  with small pseudobulbs 0.75 to 1.2 inches (1.9 to 3.0 cm) wide at maturity.  The plant may be smaller in size because it is still a little young.  I also grow it outdoors in the summer where it is less humid and warm in comparison to the tropical conditions the orchid finds acceptable.



Stanhopea candida hypochile and column

In side profile the hypochile has a rather rectangular configuration.  The buds of this species emerge through the inflorescence bracts rather early in development, and spend a large amount of time developing outside the bracts.  This is in contrast to many other Stanhopea that allow the buds to develop for a long time inside the inflorescence bracts before they emerge.





Stanhopea wardii

 

Stanhopea wardii var. citrina inflorescence with five flowers

This species is native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela.  It grows in warm to cool cloud forests from 2600 – 5300 feet (800-1600 meters) in elevation.  It is one of the easier species of Stanhopea to grow outside here in southern California, and can take early morning sun and dappled shade the rest of the day.  This form is S. wardii var. citrina and has green/yellow flowers when they first open, almost chartreus in color.  The flowers later fade to a more burnt yellow or golden yellow color.  The standard form is a more subdued yellow color.  Both forms have a black eye spot on the upper hypochile that is a deep golden yellow color.  The fragrance of this Stanhopea is rather intense lemon/citrus at first.  After the flowers have been open for a few hours the fragrance lessens to a tart lime fragrance similar to crushed lime leaves.  It is a very pleasant and clean fragrance.  This seems to be consistent with the fragrance study done that includes limonene in some clones at 1.7%.; however, I have not detected the 1.8 cineole of 1-33% that would give it a Eucalyptus or camphor-like fragrance in this form.

 

Stanhopea wardii var. citrina close up

The flower is 2.8 to 3.1 inches (7.0 to 8 cm) wide but there are usually several flowers (7-10) on a given inflorescence.   The inflorescences can be quite long, up to 9 inches (22.9 cm) in length in many S. wardii forms.  Because the inflorescences are so long, this species can make a very nice specimen placed in a large basket that enables the inflorescences to grow out and down.  The leaves of this orchid are a thick and leathery, green with a slight blue-gray tint to them, and are 9 to 16 inches  (22.9 to 40.6 cm) long and 2.8 to 3.8 inches (7.1 to 9.6 cm)  wide.  This orchid is one of the more easily grown species of Stanhopea and are often readily available in the orchid nursery trade.  For me, S. wardii has been a reliable bloomer every year and easily produces several inflorescences.  These attributes make this Stanhopea a good candidate to grow for a beginning grower.



Stanhopea wardii var.
citrina bud


The buds that are close to opening have a fantastic flourescent chartreus color, and the reddish brown spotts on the sepals can be seen before the flower opens!



Stanhopea shuttleworthii



Stanhopea shuttleworthii buds glowing
in the morning sun, 2 days from opening.

Waiting and watching Stanhopea inflorescences mature and come into bloom is part of the fun of growing this genus.  It is especially satisfying to witness the first flowering of a plant for the year.  This orchid surprised me by producing five inflorescences this year and the first one was way ahead of the rest.  This orchid was in bloom for a good 3 weeks, though with only one or two inflorescences at a time open.  Once Stanhopeas grow large enough, they are able to provide you with weeks of bloom even thought the individual flowers may last 3-5 days.

Stanhopea shuttleworthii with 5 inflorescences

This Stanhopea is native to Colombia and is found in foothills around 3000 feet (1000 m) in elevation. This species is listed as a warm grower, but seems to do just fine outside here in southern California.  It is provided a little extra shelter of a roof overhang in winter, so the plant is grown a bit warmer than some of my other species. I have this growing on the north-east side of the house and it only gets approximately 1 hour of direct sun in the summer.  The leaves are 15 - 17 inches (38.1 - 43.2 cm) long, 3.4 - 3.8 inches (8.6 - 9.5 cm) wide, and narrowly lanceolate in shape. The flowers are 5.6 inches (14.3 cm) wide.



Stanhopea shuttleworthii hypochile detail

This form has deep golden yellow sepals and petals with several reddish-brown large spots. The petals have large deep red eye spots at the base. The hypochile is primarily yellow with dark blood red eyespots on the side with what appears to be blood red smears on the inside of the hypochile.  The horns and epichile are primarily white with small red spots on the inside of the horns and top of the epichile.  There are forms that have lighter yellow sepals and petals with lighter reddish spots.

The fragrance of S. shuttleworthii is difficult to describe.  Some people say it smells like mothballs, others say it smells like an expensive perfume.  The fragrance shifts a bit, first smelling similar to vanilla when the flowers first open, later a combination of sweet mothballs and a light lemon scent.  After the flower has been open for a few hours, the fragrance reminds me of lemon meringue.  Most people find the fragrance rather pleasing and a good combination.

 

 

One of my first attempts to capture Stanhopeas flowering. The difficulty is making sure you are up early enough to have the equipment running in order to capture all the movements of the buds opening ;-)