Amazing display...just stunning. Are these fragrant at night? If they are, I can hardly imagine walking through them in the evenings...fantastic growing. I had the pleasure of seeing one of these in person at our local OS meeting last Sunday

OMG...again you torture me and taunt me! Stunning. My robusta only has a few leaves so I haven't expected anything from it. But my humbertiana is just about the size of your robustas. It has been resting for awhile now but I still feel kind of pessimistic. :( Do you mind throwing out some bloom and culture tips again? Congrats on those spikes and best of luck with the pods! Please let me know if/when I should start checking with Troy Meyers! :) (unless you're using some other facility of course)

Calvin -- they have a nice, floral scent, although it doesn't "waft". Even with this many blooms, you still have to stick your nose in one to enjoy it. Although, when I move close enough in my greenhouse to the plants there is sort of a sweet "je ne sais quois" fragrance in the air that is faint and non-specific. One or two deep sniffs into your nose is enough to deplete the flower temporarily of scent.

MrB!! How goes it? I still smile when I think of the pics you posted of your setup! ;-) So, humby is resting? Seems like I recall it was resting last year too? Do you recognize any sort of seasonal pattern from it? As phenomenal as your grow area is, I think this is the one weakness for you -- the lack of significant seasonal changes.

I don't really know preferences for this genus, only how mine are situated and responding for me. Since they're in baskets, they are higher towards the roof than many of my plants, and exposed to much higher temps. I would say from May through October the daily highs at their level in the gh run from 95F to 105F. (My exhaust fan died last week, and they were at 115F daily highs for about five days!) Winter lows at night are usually in the mid 40s to low 50s, although they can dip into the 30s a couple times a season. (I'm going to try to avoid that happening in the future!) I think what saves me is the east wall of my gh has an unobstructed view of the rising sun, and temps quickly move back up into the "acceptable" range very early in the morning.

They're in plastic baskets, with a mix of pine bark and live oak bark. At the time I set them up three years ago I took that nasty moss the other plants were shipped in, and placed it over the top of the bark. Since then, the resident green moss in the gh has moved into the baskets.

I fertilize weekly weakly, and also intersperse full-strength doses of 7-7-7 MiracleGro African Violet food (about $2.25 for an 8 ounce bottle at WalMart). About four times per season I also dose my plants with kelp.

The most accurate way to describe the light would be in footcandles, but that would be way too scientific for me! :p Brighter than what most of my aerangis and angraecum plants get, but not cattleya/encyclia bright...although they could probably take it. I imagine their leaves wouldn't look as nice.

They seem to like to be moist during the warmer months, although that's not always possible as I try to maintain a compromise with my other plants. I'm probably drenching every two days right now, which means they're fairly dry by the second day. Now that I've installed an air chiller my humidity is better than it was last year, although still not where I'd like it. I need to add another chamber or two to the chiller, because I can only maintain about +25% over the ambient humidity -- not great when we drop to 20-30% outside.

I'm turning over the air inside my gh about every 30-45 seconds or so. Sounds like a lot, but you can't really feel the air movement unless you place your hand near the intake or exhaust.

That's about all I can think of. Hope this helps!

I haven't selected a lab yet, although I'll just tag the pods "vandaceous something-or-other" to keep folks honest. According to a reference I have, the pods take 8-10 months to ripen. I'm definitely looking at a long-term project if my goal is to have blooming-sized plants someday!

I'll probably end up selling the other two plants at some point. They're space hogs! One is in bloom right now with two spikes, and the other is taking its sweet time to catch up with the others.

-Bruce

Thanks for the info Bruce!

Mine have gone outside the past two years. The humbert. actually just started resting a few months ago. It grew quite well last year. Do your spikes start growing towards the end of the winter rest?

My robusta is outside and has been since April. Lately we're getting temps in the mid 90s with lows in the 70s. I'm afraid the drying wind that never stops here may keep it too dry. I think I may also be giving mine too much light. Gotta get a sunroom/gh built soon!!!

Anyway congrats on your spectacular plants. Can't wait to see them next year. Please keep me in mind if you ever want to sell one!
-MB

Hey MrB -- I don't think there are many areas of the country where a robusta or humbert could tolerate being unprotected outside with warm temps and a dry wind...unless yours are potted? With all those crazy roots, having them potted would be a difficult proposition!

Unlike other angraecoids, the spikes developed fairly quickly -- maybe six weeks from first appearance to bloom.

I imagine they can tolerate some full sun, but you'll have yellowy leaves as a result. Building an effective (and inexpensive!) moderate gh in our "in-between" climate can be challenging, to say the least! I've learned some tricks/strategies, as well as found good materials and components that won't break the bank. If you would like some suggestions, send me an e-mail!

-Bruce

Awesome blooms! What is the leafspan of these plants? Grrrrrrr, don't have room for space hogs anymore.

Sheila :)

Hi Sheila -- the leaf span is about 22", and the roots have an annoying habit of growing horizontally instead of hanging vertically!

-Bruce

Your plants are gorgeous! Now I want one...and I promised myself no more space hogs....where can I find one?... Oh, Ruben in Orchids does flasking for the public....he's in Fl.too,also has a web site ...and sells flasks too.~Charm

Gorgeous plant, do you think it will survive in the S.Fl heat and humidity?

It's been my experience that this species is the easiest angraecoid I've ever owned to grow and flower, and my conditions tend towards hot. However...I also get a generous cool-down in the winter which is beneficial as well. When I originally got these plants I lived in Vero Beach, and they did well that first season. My present gh may even be a little warmer at times than the open shadehouse I had in Vero. (I have a cool wall now that I didn't before, for my more sensitive plants.)

The higher the humidity, the better. Just back off on the water during the winter months.

-Bruce