Wooo First post!! Two days early but who cares, I got excited. It was a hard decision on what to post for my first orchid. I felt like it needed to be one of those real head swingers. It had to have an attractive flower, and a exciting relationship with its pollinator, and of course, it must be fragrant. So in the end I went with Stanhopea florida. Like all of the Stanhopeas, this bad boy produces a chemical in its hypochile that attracts the euglossine bee, tricking the poor thing into mating with it, leaving the bee very confused and insecure. This must happen quickly though because the flower will only last 1-3 days. So enjoy it while you got it!
This particular species has a habitat range from Columbia too Peru on the eastern slopes of the Ande Mountains.
Stanhopea florida are relatively easy to cultivate. Do not allow to dry out during the growing season and do keep them moist during the dry season (winter if you live in a temperate area). They like more sun then many of the more popular orchid species, and they like it warm. I have seen them planted in bark mix which doesn't seem to work. The best Stanhopea I have seen were grown with sphagnum in a basket.
So there you go! I really do hope that my grammar wasn't to terrible, and im sure my wife will let me know ;).
"Stanhopea." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 29 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanhopea>.
Pridgeon, Alex. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids. Portland, Oregon: Timber, 2006. Print
