Oh I have been waiting for this one to bloom for a year now, and here it is. Finally! …and what a beautiful flower it is!! A long lasting sensual flower with elegant flowing shapes in delicate shades of cream and white… It has a very pleasant fragrance that grows a lot stronger at night. I read somewhere that it was supposed to smell like citrus but I think it is closer to Lilly of the Valley. In all fairness, the leaves are quite nice too, thin pencil-shaped and bluish-green in color.
Brassavola nodosa is a medium sized warm grower from Central to South America and through the Caribbean and West Indies. It grows at lea level up to about 500 meters and is apparently pretty hardy. I grow mine mounted on a piece of bark in the warm vivarium, fairly bright and in high humidity. These are the very first photos with my new camera. A lot more on this to come very soon…
I have had one of these orchids for many years. Brassavola Nodosa may be one of the toughest orchids I’ve ever seen. Mine have survived near freezing temperatures, VERY bad heat waves, lower light levels, low humidity, too much sunlight, my cat Bojangles chewing off the leaves. {it DID take while to come back from that…} Not watering it for several days at a time, etc, and yet it blooms, and the fragrance at night is enchanting. I think your right, I don’t smell citrus much either. more like lily of the valley, and Old Spice aftershave, with a touch of jasmine to it. Also, this is an orchid, that once it gets to some size, and is happy, it may bloom at any time of year, and sometimes several times. I’ve had them in bloom at Christmas, midsummer spring and fall, Lovely plant you got there. mine have red speckles in the throats of the flowers. By the way, I love your site. Great info.
Thank you. It is nice to hear that you like my blog. 🙂 Great story about your nodosa, seems like it really is as hardy as they say.
Gorgeous! That’s one of my favorite flowers. They look like little space ships.
I love the scent — kind of like jasmine and ivory soap.
Cats are trouble around Brassavolas. My cats seem to have a special sense of when the Brassavolas are vulnerable, and then they go after them and rub their cheeks on the spiky pseudobulbs. Trouble!
Thanks Brian! Jasmine and ivory soap… yes, perhaps. Although I was thinking Lilly of the Valley. Good thing I keep mine in the viv. or my cat would definitley ruin it. There is not one thing in this house she has not rubbed on… 😉