Prosthechea vitellinaIt is time for some serious color therapy! Nothing cheers you up better than a Prosthechea vitellina in full bloom after a long dark winter. The photos barely do this stunning species justice, the flowers are even more intense in real life. After only a slightly drier winter rest, just as the dark has started to give way to the approaching light of spring, comes this amazing burst of energy every year. The flowers measure about 3 sm across and once it gets going it will bloom for several months as the inflorescence keeps on growing, continually producing more flowers. It is a medium sized intermediate to cool growing epiphyte from Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua where it grows at altitudes of 1400 to 2600 meters. I got this plant from the German grower Karge in 2009. I grow it in pure sphagnum moss in my intermediate growing room under additional light, just as bright as I grow Cattleya. This one has five new mature bulbs from last year and three of them are already blooming. The other two have buds coming so I hope they will catch up soon.

Prosthechea vitellina (Lindl.) W.E.Higgins, Phytologia 82: 381 (1997 publ. 1998).

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