Orchid fragrance gone !!!

[SimJam]

So I bought this orchid last weekend C. Memoria Peter von Scholl fragrance like a lily very highly fragrant in the mornings.

Last night I got home, sniffed it like I do every time I pass it (lol) watered it and this morning … no fragrance at all.

Well a little when I stick my nose right up to it.

Do orchids lose fragrance approaching the end of the blooms or something?

[snowflake311]

yes they will lose the smell or start to smell weird before the blooms start to drop.

Also some smell best or strongest when the sun is hitting them or I found mid day to be the best time to a few of my Onc.

[tucker85]

Cattleyas tend to be most fragrant during the period when their pollinators are active. Most of my cattleyas are fragrant from mid-morning to late morning. I only have a few that are fragrant in the afternoon and evening. Occasionally you'll find one that's fragrant all day, so that would be a very special plant. As far as age of the flower, some of mine continue to be fragrant until the flower fades completely but there are others that stop being fragrant as the flower gets old. That would make sense because the fragrance is only useful to the plant when the flower is ready to be pollinated. Over time you'll learn what to expect from each individual plant.

[SimJam]

Thank you both for answering!!!

... Tucker85 I guess this one is special. Its super fragrant in the morning,.. like fills the entire living room with just from 2 blooms.

even in the night it was fragrant... but nothing like in the morning.

makes perfect sense for the scent to fade as the "usefulness" of the flower goes.

Just that I kept telling my Mom to come smell my orchid and now the scent is gone and she didnt get to experience the awesomness

[Orchid Whisperer]

I have a Bulbophyllum lobbii that smelled sweet in the middle of blooming, now toward the end of blooming it smells more like Lysol!

[lepetitmartien]

Fragrance can not appear immediately, and is only around as long as the flower can be pollinated.

The time it's fragrant in the day depends of the pollinator (it's an energy consuming job), when it's around, and the scent can change if different pollinators are to be attracted (either during the day or along the time the flower goes on). Anyway, in the end, the fragrance can turn sour and/or disappear, just before the flower dies off.

[Wolfrott]

I wouldn't worry too much, some species are only fragrant for a month or two a year!