Stanhopea platyceras - fairly rare

[orchids3]

[Royal]

How cool! That heavy speckling makes it look like some sort of sea creature! Thanks for sharing with us.

[smweaver]

That's stunning! Since I've never had the privilege of seeing this particular species firsthand, would you mind giving a description of the fragrance, please? Congratulations on your beautiful flowering plant.

Steve

[Tindomul]

Very exotic looking. Great growing.

[isurus79]

Ive never seen this one in person, but it looks really cool! Does it normally bloom this late in the year?

[orchids3]

Hi,
Regarding fragrance - mild but plesantly fragrant.
Have owned the plant for two years now and it bloomed last year once and this is the second blooming this year. It seems to bloom when the bulbs mature - will need more experience to say more about blooming time. I helped a good friend do a lot of repotting and was given the plant for the help. She wanted to reduce her collection. Would help anyone and didnt expect as much of a reward.

[Frdemetr]

WOW! Congrats!

Stan platyceras is seldom seen in collections, and it is hard to grow in my conditions, 'cause it lives in relatively higher altiudes in nature (>1,500 meters). Your plant looks very happy! I "killed" a division of Stan platyceras recently; luckily, a friend promise me a piece of his plant when it becomes bigger!

[orchids3]

Fredemetr,
The plant I own was given as a gift to someone who spent time in Panama. Not sure what elevation this paticular plant come from.I grow it in my greenhouse and due to the requirement to hang it-it is pretty high and I think too warm. Trying to baby it in the greenhouse may not be the thing to do - will put it in the shade house in the spring in a reasonably shady area and see what it does outside. Continuing to experiment with culture but is is getting new growth so maybe I am not doing too bad in Jacksonville. Fla. It obviously doesnt grow like the hybrid "Stan. Bird of Prey" which is in the 150 lb weight class from a seedling 5 years ago and had 40 spikes last year. Controlled release fertilizer is used on the "Bird of Prey"
will try it on the platysteras this year. Have been careful not to over fertilize up to now.

[Frdemetr]

Orchids3,

Thanks for the tips! I hope I have more luck when I get my new division!
I guess there is not Stan platyceras in Panamá; according to Dr. Jenny, "[...] Stanhopea platyceras is endemic for Colombia, all collections are from the departaments of Narino and Antioquia in altitudes between 1000 and 1500m. [...]"; these infos are from his book on Stanhopeas (2004). Anyway, the "Departamiento (State) de Antioquia" is close to the Panamá border.

[Tindomul]

A Colombian orchid, huh? No wonder I liked. Great growing such a difficult plant. Hope you have lots of success with it. Especially in Florida where the summers are soooooooooo HOT!