Diplocaulobium (Dendrobium) aratriferum

[Roberta]

It produces the occasional flower fairly often, a couple of times of year produces a lovely flush bloom, with the fragrance of watermelon. Flowers are sooo ephemeral. Blink and you'll miss the show. The buds appear almost out of nowhere, they started about 2 days ago, yesterday there were lots of them. This morning, at 8 am the buds were still closed but had reached their full size. By 9:30 or 10 AM they were fully open (and I grabbed my photos). At 3 PM, they're already starting to close, by sunset they'll be done.

If the purpose of a flower is to get pollinated, this is speed-dating! The pollinator (whatever it is) must be very short-lived, and in nature maybe provides some sort of trigger. In "captivity", no idea what triggers the blooming. (I have made many guesses, but none has correlated with any consitency.)

[Waterdog111]

I love forums where the people are dedicated enough to catch fleeting moments like you have Roberta, thanks for sharing with us!

[Ray]

That’s great, Roberta.

[Mountaineer370]

Interesting story on that one. Nice catch!

[WaterWitchin]

Excellent, Roberta. And kudos to you for growing something so rewarding but fleeting... ephemeral for sure! I wouldn't have the attention span and would likely be complaining here about how mine hadn't bloomed for ten years.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Excellent, Roberta. And kudos to you for growing something so rewarding but fleeting... ephemeral for sure! I wouldn't have the attention span and would likely be complaining here about how mine hadn't bloomed for ten years.

These are just a reminder to look at my orchids often. I don't DO much... don't fertilize much, and pot less, but they do get loved.

[DeaC]

Lovely. Had 1 in the past but found a similar replacement-Bulbo. nitidum with its small,shy flowers that grows mounted, mossy and low lit. Home is getting cooler than I think she wants but...!