Habenaria carnea
 

I've only had this for two years and I'm amazed at how fast it grows. Last year it had only one growth with a few flowers. Now it has two growths with many more flowers (I count 16 open flowers and 6 buds). Not fragrant, but easy to grow.

[IMG]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...10-19-2012.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...10-19-2012.jpg[/IMG]

Beautiful!

Even the leaves are pretty.

Love the delicate look.

What's your secret? Doesn't Habineria die back completely for the winter months? Would love to try one again, if I can provide the proper requirements.

Good growing!

I love the delicate flowers!

Beautiful! This is (barely) my favorite Habenaria, but I'm not good at growing it. May I ask how you got such lovely results?

Not much of a secret. I grow it in a mixture of perlite and worm castings (50/50) in a 4 inch clay pot. After flowering, I let it dry out totally and do not water again until mid-March. At that time I water sparingly until I see growth and then keep it constantly moist. I feed when in active growth with a urea-free fertilizer at a rate of 125-150 ppm once per week. The summer temperatures are about 65-70F at night and days up to 90F. Winter is about 10F cooler. I grow it with my cattleyas when in active growth.

I grow it in a mixture of perlite and worm castings (50/50) in a 4 inch clay pot. After flowering, I let it dry out totally and do not water again until mid-March. At that time I water sparingly until I see growth and then keep it constantly moist. I feed when in active growth with a urea-free fertilizer at a rate of 125-150 ppm once per week. The summer temperatures are about 65-70F at night and days up to 90F. Winter is about 10F cooler. I grow it with my cattleyas when in active growth.

I grow it in a mixture of perlite and worm castings (50/50) in a 4 inch clay pot. After flowering, I let it dry out totally and do not water again until mid-March. At that time I water sparingly until I see growth and then keep it constantly moist. I feed when in active growth with a urea-free fertilizer at a rate of 125-150 ppm once per week. The summer temperatures are about 65-70F at night and days up to 90F. Winter is about 10F cooler. I grow it with my cattleyas when in active growth.

Over the weekend we were at the KC MAOC show and saw a beautiful plant of H. carnea grown by Bryon Rinke. Spectacular - I think it took the specimen plant class. This is one of those orchids that are worth the trouble for either the foliage or the flowers.

http://2i.cz/2i/t/1b9c3e14c7.jpg
http://2i.cz/2i/t/0a8d2f05d6.jpg
This is my Habenaria carnea. I have it from 2012, last year it bloomed with 3 blooms, this year it looks a bit better - 5 blooms. But still only one plant. I hope, next year there will be two...

Great looking plant! Mine started off small too. It will get better and better. The foliage is so nice it almost makes the blooms look dull (at least on my plant).

Thank you. Yes, the leaves are very nice, like sateen with dots

Wow!! It's striking!! What a beauty!!

This is great. I've been trying find a nice Habenaria to buy, and this one looks like a winner.