Neobenthamia gracilis (The graceful Neobenthamia)
 

This terrestrial orchid specie with upright grass/reed like leaves, white petals, and red spots near the base flowers found growing on dry rock faces and mossy ledges in Tanzania at elevations of 380 to 2000 meters.
I grow this in Cymbidium mix with full sun all year round a couple of inches away from the glass on the south side facing window sill and water approximately once a week with weekly weakly fertilizer alternated with seaweed mix. This plant can also be mounted. I reduce watering during the winter to every other week.
This is forming keikis at the nodes that prompts me to spray the leaves in the mornings.
This flower clusters like pom-poms but I must have over-rested this winter that it dehydrated. I hope to get this flower to correctly bloom in form since I have started to feed it and resumed its watering regimen. The flowers are fragrant like berries and can last longer similar to Epidendrum radicans. I read that this can be pollinated by ants and small insects.
This is a single species of the genus. This orchid is named in honor of George Bentham a British botanist.


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additional photo:

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Lovely!

Thank You, Sonya !

REBLOOM 09-29-2013
 

This orchid plant is endemic to Tanzania that blooms from winter to spring with a cluster of 1.5 inches wide flowers (this bloomed last winter and then early this fall). Flowers are fragrant that smells like blueberries. I am growing this in medium bark, charcoal, sponge rock and shards; with bright full sun out in the fire escape in the summer and on the south facing window sill in winter. This orchid plant is intermediate to warm growing and I water this approximately once a week. I lessen water to every other week in winter up to Valentine’s Day then as I see new keikis I resume the water and fertilizer regimen. Notice that the early blooms blasted and only a few opened its blooms but this time around the pom-pom like flowers and the keikis have a more pronounced growth….I got more vivid colors and luscious flowers this time.

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Awesome!

Wow! Great flowers and plant!

Very nice, Bud, and great pictures too! I've never seen it in person, so didn't know it's fragrant. I grow a few other Polystachia species but the habit on this one looks very different. I'll be keeping an eye out for it.

Steve

Thank You, Sonya !

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Thank You, Ron !

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Thank You, Steve !

* I was able to get this two years ago from 'Orchids By Eli' via Ebay. He is an orchid grower from Puerto Rico.

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Thank You, Paul !

This plant can grow like grass, but if you pare down the keikis it slims down the growth to upright position. The tallest it can get is two feet.

A very unusual plant, and a decorative ball of flowers. Thanks for bringing it into our focus and updating.

Thank You !

Looking really good, great flowers and love your pics.

Thank You, Rosie !!!!

Thanks, Tindo....

Bud,
I just picked one of these up. How is yours doing? Any further tips beyond the growing conditions mentioned in the original post?

I'm so jealous of your blue, blue sky, Bud. I'm struck by it every time I see one of your pics. I don't think the sky gets quite that blue here.

Lovely blooms!

This is sulking on me at the moment. It happens when I repot. I should have blooms from this this summer....oh well....I just water and feed it and leave it alone in the window....I didn't even bring this outdoors this summer....it grows like weeds.

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Maybe because I live in an island called Manhattan....it gets cloudy too and sometimes dark stormy skies since I live surrounded by water....I make sure to photograph my flowers when it is overcast. Clear crispy skies reflects and envelops the flowers with brightness that it does not give accurate color....or maybe its my cheap digital zoom camera ....it loves my flowers and captures them at the height of beauty

Gorgeous flowers, Bud! Fantastic growing and photography!

Thank You, nikkik!!!

Bummer! Hopefully it blooms next year.

Mauro told me this one is pretty easy, but that it requires crazy amounts of light. Luckily Central Texas has that in abundance!

I know that this is a very old post, but I just got one of these and I'm wondering how cold tolerant they are. I live in the Bay Area and since they apparently love sun I was hoping to grow it outdoors.

wow, speaking of one species genus


i grow mine outside but it isn't cold here, can you bring it in?

Yeah I guess I'll just grow it under lights indoors!

I have been wanting one of these for a while, any idea of any vendors who sell them?

YES actually! My good friends at Let's Talk Plants. I'll find you the link!

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Neobemthamia gracilis Floriferous Easy Orchid Windowsill 4 Inch Pot Fragrant | eBay

Thanks! I might just get one (translation: I will try not to get one for about 5 minutes then probably give in and get it lol)

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OK yeah I'm going to get one.

This one is a great little terrestrial. It’s been renamed Polystachya neobenthamia so it’s no longer a monotypic genus. It gets about 2’ tall when grown in full Texas sun, but I’ve heard of specimens growing over 6’ tall looking for sun in shady conditions! Keep this in mind when growing it!

Yes they get HUGE. The greenhouse that I bought mine from has a mother plant that TOWERS over me and I'm 6' 4"😆

I wonder if these taxonomists will just shuffle some families during the quarantine when they are bored!!!


the above is true...i have mine in a huge pot under an eave and last years plant was 3' and there are 3 growths this year coming up fast!!

HAHA probably!!! 🤣🤣🤣

How wet do you keep yours?

i am starting to water it more...for the first bloom period i had been letting her only get rain water but this season has been drier and the plant is less vigorous so i have recently started watering it in the morning...fully soaking the pot as i water my other non-orchids and the soil is barely moist at all by night


i also have a large driftwood tree in the same pot with a terete vanda and some tillys so it is "leave it alone" pot and i sometimes forget about it. now that i am including it in the morning watering i expect it will be happier

I have one that I grew in the greenhouse for a number of years, that didn't do much. Then found out from a friend who also lives near the coast, just a bit south of me, that his does very well outside. I moved mine out last summer, it was out all winter, and is growing much better than it did in the GH. It's in a somewhat protected area, but winter lows are typically low 40's F with occasional nights that are lower. So... It seems to be a lot more cold-tolerant than it is given credit for.

Wow that's great okay. It sounds like we have very similar weather I think I'm in 10b. I'm going to try a keiki outside and see how it does!

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So you're giving it daily water?
All the keikis and aerial roots make it seem like it would like that...

Mine gets daily water in summer, about every other day in winter. So I think damp is good.

Okay thanks! I'm glad that I asked. So excited for it to bloom someday!

I hit mine with water at the same rate I hit my Cattleyas. Everyday when temps above 95, every other day with temps 85-94, and a few times a week when temps are "chilly" (below 85).

Mine just arrived today!! It came way early and without notification from the postal service so it got a little chilly (it sat around in the package box in below-freezing weather) for about an hour, but it seems to be fine by some miracle.