Coryanthes bruchmuelleri in bud
 

My Coryanthes bruchmuelleri is in my bud and should be open in the next couple of days. I'm super excited, as, out of the fifteen or so Cory species that I grow, this one has always eluded me in terms of getting it to bloom.

I grow all my Coryanthes at 78-85 during the day and 68-70 at night. They get fairly bright sun in the morning, and then bright shade for the rest of the day. Humidity never falls below 70, and is frequently closer to 80. Long term success with Coryanthes challenges the notion that all orchids are opposed to remaining wet. Every time I look at the Coryanthes, I give them a drink, replicating the bog like conditions they grow in. I also keep the 100% sphagnum they are in fresh, with annual repots and never tightly packed for aeration, and, thus, oxygenation to the roots. Coryanthes are also heavy feeders, and get MSU at half the dose a couple of times a week.

Coryanthes bruchmuelleri is known to be the largest single bloom in the genus and perhaps one of the largest/heaviest blooms in all of Orchidaceae.

Cool! I'm excited to see the blooms!

And you think the monnierara is ugly...

You're not a fan of phallic flowers slowly dripping into a bucket with yellow bat wings??? :rofl::rofl:

:rofl:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all!

My husband has an amusing party trick... he'll mention to someone that we grow really weird orchids and the person will, without fail, say, "oh really, like what?" And he'll show them a photo of a Coryanthes bloom and say, "Well, like this, I call it the d**k orchid." ;)

The typical response is a careful look at the photo, followed by... "Oh." :evil:

:rofl::rofl:

I suspect we'd get along at parties!

Stanhopeinae season is definitely underway....

Here's our Embreea rodigasiana in bloom from last week. We grow it similarly to the Coryanthes, but shadier, slightly less water and less MSU...

:waving My attempts with Cory. were "impotent" but Stanhopeas get me excited and my few are waking up...can't wait!

Open as of this morning, and already starting to fade a bit. These are incredibly short-lived wonders. This one smells a bit like... ermm... sweet linoleum and Vicks vapo-rub?