I have had another special orchid blooming this month, and it's another first-bloomer for me. This is Angraecum didieri, native to Madagascar. I got this about three years ago, as a small seedling.
I got a second terrarium last spring because I had several
orchids, mostly Angraecoids like this one, that were not doing well at
all. My climate is just not humid enough for them, and they were
showing severe stress from their roots drying out so fast and often.
Having them in the enclosed area helped a lot, and when I added an automatic misting system in mid-July, they all exploded with new roots and leaves. All the side root branches in that picture above have grown in the two and a half months since the mister was added.
I noticed the bud developing around the middle of September and was so excited!
New buds are always exciting, and even more so when it's a species I haven't bloomed before.
This species is in the same group as the Aerangis punctata, Aerangis fastuosa, Aerangis citrata, and Aerangis mystacidii that I have shown on here before. In general, this group has white star-shaped flowers with a long nectar spur that are large for the size of the plant, and most are fragrant at night to attract moths, their pollinators.
This one is no exception. It opened on September 25.
The plant is about six inches from leaf tip to leaf tip, the bloom is two inches across, and the nectar spur is six inches long.
It is powerfully fragrant starting at about 7:00 at night, and smells of Stargazer lilies and gardenia. It's a similar fragrance to A. mystacidii but a little less rich and honeyed, and not musky like A. fastuosa.
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