Orchid of the day: Brassavola Little Star

I've been quiet for awhile since the last post because some of our orchids at home are budding and slowly flowering, just like our Leptotes bicolor (posted March 16th). I am putting together the gradual blossoming from buds to flowers for those orchids. Hopefully it will be done this week! A little tease for those interested! I will add the latest photo of our Leptotes bicolor at the end of this post as well as update my Leptotes bicolor post.

But today I want to highlight and share some photos of Arne's Brassavola Little Star. This orchid is fragrant at night, citrus smelling, and is a primary hybrid between the Central and South American species, Brassavola nodosa and Brassavola cordata, a Jamaican native. Our Brassavola was so big that Arne has it in his lab at work. There are many windows and the orchid is doing very well.

A) Arne mounted his Brassavola Little Star on a slab of bark. He does this with many of his orchids. This allows air to circulate around the roots which this particular orchid appreciates. However don't forget to water them. See my post on how Arne waters his orchids (posted February 20th). I've read dunking the orchid in a bucket of water works too.  Whatever works for you, I guess.

B) These series of photos were taken in February of this year. They like medium to high light. Direct sunlight is not ideal for them. They are easy growing orchid and quite forgiving if they get neglected.

C) Like many orchids, they like to dry out in between watering as they are well adapted to dry environment.

D) A close up of the Brassavola Little Star. Their large pure-white lip is heart shaped.  Fun fact, they are also related to Cattleya orchids. We are looking forward to the next flowering cycle next year!

As promised, I end this post with the current photo of the Leptotes bicolor which is still blooming since March 16th. The flowers are slowly wilting now but still gorgeous! Enjoy.