Orchid of the day: Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba 'Karin', AM/AOS

Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba 'Karin'

After Arne's first experience at the National Aboretum in Washington DC on June 7th, where his Paphiopedilum philippinense ‘Khairul-Bariah’ got the Award of Merit from the American Orchid Society (AM/AOS), he had the courage to try again. This time he took his Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba on July 5th. He had this orchid since 2011 and mounted it on a cork piece. I forgot we had this one, so I didn't get a chance to chronicle the flowering process at all. The main reason being that he had left it growing in his laboratory! "It needed space," he said to me.

Well, this orchid received the Award of Merit for one main reason and it is because it is beautifully grown. It has many flowers (27 fully formed flat flowers with 6 buds on 4 of the primary inflorescences) and HUGE! The length of the stems were ~ 22 inches (56 cm). There is a funny story I have to share. Arne met a rather experienced orchid grower while he was showing this orchid. The nice gentleman asked if Arne had a glass house and Arne said, "No,  I just have my orchids growing or hanging near the window". This gentleman just looked at him and then at the orchid and then turned to Arne and said, "How big is your window???". Needless to say, he was very impressed and was very encouraging. 

You see, Arne being a scientist, has the lab as his 'office'. Hence he had the luxury of hanging this specimen in the many different large windows at different times of the year and different times of the day. Undoubtedly, the Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba flourished. A different kind of orchidarium you might say. And that is the secret to this beautifully grown orchid.

A) July 5th, 2014. Broughtonia sanguinea var alba 'Karin'.

In honour of his mother, his has given this clone her name. Hence the full name is now Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba 'Karin'. She has been waiting for me to post this, so here it is mamma Karin! Isn't it nice to have an orchid with your name on it? Grattis!

B) The base of the root system of this orchid. One should really re-mount this orchid within 2-4 years for optimal growth. A VERY delicate process because you have to remove all of the roots.

C) Another angle of our Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba

Aside from the Broughtonia sanguinea var. alba, which has white flowers, we also have Broughtonia sanguinea with the brilliant red, to sometimes lavender to purple flowers. Both orchids are now hanging outside on our front porch as the weather in Baltimore is pretty warm and humid!   

D) July 12th, 2014. Broughtonia sanguinea. Continuously flowering until September. We've seen humming birds pollinating the flowers during Summer. This will be a separate post another week.

In general the Broughtonia species are found in Northern Caribbean and the Bahamas from sea level to 800 meters. However, Broughtonia sanguinea are endemic to the Jamaica. These orchids grow well in hot and arid conditions and are intolerant to overwatering. They best grow on corks, coconut husk and even hard driftwood. They do extremely well in a milieu with  a lot of light and good air flow. These conditions are essential to prevent rot. 

E) July 12th. Fewer flowers yesterday but will continue to flower.

F) Individual flowers up close. The flowers are white with faint pink flush at the front and back and buds; the lip has a tiny yellow patch under the column. The texture is matte & the substance is soft.

Let's end this post with Anthony. My ever willing model to give you a sense of proportion!