Orchid of the day: Broughtonia sanguinea

Broughtonia sanguinea

Update on our Broughtonia sanguinea, previously posted on August 3rd, 2014. The orchid is thriving over the years and produced many flowers from June and is still flowering today. Hummingbirds are 'notoriously' pollinating the flowers resulting in wilted flowers, much to Arne's dismay! Below is a nice paragraph that Arne put together about this orchid, which has been with us since 2003.

A) July 5th. Four flower stems with flowers had outgrown our study window. We moved it out onto our front porch to allow our Broughtonia sanguinea to enjoy the warmth of Baltimore summer.

"Broughtonia is a small genus of some very Cattleya-looking orchids.  They are supposedly miniature orchids according to most sources.  According to me, they are small compared to some standard Cattleyas as long as they are not in blossom.  I bought the mother plant of my red Broughtonia sanguinea in 2003.  I wanted to have it because it was supposedly small and could fit in my newly acquired orchidarium.  But when this orchid flowered, it did so in a grand way.  The flower stems can easily be up to 25 inches (~ 63 cm) or more.  Once we moved to our own house I made sure it is hanging on our front porch from June to the end of August when it keeps producing flowers all the time.  In a way it is my best orchid because it is a reliable bloomer the whole summer.  Because of that I bought another one that is virtually an alba variety of Broughtonia sanguinea.  That one turned out to be even better and it was awarded in 2014, (see post dated July 13, 2014).

Broughtonia sanguinea is easy to care for as long as you don’t give it too much water.  First of all, have it mounted on a piece of cork bark and grow it warm the whole year.  Most plants put in pots will die unless you have a very strict watering regimen.  I wanted to get a “backup plant” so I phoned an orchid company in California but when the guy said that this orchid is easy to kill, I asked him why.  Obviously they had all their Broughtonias potted so I decided not to buy any because they didn’t seem to know the basics of how to culture these plants.

Right now there is one single person that knows all the Broughtonia species and has all the genetic material available for each species and that is Claude Hamilton in Jamaica where Broughtonia sanguinea can be found growing in situ."~ Arne.

B) Side profile of the 'overgrown' orchid.

The main plant has been divided from its original tree bark as the roots have totally overwhelmed the surface of that bark. We have the original plant still hanging on the pillar in our front porch and the other half in the backyard, under our deck.

C) The 'new' division of our Broughtonia sanguinea.

D) The new off shoot has two main flower stems with at least twelve flowers on July 19th.

E) Still flowering today, both on our front porch and the back deck. A long lasting beauty all summer.

The bright purple color of the flowers, still attract our local hummingbirds. I have tried to get a photo of these humming birds in action, but they are so fast! I will keep working on that frame and one day, I hope to share it! Please enjoy our beautiful Broughtonia sanguinea for summer 2015.