Stanhopea oculata is native to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, North America and Brazil. In Mexico, the natural habitat of these plants is the eastern edge of the Mexican Plateau...
Stanhopea oculata also called as The Eye-Spot Stanhopea, Ceratochilus oculatus, Dendrobium grandiflorum, Epidendrum cornutum, Stanhopea aurantia, Stanhopea aurea, Stanhopea bucephalus, Stanhopea cymbiformis, Stanhopea guttata, Stanhopea lindleyana, Stanhopea lindleyi, Stanhopea maleolens, Stanhopea minor, Stanhopea oculata ssp. ornatissima, Stanhopea occulata var aurea, Stanhopea oculata var. barkeri, Stanhopea oculata var. aureum, Stanhopea oculata var. barkeriana, Stanhopea occulata var barkeriana, Stanhopea oculata var. cinnamomum, Stanhopea oculata var. conspicua, Stanhopea oculata var. constricta, Stanhopea oculata var. crocea, Stanhopea oculata var. flava, Stanhopea oculata var genticulata, Stanhopea oculata var. lindleyi, Stanhopea oculata major, Stanhopea oculata var. meleagris, Stanhopea oculata var. Mexicana, Stanhopea oculata var. minor, Stanhopea oculata var. nicaraguensis, Stanhopea oculata pallida, Stanhopea oculata var. pallida, Stanhopea oculata var. viridi-aurea, Stanhopea ornatissima, Stanhopea purpusii, is a species of the genus Stanhopea. This species was described by John Lindley in 1832.
IDENTIFY STANHOPEA OCULATA
Stanhopea oculata is native to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, North America and Brazil. In Mexico, the natural habitat of these plants is the eastern edge of the Mexican Plateau, from where it extends from the states of Puebla and Veracruz to the regions of Chiapas located between the mountains. In Belize, they grow in the districts of Cayo and Toledo at altitudes of 400-750 m, found on trees, stumps, decayed boughs, or on rocks in wet deciduous forests. In Guatemala, they are found near Coban in the state of Alta Verapaz, in humid forests, growing epiphytically or on rocky ground, at an altitude of 1500 m. In Guatemala, they are also found in coastal areas along hills above the Pacific Ocean. In El Salvador, they grow in the department of Santa Ana at Cerro Montecristo, at heights of 1600-2000 m. In Nicaragua this species grows in the province of Nueva Segovia. Plants were harvested at Cerro El Sangarro and between Ocotal and Jalapa at heights of 960 m. They grew on trees at heights of 1.5-4.6 m above the ground. In Panama, it is found in the province of Cocla in the area north of El Valle de Ant, at 1000 m, in the damp forests of the highlands, and grows on the tops of the tallest trees. In Venezuela, they met at Caripe at an altitude of about 910 m, and between Guacharo Cave and San Francisco. In Brazil, they are found only at low altitudes in the state of Amazonas.
It is a medium sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial, which reaching 60 cm in size, with obliquely ovoid, 3.5-7.5 cm long and 2-5 cm wide pseudobulbs carrying a single, apical, elliptic or broadly lanceolate, acute or acuminate, plicate, gradually narrows below into the elongate, petiolate base, 27-70 cm long, 8-20 cm wide leaf.
The Eye-Spot Stanhopea blooms with the showy, vanilla scented, waxy flowers descend from the bottom on a pendulous, to 25 cm long, 5 to 9 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb with several distichous, inflated sheaths occurring in the summer. The flowers are 10-13 cm long and 10 cm wide. The flakes of both whorls are white, cream or greenish-white with red to red-brown and even purple spots, which are usually darker around the edges. Some clones can be almost completely white. Upper sepals are concave, lateral sepals are rounded, larger, connected to each other at the base. Petals oblong-lanceolate, pointed, with wavy margins. The lip is white or yellow, waxy, fleshy, shiny. At the top of the lip is covered with purple, and at the base of the orange-yellow spots, on the sides of the base are spots of a dark-chestnut color.
STANHOPEA OCULATA CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Stanhopea oculata needs a light level of 25000-35000 lux. The light should be filtered and dispersed, and the plants should not be exposed directly to the sun in the afternoon hours. The majority of Stanhopea is reluctant to flower with insufficient light, but with too much light, the leaves tend to burn and yellowing. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
It is a thermophilic plant. The average summer temperature is 26-27 ° C during the day and 15-17 ° C at night, giving a daily amplitude of 9-10 ° C. In spring, the average day temperature reaches 26-27 ° C, night 13-16 ° C, giving a daily amplitude of 11-13 ° C. In winter the average day temperature is 22-24 ° C, night 12-13 ° C, with a daily amplitude of 9-11 ° C.
Humidity:
The Eye-Spot Stanhopea needs the humidity of 75-80% for most of the year, for 2-3 winter months and early spring falls to about 65-70%.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
The drooping inflorescences grow from the bases of pseudobulbs and therefore it is probably best to cultivate Stanhopea oculata mounted closely to the patches of tree ferns. Such cultivation requires, however, maintaining high humidity, and in the summer of daily watering. In the case of such suspended plants, during the dry and hot periods it may be necessary to water several times a day.
They are also grown in wire baskets with large mesh moss-covered with sphagnum moss and filled with loose, fast-drying soil. The substrate should remain moist, but it can not be wet, because the roots must dry relatively quickly after waterings.
Repotting or dividing a plant should only be done when the growth of new roots begins. This allows the plants to acclimatize in a relatively short time and provides them with the least stress.
Watering:
The plants should be abundantly watered during active growth, but their roots must dry between watering, while the ground around them can never be spread or soggy. Watering should be significantly reduced in the autumn, after the end of flowering, or when new growths reach maturity.
Fertilizer:
During the active growth, the plant should be fertilized every week 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. You can use balanced fertilizer throughout the year, but you can also use fertilizer with increased nitrogen content from spring to mid summer, and then in the late summer and autumn, use a fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
In winter, watering of Stanhopea oculata should be limited, but they must not be dried too much or allowed to stay dry for a long time. Occasional fogging between rare light waterings during this period should ensure the necessary period of drought, preventing excessive drying of the plants. Fertilization should be reduced or eliminated until new growths appear in the spring and more abundant watering starts.
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