Stanhopea gibbosa - Humped Stanhopea blooms in the summer with vanilla scented flowers, sepals and petals are white to yellow-orange, with green...
Stanhopea gibbosa called as Humped Stanhopea, Stanhopea carchiensis, Stanhopea impressa, is a species of the genus Stanhopea. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1869.
DESCRIPTION OF STANHOPEA GIBBOSA - HUMPED STANHOPEA
Stanhopea gibbosa is native to Southern Colombia to Ecuador. This orchid is found growing on shady trunks and lower branches in wet, tropical lowland rainforests in Colombia, Ecuador at elevations 500-1500 meters above sea level.
It is a medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with pyriform to ovoid, strongly sulcate pseudobulbs of 3-5 cm long. The single leaf is 25-30 cm long, apical, coriaceous, obovate, plicate, ribbed, gradually narrows below into the elongate, petiolate base, elliptic-obovate with wavy margin.
Humped Stanhopea blooms in the summer from the pendant inflorescence of up to 5 showy flowers and several inflated sheaths. The vanilla scented flowers are 4 to 6.5 cm in diameter, tricarinate, sepals and petals are white to yellow-orange, with green-yellowish marging, sepals with red nerves, reddish petals, the hypochile is white to orange yellowish, with two big dark brown patches. Column, epichile and mesochile are white with red patches.
STANHOPEA GIBBOSA - HUMPED STANHOPEA CARE
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 gibbosa 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 plants may 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:
The average summer temperature is 23-29 °C during the day and 14-18 °C at night, which gives a daily difference of 8-11 °C. The average winter temperature is 23-24 °C at day, 12-14 °C at night, with a daily amplitude of 9-11 °C.
Humidity:
Humped Stanhopea needs the humidity of around 70-80% for most of the year. Too dry air has a negative effect on the development of the plant: its growth is inhibited, and the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out. The higher temperature, the higher the humidity should be, and the higher the humidity, the more often and longer it is necessary to ventilate the room where the plants are contained, otherwise the probability of rotting and various kinds of fungal diseases. Good air movement is essential while the plants are in leaf and growing.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Stanhopea gibbosa are usually grown on rootstocks or in hanging baskets, because it is necessary in the case of hanging inflorescences that appear at the base of the pseudobulb and grow directly down. It seems that plants grow best and it is most convenient to grow them if they are attached to tree ferns. Fixed plants, however, require high humidity and at least daily watering in the summer, and it may even be necessary to water several times a day if the weather is dry and very hot.
These plants are also grown in wire baskets with large mesh moss-covered with sphagnum moss and filled with loose, quickly drying ground. The substrate should remain moist, but it can not be wet, because the roots must dry relatively quickly after watering.
Repotting or dividing should 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:
Humped Stanhopea should be irrigated abundantly during active growth, but their roots must dry quickly after watering, and the ground around them must never be spread or soggy. When new growths reach maturity and flowering has finished, the amount of water should be drastically reduced.
Fertilizer:
During the active growth, Stanhopea gibbosa 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 should be limited, but must not be allowed to stay dry for a long time. Occasional fogging between uncommon watering should satisfy the requirements of these plants during the drought season. For about a month in winter, watering should be limited only to sporadic fogging, which will prevent excessive drying of the plant. Fertilization should be reduced or eliminated until new growths appear in the spring and more abundant watering starts.
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