Orchids with a strong scent

[SouthPark]

Boards don't hit back - in general. There might be one exception ..... that's the orchid one.

[Leafmite]

South Park, your bellina will eventually put out multiple new spikes each year and, if you can keep it warm all year, it will keep the old spikes. They can really put on a nice display. I cannot keep my home warm enough in winter to keep the old spikes past mid-November.

I think I also need to add an Encyclia cordigera. This thread is just awful for tempting me to buy new orchids.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

South Park, your bellina will eventually put out multiple new spikes each year and, if you can keep it warm all year, it will keep the old spikes. They can really put on a nice display. I cannot keep my home warm enough in winter to keep the old spikes past mid-November.

Leafmite ----- thanks for mentioning bellina! I have only seen images online of that kind of wonderful orchid and their flowers. I will do some searching! Thanks LM!!

[katsucats]

Two plants recently bloomed that I didn't even realize it at first, until I randomly smelled something and thought, that's delicious! What is it? It turns out I have a couple inconspicuous blooms tucked under a leaf from my Anachelium baculus 'SVO', which smells like milky, star jasmine, honeysuckle, like Encyclia cordigera, but less complex, more sweeter, and stronger and more stable. It fills the room for the entire day.

In the bathroom, because I don't know where else to hang a bare root Aerides houlletiana so I put it in the shower, the whole room smells like orange zest, or peeling an orange. It doesn't even need sunlight to be activated. I could just turn on my bathroom light.

I think these two could give the Sharry Baby a run for its money in terms of power and desirability.

[Liodoro]

Thank you for this post. It is exactly what I was looking for. As a beginner, I decided that I would concentrate my collection on fragrant orchids. There are lots of great ones to explore in that thread!
So far I have Phal. Sweet Memory 'Liodoro' which is delicious and wafts sweet candy and Prosthechea radiata which has quite a strong, savoury almost cinnamon-like smell.
I am going to get some Angraecums but I think will have to wait a while before I can enjoy their scent. I have elephantinum .
I am told Zygopetalums can be scented. I am waiting for the buds of mine to open.

As a new one to these forums, how do you save a thread so that you are kept up to date on it daily please?

[Shadeflower]

hey liodoro, I really like the radiata. Never considered or spotted it before tbh. The cultural requirements are perfect.
Do you know where I could get one in the Uk by any chance?

[Liodoro]

Hi, I bought mine from Burnham Nurseries in July. It is a lovely plant, in bud then and has been flowering non-stop these last two and half months

I'm new to this site. Is it ok to mention a YouTube video maker that might be of interest?

[SG in CR]

For my favorite fragrant orchids that I have I would put Cochleanthes aromatica in first place. It has a strong but not overpowering scent. Gongora claviodora smells of sweet cloves or cinnamon depending on the plant. G. cf. leucochila smells like cotton candy to me. Stanhopea wardii has a plesant smell. S. ecornuta smells almost like pinescented cleaner, not so plesant.
On a related note, has anyone noticed that an orchid that was very fragrant under certain conditions turned out to be nearly scentless when it bloomed for you? I have 3 species of white Prostechea which I think are fragrans, chacaoensis and radiata. 2 of which are from higher altitudes and smelled strongly of honey and vanilla when I got them. At my house they rarely smell at all. I think it has to do with the temperature, though I never have looked into it closely.

[Shadeflower]

thx liodoro, they haven't got it anymore and I have not seen it for sale before so take care of that one well.

[Liodoro]

Oh! I certainly will. x