First blooms on what looks to be Stanhopea ecornuta

[SG in CR]

Been a while since I've been on this forum. But I was a bit surprised when what I was expecting to be a S. wardii started getting a bit different looking flower buds. Well, this morning it opened up and I think it looks like Stanhopea ecornuta, though most pictures I've found online have more mottles on the outer petals. These are nearly pure white with just a hint of light purple freckles. The smell is very different from the floral scent of S. wardii as well. They sort of smell like Pine-sol. Not unpleasant, but very different. It's raining a bit so I'll get some better pictures once it clears up.

[Afid]

Yep, definitely S. ecornuta, one of the most distinctive species. One of my favorites as well, beautiful!

[DirtyCoconuts]

Super cool flowers and an awesome spot for that plant too!

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

Super cool flowers and an awesome spot for that plant too!

Thanks, it's growing in an orange tree. I just got done collecting it's pollen and pollinating it with S. wardii, which produces a cross know as S.× horichiana, and a Gongora claviodora. With any luck the crosses will take and I can germinate them.
There's one more spike growing over top of the branch which should bloom in 1 or 2 days, I'll self one of those flowers with the pollen I collected today. I've gotten S. wardii to germinate about a dozen plants so far, so maybe these will too.

[Afid]

Oh wow that is a neat cross! I hope they grow well for you!

[estación seca]

I'm really interested in the fact the roots are so short. Does it rain there all the time in summer? My observation has been Stanhopeas should never dry out during the growing season.

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I'm really interested in the fact the roots are so short. Does it rain there all the time in summer? My observation has been Stanhopeas should never dry out during the growing season.

I'm kind of in between the hard core dry seasons of Guanacaste and the much milder dry seasons of the Caribbean coast. Typical would be between 12-8 weeks with no rain. Though it's humid enough for the grass to stay green for most of the dry season most years. I've seen S. wardii growing in the shade of areas drier than mine. But the growing season is during the rainy season, about May/June to December/January.

[SG in CR]

Update: The first pollinations didn't take. But the ones on the second flower shoot did with one cross and one self. The seed pods are developing nicely.
A couple weeks ago I noticed a new flower shoot developing and was sort of surprised as my S. wardii never blooms after the initial flowerings. Is this common for S. ecornuta? I just pollinated the right bloom with pollen from a Gongora and will self the left one once the pollinarium dries out a bit ( They don't seem to stick till they had a chance to dry out a bit. I'm guessing this is an adaptation to avoid self pollination. Gongoras are the same.)

[isurus79]

Wow, very cool!

All my Stanhopeas (back when I grew a lot of them) would bloom on successive spikes when they got large enough to do so.

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Wow, very cool!

All my Stanhopeas (back when I grew a lot of them) would bloom on successive spikes when they got large enough to do so.

My S. wardii will bloom one spike after another, but in fairly rapid succession, till they are done and then I have to wait till next year. This one produced 2 spikes and then took a 2 month break before growing a third. I'm not complaining, just surprised.