catasetum, cycnoches or stanhopea for cold temperatures

[smweaver]

Stanhopea hernandezii and martiana can both handle lows of 3 to 5 C at night--as long as you ensure that they remain relatively dry. In fact, in my experience both of these species require a cool and dry winter rest in order to thrive, and the only time I've had negative experiences with either is when I attempted to grow them like some of the warmer-growing species, with warm and moist winter conditions. Scent preference is a matter of taste, but Stan. hernandezii, in my opinion, has one of the best fragrances in the genus, with clusters of large blooms on a compact plant. If you can give it warm/hot and wet summers, followed by cool/cold and dry winters, it should do quite nicely for you. Good luck with your search.