mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
Angraecum magdalenae is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Angraecums". I won't try to argue that it's not. The flowers are way smaller than those on Angraecum sesquipedale, but the plant is orders of magnitude smaller growing, so I'll take it. It's basically not much bigger than a complex Paph (thought it obviously has way more leaves per monopodial growth).
The flowers are pleasantly fragrant during the day and night. So many commonly-grown Angreacums are only fragrant right after dark or overnight and then are non-fragrant during the day. This is a nice change of pace. Most of the time I have to stick my nose up to the flower to smell the scent, but just after dark, it's powerful enough to fill the plant room and is even detectable in the hallway! The scent is like gardenia/jasmine and a mix of clove. Not exactly the same as something like Brassavola nodosa, but along those same lines. I think it's more pleasant than nodosa, personally.
Nearly everything I've read suggests that these are not the easiest things to grow. Either I've lucked out or its reputation is undeserved. The plant seems to like copious water year round. I don't expose it to any extreme temperatures, it just grows in standard indoor temperatures under LED lights year round. I try to keep the humidity in the 50% - 60% range. I think the only thing I'm super cautious about is repotting. I wait until spring or summer and I make sure that the plant is growing new roots at the time. So many Angraecums seem to be incredibly finicky about repotting, even otherwise easy to grow species will promptly kick the bucket if this is done incorrectly. I would know, I've murdered more than I care to admit. But then again, maybe that's a testament to how adaptable this species is!
The flowers are pleasantly fragrant during the day and night. So many commonly-grown Angreacums are only fragrant right after dark or overnight and then are non-fragrant during the day. This is a nice change of pace. Most of the time I have to stick my nose up to the flower to smell the scent, but just after dark, it's powerful enough to fill the plant room and is even detectable in the hallway! The scent is like gardenia/jasmine and a mix of clove. Not exactly the same as something like Brassavola nodosa, but along those same lines. I think it's more pleasant than nodosa, personally.
Nearly everything I've read suggests that these are not the easiest things to grow. Either I've lucked out or its reputation is undeserved. The plant seems to like copious water year round. I don't expose it to any extreme temperatures, it just grows in standard indoor temperatures under LED lights year round. I try to keep the humidity in the 50% - 60% range. I think the only thing I'm super cautious about is repotting. I wait until spring or summer and I make sure that the plant is growing new roots at the time. So many Angraecums seem to be incredibly finicky about repotting, even otherwise easy to grow species will promptly kick the bucket if this is done incorrectly. I would know, I've murdered more than I care to admit. But then again, maybe that's a testament to how adaptable this species is!
