Gongora histrionica

[ehanes7612]

received 15 divisions of Gongora a year and a half ago, this is the third one blooming....with two blooming spikes and a third coming along. Never grew Gongora before this...killed 4 plants in the first six months..these guys do not seem to like a lot of light, the leaves light burn pretty easily..they seem to do best in the 500 FC range and since i changed that the leaves stopped burning. this one has reestablished and is putting out its root balls in the air (and from what i have read they will tend to put out root clusters in all directions)so i might repot after the blooming...their pollinators are pretty interesting too, especially the Euglossa bees

the buds grow and grow and then they just sit there for a week or more, with no apparent activity and then all the sudden they open one by one over a period of a week...the first one (Gongora superflua) that bloomed last year just sat there for three weeks before they opened...i was going nuts thinking they were going to blast

 

[Rick]

The patterns on this one are pretty cool. What does this one smell like?

 

[ehanes7612]

a hint of chocolate but its so faint it may just be all the chocolate soaked in my bloodstream

I have one that bloomed last week...i lost the tag so i dont know the species name, that was close to a stanhopea wardii perfumy plus cardamon smell, u could smell it from across the room...its putting out another spike so i will remember to post it when it blooms again

 

[NYEric]

Nice. I wish I could raise my humidity to grow these.

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

That's cool, very tiger-stripish. I like!

 

[goldenrose]

:clap::clap:gongoras one doesn't see & hear of as often! :drool::drool:

 

[etex]

Very cute blooms! Thanks for the culture info.
I received a flask of Gongora galeata from Troy Meyers last sale, and find the foliage very sensitive.

 

[SlipperFan]

Interesting about the amount of light needed.

 

[paphioboy]

Beautiful one...!! I love gongoras... They're such rapid growers and the flowers are often fragrant... Need to put this one on my list now...

 

[goldenrose]

Interesting about the amount of light needed.

seeing mine didn't bloom this year ...... I have nothing to lose by reducing the light.

 

[biothanasis]

Wonderful!!!!

What light intensity do they need excactly compared to other genera?? More like a pleurothallis??? And what about humidity??? Do you grow under lights??? TYIA

 

[ehanes7612]

Wonderful!!!!

What light intensity do they need excactly compared to other genera?? More like a pleurothallis??? And what about humidity??? Do you grow under lights??? TYIA

hmmm, well, dont know what pleurothallids need...but the Gongora seem to be doing well in light equivalent to medium overcast (500 FC), i guess the light that phals will bloom in...my light meter reads 500 FC ...humidity ? i grow with 70 to 80 percent humidity but i dont know if they need that or if they would do well in less (i suspect they would be fine in 50 %)

I grow them under an HPS light ...i place them 7 feet under and four feet from the center..(500 FC)...i think the matured leaves can handle more light but the new shoots are really light sensitive, perhaps why they fan out into huge leaves...hope this helps

 

[ehanes7612]

Beautiful one...!! I love gongoras... They're such rapid growers and the flowers are often fragrant... Need to put this one on my list now...

yeah the smell is pretty strong on this one now...cardamon

 

[paphioboy]

I find gongoras like to be grown pretty shady. I put mine near the barbata-type paphs. I have 3 species of gongoras grown shaded by the phals hanging above: claviodora, galeata and quinquinervis. All are growing nicely.

 

[biothanasis]

Thank you both for the tips ehanes & paphioboy!!!!!