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The long trailing sprays can grow to 6ft in length, of which more than half consist of blooms on long side sprays before reaching the final main stem: ‘flos-aeris’ indeed, as will be seen in our picture! We have counted up to 60 blooms on one spray. Interestingly these sprays take about 4 months to bloom, and usually the flowering month is July. In 1981 we had an exceptionally strong display of these spectacular flowers, and this attribute to an unusually dry spell in March, which resulted in a strong stimulus to growth when the weather changed. Evidently our plants, although in our now turn to the second most important native species.

Hookerana ‘alba’, and the closely related variety ‘luteola’ or ‘yellowish’. This is a much smaller species, with shorter, stiffer leaves, and smaller blooms on shorter stems; in color the former appear white when seen flowering at a distance, but on closer examination there is a distinct pink tinge set against the purple of the lip. In the; luteola’ variant the flowers are almost pure yellow. Hookerana in both forms has possession for over 30 years, were responding to conditions similar to those prevailing in their Sumatran homeland. Our picture shows the trailing nature of the sprays, and a close-up of the blooms.

Posted in: Home and Garden by bowo84 /