The fantastic Gongora flaveola
These Gongoras are so weird, it is difficult to put proper names to the parts of the flowers - which bit is the lip for example ? Somewhere or other I have seen a diagram allotting special names, but I can't quite remember where...
I have two plants , have had them for 4 or 5 years, but it was only last year that I learnt how to flower them successfully ( spray them frequently in a not too bright location) , and then they went on with spike after spike all through the summer. This one shown, is the smaller plant, with maybe 11 flowers ( IOSPE says 8-14) distinctly bigger than last years flowers - the largest 6.5 cm - a good 2 1/2 inches. Delicately pefumed.The other larger plant is developing three spikes so far, but at different stages , the first and most advanced has 18 buds which I will show maybe in one or two weeks as an addition here. The only possible drawback ( apart from the fact that the flowers don't last more than a couple of weeks at the most) is the difficulty of doing anything with the plants, e.g. show, or even bring into the house. But a great addition to the growing area.
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