Our stenoglottis species are looking a picture this week (see below) with the massed flowers of Stenoglottis fimbraita and today’s feature orchid, Stenoglottis longifolia. The species is a robust grower with long dense spikes of pretty pink flowers

This South African species also has the delightful habit of flowering from small plants, like the one below.

Stenoglottis longifolia is a terrestrial species from South Africa. It is found on mossy banks in the Drakensberg Mountains and so is a cool growing orchid. We have grown the species in a frost free greenhouse successfully but we find that the species grows very well with a minimum of 10C in our Cool Asia section We keep plants wet all summer but let them dry out from the end of December when the leaves turn brown and fall off. We start watering again around mid February but sparingly until growth is underway in March.

The species differs from the closely related Stenoglottis fimbriata in the larger rounder flowers, leaves without spots, a more robust and larger growth habit, and later flowering.