A Sweet Little Caucaea Orchid
This Caucaea was a great find at a San Francisco Orchid Society sale last year. It’s a cool-growing miniature with a strong, sweet fragrance. Caucaeas are in the Oncidium family, and they’re named after the Cauca region of the northern Andes. Caucaea is pronounced “kaw-KAY-uh.”
This species is Caucaea phalaenopsis, named for its resemblance to moths. It shouldn’t be confused with Phals, or Moth Orchids, which belong to a different genus. Caucaea phalaenopsis is native to cloud forests in Ecuador, at elevations above 2700 feet (823 m.) My plant seems to have settled into our back garden quite happily, enjoying the morning sun, cool temps, and regular fog. The blooms on its first flower spike survived several weeks, and swelling flower buds on a second spike promise more to come. It even emerged unscathed from last weekend’s powerful rainstorm, when we had over 6 inches (15 cm) of rain in a single day, and wind gusts exceeding 65 miles per hour (105 km/h.)
The flowers aren’t very large, but they pump out a lot of fragrance. Their scent is pleasant and floral, like a rose. These plants should be watered regularly, and never allowed to dry out completely. They don’t enjoy warm weather, but seem to tolerate short periods of heat, as long as there is high humidity. The last row of photos below shows three other charming Caucaea species. For growers with cool temps and good humidity, Caucaeas are sweet little orchids.
Explore posts in the same categories: Cool Growers, Fragrant Orchids, Growing, Mini Orchids, Photos, Watering
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