This is Milt clowesii 'Diego'. I bought this plant from Alan a few years ago (Gold Country). It is a species originally from Brazil. It was first bloomed in England in 1839!!!
It is HUGE... currently its planted in a 6" clay pot - and is overgrowing the pot - but what is AMAZING is that it has 18 inflorescences - with an average (so far) of about 6 to 8 buds per inflorescence. That's way over 120 blooms if they all open!
It seems REALLY REALLY happy where it is.. which is in HIGH light conditions - at about eye level - and almost directly in front of a fan (that is less than a foot away).
The pictures here are TERRIBLE as they were taken with my camera phone... I'll bring home my camera from work (gotta love kids... one dropped my good digital home camera in the sand then didn't tell me and when the lens wouldn't open tried to pry it open with a butterknife.... gotta love em!)
I'll take more pics and send as it opens.
I've NEVER had a plant judged... I wonder if this one should be judged? I won't be here at the next meeting/potluck/judging center day because I'll be in Alaska from the 1st - 11th. Any suggestions? Does anything think I should have this judged?
Any comments? Is this normal for this plant? Soooo many flowers! Just WOW.
Scott Farrell
Here's something I found online:
Milt Clowesii was first discovered by George Gardner in the Organ Mountains near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gardner sent plants to Rev. John Clowes of Manchester, England who was the first to flower it in Europe, in 1839. John Lindley named it in Clowes' honour in Sertum Orchidacearum that same year.
Milt. clowesii is an epiphytic plant that has narrowly oblong-ovate compressed pseudobulbs. Borne along a creeping rhizome at 2.5-4 cm intervals, the olive green pseudobulbs are 7.5-10 cm long. The pseudobulbs are about 2 cm across near the base and taper to 1 cm near the apex. The pseudobulbs are subtended at the base by 2-4 leafy bracts. At the apex of the pseudobulbs are two thin light yellow-green, linear to tongue-shaped leaves that are 22-65 cm long and 1.8-2.5 cm broad. The upright to spreading raceme is produced from the base of the pseudobulb and emerges from within the inner basal leaf sheath. Varying from 22-65 cm long, the raceme bears 5-10 flowers that open quickly in succession so that several blooms are usually open at one time.
Sweetly scented during the day, the long-lasting showy flowers of Milt. clowesii are variable in colour and are 5-6 cm across and 7-8 cm long. They have yellowish brown to yellow-orange sepals and petals that are heavily barred or blotched with maroon to chestnut-brown. The white to cream-yellow fiddle-shaped lip is violet-purple to deep mauve towards the basal half and the callus of 5-7 raised keels is white to yellow. Sometimes the colour of the lip may change from white to yellow as the flowers age, so that the raceme carries different coloured blooms.
Endemic to Brazil, Milt. clowesii is found in the cooler mountains of Rio de Janeiro , Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais. Jim and Barbara McQueen (1993) recommend intermediate conditions with moderate to bright indirect light for this species. Give it plenty of water during the warmer months while it is growing, then a drier winter rest. Due to its rambling habit is is best grown in a shallow tray or basket. Plants may also be mounted on cork bark, hardwood or tree fern but may need daily watering or misting during the hotter months of the year.
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