Brassavola is one of the easiest families of orchids to grow. They are very closely related to another set of beginner orchids as well, namely Cattleya and Laelia. They can be grown well indoors and tolerate a lower relative humidity that would otherwise affect other orchids badly.
Among the most common species is B. nodosa, also well-known as Lady of Night. Although this trait is shared throughout the family, B. nodosa has a seemingly strong scent during the night. They react as early as before sunset, getting ready to burst out with their nocturnal fragrance. The scent, along with the light colors of their flowers, attracts night insects such as the moth as part of the pollination process.
While they can also tolerate lesser light, their strong night feat comes from absorbing as much light as possible during the day. This allows you not to worry much of overexposure to the sun. A good indication of a healthy consumption of light is when the leaves start to have red freckles on them.
Brassavolas are both epiphytic and lithophytic, meaning, not only do they naturally grow on trees, but they also grow on rocks. With this, you can enhance their decorative display and create a lovelier garden.
As mentioned, having a close relation to Cattleya and Laelia makes them much favored for creating hybrid orchids, such as a larger flower size one genus with a more colorful one. So close that one specie, B.Digbyana, is actually found to be a genus of Laelia back in 1918, but its name under Brassavola was retained as it was already popular and to avoid unnecessary confusion.
As you start your way to cultivating your perfect garden, your fond beginnings will be preserved as they will be part of it for as long as you take care of them. And every night of their time to bloom makes it all worth it.
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