This cute little orchid is blooming in my sunroom this week. It’s an amazingly tough plant that breaks out into clusters of frilly light yellow flowers every spring no matter how much I abuse it by failing to water it when I should and exposing it to light levels that would kill many other orchids. The most astounding thing about it is not its hardiness or its reliability in blooming, but its fragrance. These flowers start out smelling like the original Fendi for the first few days but end up smelling just like Chanel Egoiste for the rest of their life. No kidding. Egoiste, teak and all. There’s no way I could make a perfume to duplicate the scent of these flowers because Fendi and Chanel have already done it by accident, and done it almost perfectly. Now I have to wonder just what sorts of insects are attracted to Fendi and Egoiste.
Awesome. I had no idea. I've grown cattleyas before, but never one that smelled like either egoiste or Fendi. I want one!
ReplyDeleteLet's keep in touch and when my plant is big enough, I'll send you a division. I think the Egoiste scent is characteristic of this particular plant, and not necessarily all Cattleya luteola. It may also depend on growing conditions.
ReplyDeleteThere's a huge range of scents just among cattleyas. The variety never ceases to amaze me.