Hi C - anything with Phal violacea in it will have a beautiful aroma and if doubled on it, beyond words. Big Leaf has a catagory on his website with fragrant as one of the key words. You can't go wrong with any of those choices.

If you want catts. with great fragrance, try Blc. Chia Lin 'New City' and C. Bob Betts 'York'. Both of these are blooming now and the fragrance is wonderful. They should also be widely available.

Moi describe fragrance? Sorry but I'm terrible with word descriptions trying to describe what I smell but heavenly is the best I can do. Good luck in your search.

Brooke

Brooke,

Wow! Phal. Ho's Black Violacea 'KF#1' from Big Leaf is kind of my type. It is not blooming size yet but each costs 50 dollars! But if it is highly fragrant, I would not hesitate a second :-) I will also recommend it to Scott, who is easy but not cheap. Do you have any personal experience to comment on this item?

Plus I love the deep-rich color of Blc. Chia Lin "New City'. It is such a fine breed.

Jeanne, I find Phal. bellina lovely. However, Whitecat tells me that Phal Tetra Bell(ina) did not bloom long for her. Do Phal. bellina flowers last for a while?

C

C how small is the Black Violacea? I've never had anything from Peter that didn't bloom within a year, most sooner.

Here is Phal. violacea v. alba {{gwi:145337}} This is my absolute favorite violacea and the smell is devine. When I got it it wasn't considered blooming size either but a couple months later threw up two spikes and bloomed for a long period of time. The blooms dropped but the spikes are still viable and will produce more blooms later and throw out more spikes. The same spikes will bloom for years.

You don't get the same big floofy display as a standard phal but a much longer display with maturity on the plant. Most species don't give you the big bang until they are older. The individual flowers last 6-8 weeks before dropping.

Brooke

Hi C:

My Phal bellina hybrid flowers lasted plenty long, and as the plant matured, there were more spikes and more flowers which only served to lengthen the blooming period. Not sure what effect the tetraspis parent would have on Tetra Bell. How old was that plant, and was the flowering consistently short over several growing seasons? In any case, I think bellina or a bellina hybrid would be worth the space in any orchid collection.

Jeanne

Normans has lots of fragrant phals. This is one I bought a few months back and is the third blooming. It's compact and the fragrance has that reach out and grab thing going on. This particular cross isn't listed on the website atm (Caribbean Sunset 'Sweet Fragrance'). BUT, they could still have some, AND they have other phals that are part of their 'sweet fragrance' series. If you're interested, just do a targeted search on their website for fragrant compact phals.

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HTH,

John

I forgot the P. Caribbean Sunset 'Chin Yo' is highly fragrant too. Here is mine in 4" pot sphag/tree fern mix {{gwi:206236}} It has long lasting blooms, spikes remain for future blooms so will put on quite a show when the plant matures. It has been blooming for two months and has viable buds left.

There is another hybrid from Caribbean Sunset that has a bigger flower but I can't remember the name. It is supposed to have an even more intense fragrance than this one.

Brooke

Wow, John that is a beauty with so many flowers and buds. Look at those roots. Love the short spike. How big is the plant? Although, I swore 'no more Phals,' this one is very pretty and fragrant. I might be tempted if it stays small.

Jane

John, your Phal is lovely. It seems the first two flowers are of different colors! How interesting! It is wonderful to learn its fragrance reaches out and grab things going on. Caribbean Sunset "Sweet Fragrance" is said to be a descendent of Phal. Cassandra x Phal. Mambo.

I go on research the website and notice these two Phals:

Phal. Orchid World 'Sweet Fragrant' (P. Malibu Imp x P. Deventeriana)
Phal. Sogo Rose 'Sweet Fragrance' (P. Golden Sun x P. Sogo Kaiulani)

Also, these Catts catch my eyes:

Blc. Norman's Prophesy 'Motclair' (Blc. Norman's Bay ' Low' FCC/AOS x Lc. Prophesy ' Monterery')
Epc. Kyoguchi 'Happy Field' HCC/AOS (C. aurantiaca x Epi. aromaticum)
Lc. Blue Angel 'Glove' SM/JOGA seems to be interesting.

Has anyone personal experience with these?

C

Thanks for the nice comments. Jane, it's a nice compact grower. So far it shows no tendency to develop gigantism ! I've had lots of phals over the years but the compactness and the fragrance make this one a real joy for me.

J

If you're looking for something new, how about Tuberolabium kotoense? It's a miniature species in the vandaeceous family, closely allied to Phals, and should be grown like any Ascocentrum or mini Cattleya. Mine is currently in bloom and though the plant is smaller than my hand and the spike shorter and thinner than my little finger, its 50 or so flowers fill the whole room with a nice, freshly floral fragrance. All this from a plant you can stash in a bright corner!

Julie

Thank you Julie, your Tuberolabium is beautiful. Your description makes it almost a must have.

Yes, I am NOT restricted to Phals and Catts.

I have already known many fragrant Cyms (for example, the many miniature classical ones). If you know any other outstanding orchids with beautiful flower, superb fragrance, please come out and share with us. It does not have to be miniature at all, but it seems many orchid fanatics have space problem :-P

Snasxs, the Kyoguchi 'Happy Field' is one I owned. It has a nice fragrance. Spike keeps unfolding new flowers over a long period, from the Enc parent. However, flowers are small if your taste runs to the big catts with giant flowers.

There are also a number of Mtdm/Oncid (whatever the most recent name is) that are fragrant, Hawaiian Sunset is one, Rosy Sunset is another. Any ancestors or offspring of these are often fragrant as well.

snasxs - I found another spike on my Phal. Caribbean Sunset today. The original blooms are still on with viable buds visible and now another spike coming. I didn't realize it was a multi floral but this should really put on a big show in the future. This is quickly moving up my list of favorites.

Jane the foliage is small and will never be one of the big spacehog phals. And fragrance, quite a prize in one small package.

Brooke

I am not sure this one is 'room-filling' but I found Blc. Haw Yuan Beauty Hong AM/AOS quite pleasing. But for sheer "punch above its weight category", Encyclia fragrans is pretty darn sexy.

All, how wonderful!

Has anyone personal experience with Phal. Orchid World 'Sweet Fragrant', Phal. Sogo Rose 'Sweet Fragrance', Blc. Norman's Prophesy 'Motclair', Epc. Kyoguchi 'Happy Field' HCC/AOS, Lc. Blue Angel 'Glove' SM/JOGA?

"Do you have any personal experience to comment on this item?"
Nope!
Never heard of it. I really don't go much for hybrids of anything!
I rarely even look at postings about Phals.
i just looked at this one because of the link included in the Competition thread.
I haven't even got around to a comment on that thread!
I'm not even sure where to start or if I even should!! ;~)

As far as Big Leaf goes...
I have browsed through the place before and they have been bookmarked for years.
I was really interested in getting a Phal. gigantea and I love some of the other species Phals, like P.appendiculata, equestris, hieroglyphica, minus, schilleriana and wilsonii! :~)
After repeated failures, I decided to hold off until I achieved better conditions for them.
I'm still holding!

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Phal Orchid World "Joe", though I may have missed it in an earlier post. "Joe" was my first fragrant Phal. and I love it's scent. Much stronger at night for me, it will fill the whole room in the am and is a wonderful way to start the day. I have had mine for a while and it has a new huge spike and is blooming off last years 2 spikes as well. I purchased it from Hauserman's and it has grown to be a monster plant now with a sort of sideways P. violacea growth habit. The flowers look very much like the Orchid World "Trenton" now listed on the Big Leaf site under "fragrant Phals".

A little while back I purchased several fragrant Phals from Big Leaf and have not been disappointed. Peter Lin runs Big Leaf and is a wonderful resource and super nice guy. I spoke with him at length and he is incredibly knowledgeable and was happy to give me several specific recommendations when asked. He also has an extensive pictorial database on his site that has some of the primary hybridization notes available as well. I think you can look up a couple of the other Phals mentioned earlier in this post on Peter's site, look under the Gallery tab on the home page and scroll to the bottom for the Orchid World family. I put in a link to the Orchid World family tree part of the Gallery in this post.

My Neofinetia falcata and Dendrobium moniliforme are favorites in my house as well though the flowers are shorter lived than some. In this "family" I also have 2 different Sedirea japonica that are super for fragrance but a little more subtle, and each is quite distinct as to it's floral notes. The flowers of the Sedirea are more long lived like the Phals.

I have an Angraecum magdalenae that is at the end of it's blooming that is also "heaven scent", and an Angraecum leonis that just finished a bloom. The Ang. leonis was it's first bloom for me and I found the fragrance to be wonderful and prefer it to the magdalenae as it was a little more subtle and lacked the rather heavy spicy-clove notes of this particular magdalenae.

I also love the Zygopetalum for fragrance and they can fill a small room with their sweet perfume. They are hard to beat for ease of care, and live happily next to my Cybidiums.

For room clearing potency though nothing beats the Stanhopea as far as I am concerned. I had my first one bloom this summer and the show it put on led me to obtain several others. The fragrance quite literally will fill a house. The one that sold me on the species is a wardii. I have read that not all of the Stanhopea clan are pleasantly scented though. Also a very short lived bloom but known to bloom sequentially from multiple spikes.

Oddly enough my Prosthechea fragrans (Encyclia) and Brassavola nodosa both have bloomed once before and the Brassavola is in its second bloom this season now. Neither have been strongly fragrant for me, though the Prosthechea was reminiscent of gardenia every so faintly. I imagine something is lacking in my culture or I have 2 plants unaware of their supposed nature. The Prosthechea is getting ready to bloom off of multiple PBs, so I am hopeful it will produce more flowers with greater fragrance this go around. So far the Brassavola is rather un-scented though the flowers did just open.

One last plug for my newest fragrant beauty, Laelia anceps v. guerrero, just in bloom after teasing me for 6 months with a perpetually lengthening spike that finnally produced a single diminutive flower that has the most wonderful & unique delicate floral scent. Speaking of delicate fragrance I almost forgot another personal favorite, Paphiopedilum delenatii.

It seems to me that MrBreeze had compiled a rather comprehensive FAQ on fragrant orchids, though that did not stop me from ranting about my favorites...And to think I promised myself I would be concise the next time I posted here. Oh well.

Oh yeah! Paphiopedilum delenatii... To me, it smells of like fresh raspberries!

Snaxs, I have no Catts and 25 Phals/Dtps. None of the Phals/Dtps send fragrance across the room the way, say, Onc Twinkles do, not even the bellinas, violaceas, etc. Could just be my environment.

For a small, sequentially-blooming, fragrant Phal, Phal. I-Hsin Salmon 'Joy No. 3' (Princess Midas X Kuntrarti Rarashati) from Big Leaf is one to check out - dunno if Peter Lin still has any. Other vendors had them at one time.

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Whitecat8

My Orchid World "Joe" just opened it's first bloom on the new spike, I will post a picture as soon as I can pry the new camera from my daughters hands. Also I blame every one here for the recent orders I placed for new plants (in spite of the moratorium) as a result of this thread. My wife will probably still try to hold me accountable though.
Richard
P.S. What a short post!

For fragrant phals, I've got schilleriana, two bellinas, Sweet Memory 'Bubbles', I-Hsin Salmon, Little Mary 'Cherry Blossom', Carribean Sunset, and a cute white/pink sweetheart-type noid. The schilleriana is by far the most fragrant, and has a strong wafting rose-like scent.

My other favorites for strong fragrance are the neofinetia falcatas, cym ensifolium, c walkeriana x intermedia, and brassavola nodosa.

This time of year, though, the blooming meyer lemon tree smothered in fragrant white flowers overwintering in the living room beats them all. It fills the entire house with fragrance!

God, I really deserve a reward for this thread. I love fragrant phals and catts. I would not mind a tiny new plant, Peter. I enjoy growing them to flower size, myself, over the years.

My love for fragrance grows exponentially today because my Gardenia opens her first flower of 2008 today. Yeah, you are right Rita_h. Enjoy your lemon tree. I will post some pictures soon in the house plant forum. Oh, that sweet scent of Gardenia ...

Scott, however, doesn't seem to be interested in fragrance :-(

The rest of us seem to love it. It's great to learn schilleriana has strong wafting rose scent. Another must-have is identified. Does big-leaf have them? I love the scent of roses- but those thorny beauties require winter dormancy and outdoors.

Richard, please do post your picture of fragrant Phal Orchid World "Joe".

Rita, cym ensifolium is far less fragrant than cym goeringii. Have you tried goeringii? (lol, even the ancient cultivars are close to $100 per pot. I never ever tried. It is said the fragrance are amazing. Someone has to share personal experience.)

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Snasxs - the Schill I had wasn't fragrant, so check it out w/ the particular vendor before buying. Recently, Big Leaf had fragrant and non-fragrant types. Dunno if he still does.

Growing up, we had gardenia bushes in the South. Never smelled anything like it. Congrats on having blossoms. Some people would kill for them.

Rita, when the little Calamondin orange tree is in bloom, it's heavenly, even out on the deck.

I've got Cym goeringii 'Teikan,' marginal variegation, but it hasn't bloomed yet. Maybe temps can't ever be cool enough here - we'll see.

Whitecat8

Whitecat, I notice there are so many cultivars of Phal schills. Some of them grow larger than others. Some types go after flower and leaf at the expense of fragrance :-( Smell of rose is definitely a valuable asset.

Rita, does each of your citrus flower last long? I guess my gardenia is a recent cultivar from Japan. Each "white rose" lasts for up to 2 weeks.

Oops, forget to say that all Cym goeringii from the island of Japan are traditionally considered inferior to those from Southern China. The reason is Japanese goeringii has no fragrance, but brighter colors. Any goeringii cultivar has blood from Japan is trading fragrance for color. "Teikan" is Japanese meaning "imperial crown".

Snasxs, I bought the ensifolium ("Kuan Yin Su Xin" aka White Goddess of Mercy) out of a group of blooming cyms of which goeringii was one, I think, and cherry-picked the one with the best fragrance, but there's probably a lot of individual variability, plus maybe it wasn't a Chinese-bred one? I'll keep an eye out for it at the next show... (I'm going to Miami for the WOC!)

About the phal schilleriana -- my first plant had only a faint fragrance and was a very slow grower. My second purchase was a schilleriana var purpurea (more pinky-purple rather than blush-pink) and difference is huge, both in vigor and scent, so try to buy one in flower so you can check it out for real.

About the Meyer lemon: the plant is small but bushy and covered in flowers and buds so it's hard to tell how long each individual flower lasts, but I think the first flowers opened a few days before xmas, and there's been spent flowers on the ground for a few days now, so about 2 weeks?

Here are 2 shots of Orchid World "Joe" the first flower to open this cycle and the sprawling plant.

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Richard, wow! That is such a beautiful flower ... hmm, however, you have no word bragging about the fragrance this time. Has she developed any scent yet?

Rita, is your Schilleriana blooming now? It would be nice if you share a picture. So that we audiences have visual idea of the fragrant type. I think the flowers of Schill last pretty long.

Whitecat, I am still amazed by your lovely Phal I-Hsin Salmon "Joy No 3". I still couldn't find the right word describing its color. How miniature is this plant? The scent must be nice :-) yet, another must-have.

Snasxs, the schilly is in short spike right now, about 4", usually blooms in March. If I can find a decent picture from prior years, I'll post it.

Funny you should ask... It seems to take around a week or two to really get going. I have been sniffing it each morning and this am while watering I did notice the start of it's characteristic fragrance. Sadyl I cannot say the same for my Brassavola. 2 bloom cycles and no scent. In the picture of the plant itself you might be able to just make out a Phal. schilleriana that has put up it's first spike for me and the first flower is just opening. It is a pink form, but I have never bloomed one before so I have no idea what to expect.

As to Joe, the fragrance starts out kind of spicy and ends up candy like in a sort of bubble-gummy way.

Snasxs, I posted a picture in the gallery. The schilly is on the bottom-right of the group pic.

Rita, it takes me a while to find it. I don't know why there is no link to Orchid gallery. Sometimes I wonder how some people manage to find it. Eventually, I get it through your profile. The picture is great. I can almost smell your rose garden! These are definitely must-have's. The bottom right one is the rose-fragrant queen.

Here, I have posted the thread on the first gardenia of 2008:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg010938057590.html

Snasxs, Big congrats on your Gardenia blooming. Yes, that 2nd shot, esp. is wonderful.

The Phal. I-Hsin Salmon Joy stays small. The longest leaf on my plant is 8," the "wingspan" is 7," not counting aerial roots, and height is 8," including the tallest flower. Flowers are about 1.5" across, and it's in a 3" pot.

Until recently, it had 3 spikes. It continues blooming from the same spike, but you may go one or more months without any flowers.

The link to Big Leaf's site is below. Peter says a mature plant is in a 3.25" pot and has a leaf span of 8+ inches.

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If you want the scent of roses, and you're willing to try a Phrag, check out Hanne Popow. I had 2-3 plants w/ besseae flavum and a schlimii in their background. The flowers were a lighter color than more expensive, deeper pink Hanne Popows, but there was no difference in fragrance.

The aroma was noticeable in the smallish the room, and up closer, you'd swear someone stuck a rose under your nose.

All the plants were in one 6" pot, and there was almost always at least one flower open. (They bloom successively w/ 4-6 flowers on a spike, at least mine did.) Flowers were about 1.5" across. (Finally sold the plants to downsize.)

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Hope this is helpful.

Whitecat8

Jeanne, you said, "My Phal bellina hybrid flowers lasted plenty long, and as the plant matured, there were more spikes and more flowers which only served to lengthen the blooming period. Not sure what effect the tetraspis parent would have on Tetra Bell. How old was that plant, and was the flowering consistently short over several growing seasons? In any case, I think bellina or a bellina hybrid would be worth the space in any orchid collection."

I agree, at least one of these is mandatory.

Jeanne, dunno how old the plant was last summer, but it had 6 mature leaves, the largest 8"x4," and 2 keikis. The original spike had branched twice.

Checking back, the complete blooming - 5 flowers - lasted 3 months. It was probably cut short by taking the plant to the State Fair exhibit, where it was hot. Several other Phals bloomed for 5+ months - it's all relative. :)

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C, this is not a small plant. It's one of those "dinner plate" shapes, with the leaves growing in a fan. Right now, it's 12"x14."

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Sooner or later, this one will be replaced w/ a bellina hybrid or species that stays small, as long as it smells like plumeria.

WC8

Nice basals WC. Let me know when you want to rid yourself of Tetra Bell. It would love living in KY.

Brooke

Thanks, Brooke,

When the weather warms up...

WC8

I have a lovely catt blooming right now that smells wonderful...in the late afternoon and if you stick your nose in it.

There's a post on the FAQs which lists fragrant orchids.......

WC8:

Your Tetra Bell is drop-dead gorgeous. Thanks for posting pictures.

jeanne

WC, your Phal I-Hsin Salmon Joy No. 3 is lovely. The reddish color is wonderful. I have a mislabeled item which should be some type of I-Hsin Salmon. It is developing a first spike now. I should wait and see. You say I-Hsin Salmon Joy No. 3 is fragrant. Is the scent nice and strong?

Richard, are you coming back bragging about the fragrance of Orchid World "Joe" soon? How is the Phal schilleriana that has put up its first spike for you?

Michi_goose, thank you for the information. The list is awesome. But it has no image and it is about species.

C., my I-Hsin's fragrance is strong and extends a few inches around the plant when air circulation is moderate.

Yes, post pix of yours when it blooms.

Jeanne, thanks for the complement on the Tetra Bell.

WC8

Look here, something really fragrant!

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Lovely. What is it? Whitecat8

I am happy to say that "Joe" is in full swing with 3 open blooms on the new spike and several ripening on the 2 spikes from last years cycle. The fragrance really gets going as the bloom matures and it is great!

Sadly my Phal schilleriana has several lovely blooms with more on the way but I cannot appreciate any frangrance.

One of the plants plants I purchased from Normans as a direct result of this thread turned out to be a real nice surprise, a robust main growth with 2 basals all producing nice spikes loaded with swell yellow green blooms with a faint but delightful fragrance.

I will try to get a pic up later.

This really is a great thread though it has cost me dearly.

Richard