You prompted me to inspect my own plant. What you have is a developing spike, that may have stalled at one point in its history. I have several of these on mine, in various stages of development. The first photo is from the top, and you can see six of these between the leaves: I never paid that much attention before, but the roots either emerge from the centerline on top or the bottom of the stem, while the inflorescences come out laterally (in a plant that's growing outward from a mount) between the leaves. The next photo is from underneath, and shows one that was hidden on the underside of a leaf in the first photo: Photo #3 is an enlargement of the above photo, showing the detail from the basal growth in the lower left in pic #2. Another spike has just pushed aside a blackened something-er-other, and is on its way: Not a very good photo of the whole plant, but it has a main stem and three basals: Now I've got high hopes, but blooms are always a crap shoot for me. I'll have to make sure I spray for roaches soon, so I at least won't have those little monsters roaming about, looking for tender munchies... -Bruce

Thanks y'all. I counted two questions. The flowers last a couple of weeks or maybe more if the temps stay cool. It does have a fragrance but I'm usually asleep when it would be strongest. All Angs smell great which is one of the main reasons I crave them so. Rob! You must grow Restrepias as well as I grow Angs and certainly your beloved Psychopsis as well? What was it you used to call them, the 'king of orchids'? Something like that, eh? Kirkii seems to be one of the easier Aerangis species to grow but I have heard it said that it is difficult. Maybe I just got lucky in getting a mature plant. I recommend that everyone get at least one! -MB

The 'Coppertone' flowered a few days ago and I'm posting three pictures here. The stalks are 12 and 14 inches long, and the flower tubes are 5-6 inches long. It is a beautiful flower that begins to sag only a day after the tip opens to expose the stamens and pistil. The leaf color that gives the plant its name will return at the end of the summer when I move the plant outdoors. The 2 flowers come from 2 different plants whose origin is either from seed or leaf cuttings of the same plant.

I'm new here, not exactly new to succulents or sanses...but how does one tell the difference between a sun-grown S. kirkii v. pulchra and an S. kirkii v. pulchra "Coppertone?" Picked up an unlabeled plant at a nearby garden ctr (they have no idea which it is)and...I just can't tell. The pics I've found using GIS haven't been much help. - Dave