Stenoglottis longifolia

Stenoglottis longifolia lives up to its name with wonderful upright flower spikes up to 1m tall carrying up to 100 stunning spotty pink flowers. 

We have been growing Stenoglottis longifolia since the early 1990's when I was given a pot of seedlings from nurseryman Keith Andrew. It is an orchid we would never be without, easy to grow and reliable, giving a wonderful display every autumn.

Stenoglottis longifolia is a terrestrial species from South Africa. It is found on mossy banks in the Drakensberg Mountains and so is a cool growing orchid. 

We have grown the species in a frost free greenhouse successfully but we find that the species grows very well with a minimum of 7C in our Himalayas Greenhouse.

Plants are very seasonal and we keep plants wet all summer but let them dry out from the end of December when the leaves turn brown and fall off. We start watering again around mid February but sparingly until growth is underway in March.  I have added a culture page on repotting Stenoglottis as lots of people have asked for help.

Another delightful character of Stenoglottis longifolia is that even very small plants flower well and produce dainty little spikes with 10 to 20 flowers.

Stenoglottis longifolia can easily be distinguished from the similar Stenoglottis fimbriata by looking at the end of the lip which is divided into seven points not three.