Post your Hong Kong Orchids

[bubba]

[Kailua_Krish]

I dont have one but in Central Oahu they are planted in masse and have an amazing smell.

[bubba]

The only problem is that they are messy and the flowers are hard to scrape up. Beautiful tree!

[Kailua_Krish]

Great in someone else's yard  I have noticed these tend to have a stronger scent when its not as hot. They aren't nearly as fragrant when planted near the coast in my experience.

[Tracy]

31 minutes ago, Kailua_Krish said:

They aren't nearly as fragrant when planted near the coast in my experience.

Interesting that you say they have a fragrance.  I planted my first one back in about 1989, and a second one in 1996 when I moved from the first house.  While I don't have one here in my Leucadia garden, I never remember either having any odor at all from the flowers.  Both the ones I planted were in coastal south Carlsbad, CA, about 3/4 mile from the ocean as the seagulls fly.  Photo below is an old one from January 2012.  Ironically, I cut this one down to a stump in 2014 because it was adjacent to a covered patio and required a lot of pruning and we wanted low maintenance since the house was becoming a rental property.  It has since grown shoots out from the old stump, and tries to grow back periodically.  I would like to let one of the shoots that grows away from the patio become a new trunk, but my wife always wants to remove them.  Back to the main thrust of my post, I always considered these to have no smell at all.  Humming birds loved this tree though.  I always attributed the fact that we had this tree and a Spathodea campanulata, with lots of hibiscus, as the reason we would have multiple humming bird nests year round in our yard there.  The humming birds still nest in that garden without the Hong Kong Orchid though.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Kailua_Krish said:

Great in someone else's yard  I have noticed these tend to have a stronger scent when its not as hot. They aren't nearly as fragrant when planted near the coast in my experience.

LOL, Nice tree, but yea, ..bigger ones are better in someone else's yard ( primarily becasue of the fleshy flowery mess they can leave behind )  Smaller trees aren't bad however.

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Interesting that you say they have a fragrance.  I planted my first one back in about 1989, and a second one in 1996 when I moved from the first house.  While I don't have one here in my Leucadia garden, I never remember either having any odor at all from the flowers.  Both the ones I planted were in coastal south Carlsbad, CA, about 3/4 mile from the ocean as the seagulls fly.  Photo below is an old one from January 2012.  Ironically, I cut this one down to a stump in 2014 because it was adjacent to a covered patio and required a lot of pruning and we wanted low maintenance since the house was becoming a rental property.  It has since grown shoots out from the old stump, and tries to grow back periodically.  I would like to let one of the shoots that grows away from the patio become a new trunk, but my wife always wants to remove them.  Back to the main thrust of my post, I always considered these to have no smell at all.  Humming birds loved this tree though.  I always attributed the fact that we had this tree and a Spathodea campanulata, with lots of hibiscus, as the reason we would have multiple humming bird nests year round in our yard there.  The humming birds still nest in that garden without the Hong Kong Orchid though.

Don't think i have never not noticed a scent on any trees i have seen / sold ..here, or back in either CA. or FL. A little variance -strength-wise between some specimens, but always present. Always strongest on warm / humid days. Same w/ the white flowered version of B. variegata. 

Have to get pictures of two specimens in a neighbor's yard this year. Keeps them no taller than roughly 12ft and, while full of seedpods later on ..and look a bit worn on from the sun / heat come August, make pretty nice trees, short, but nicer than some taller specimens around town that get a bit gangly as they get tall. One of the few trees i'm ok with prune a little each year to keep in shape.

[Kailua_Krish]

All I can say is they have a distinct perfumy fragrance that can be quite strong (at least to me). It’s most noticeable when they are planted in masse. I’ve noticed it only near them when they’re flowering for years so I don’t think I’m smelling something else but I of course could always be wrong. 

[Tracy]

21 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Keeps them no taller than roughly 12ft and, while full of seedpods later on ..and look a bit worn on from the sun / heat come August, make pretty nice trees, short, but nicer than some taller specimens around town that get a bit gangly as they get tall.

I suspect the ones that have seed pods are not in fact Bauhinia x blakeana, as this hybrid never produces seeds to my knowledge, only the true species produce seed pods.  Perhaps what others refer to as having a strong scent are the species plants as opposed to the sterile non-seeding  B x blakeana?

Perhaps I have made an inaccurate assumption that the only Bauhinia referred to as a Hong Kong orchid tree is Bauhinia x blakenana.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I suspect the ones that have seed pods are not in fact Bauhinia x blakeana, as this hybrid never produces seeds to my knowledge, only the true species produce seed pods.  Perhaps what others refer to as having a strong scent are the species plants as opposed to the sterile non-seeding  B x blakeana?

Perhaps I have made an inaccurate assumption that the only Bauhinia referred to as a Hong Kong orchid tree is Bauhinia x blakenana.

Yes, variegata and varigata var. candida are the ones my neighbor has, ...and that produce seed.. All, inc. Bauhinia X Blakeana have fragrant flowers.  While the intensity of the fragrance on Individual trees may vary,  as far as i have experienced, have never come across one ( legit Hong Kong, or either parent species ) that lacks any fragrance at all.

Species ( variegata / variegata var. candida, and purpurata ) are easy to tell apart from the cross.. Flowers on Bauhinia X blakeana are shaped a bit differently than those on the species, leaf size, and how they're arranged is slightly different between the hybrid / species,  and of course, seed pods ( on the species )

[Tracy]

On 12/26/2021 at 9:24 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Always strongest on warm / humid days

Perhaps this is the issue.  Warm and humid days in coastal Carlsbad don't correspond to the blooming season.  If it's humid that time of year (Autumn through Spring), it is due to a coastal marine layer and or fog, which suppresses the heat.  If it's hot that time of year, its more than likely also very dry.  Next time I'm over at my rental and assuming that the gardener hasn't trimmed off all the volunteers that come up from the old trunk, I'll have to see if any of the flowers smell.  I recall people visiting when it was in bloom and asking if it had any fragrance and walking over to that one, and I never recall anyone saying they could smell something, so it wasn't just my wife and me that never smelled a scent.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Perhaps this is the issue.  Warm and humid days in coastal Carlsbad don't correspond to the blooming season.  If it's humid that time of year (Autumn through Spring), it is due to a coastal marine layer and or fog, which suppresses the heat.  If it's hot that time of year, its more than likely also very dry.  Next time I'm over at my rental and assuming that the gardener hasn't trimmed off all the volunteers that come up from the old trunk, I'll have to see if any of the flowers smell.  I recall people visiting when it was in bloom and asking if it had any fragrance and walking over to that one, and I never recall anyone saying they could smell something, so it wasn't just my wife and me that never smelled a scent.

That's when the fragrance would be strongest / was detectable further away from bigger trees..  Fragrance on them could be detected up close on drier / cooler days as well.  Plumeria, and some other fragrant flowered things i have / are planted around town follow a similar pattern.

Back in San Jose, we'd typically get in trees ( usually from Monrovia, and/ or San Marcos growers < different nursery i'd worked at > ) about this time of year, or in spring when it is usually cool.. Any un-damaged, fully opened flowers on them ( many trees shipped lacked flowers due to recently being trimmed, or were just too small ) had that alluring scent.  Was a big selling point after the trees were done flowering. ( would never hang around in the nursery all that long regardless, lol )

Weird that the flowers on yours apparently lacks any fragrance..

[Tracy]

12 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Weird that the flowers on yours apparently lacks any fragrance..

Yesterday I had to stop at a financial institution on my way home that had a number of these planted in front (Carmel Valley area, just east of the 5 fwy from Del Mar).  When I came out, I walked over to one and tried sticking my nose right in a flower since they are all in full bloom.  No scent detectable.  It was windy, and cool for here (about 55 degrees) with occasional sprinkles.  I could smell the guavas I took to work for lunch, so I know I don't have Covid (haven't lost my sense of smell at least), so weather conditions must have something to do with it.  I thought about taking a photo, but that just wouldn't be useful as they don't convey smell . 

[BigFrond]

There is no fragrance whatsoever from the flowers or tree.  This tree is best lopped off all the way to the trunk (5 ft max).  Remove all branches each year right before the leaves are about to shed.  There will be few leaves to rake. The new leaves will be much bigger and the branches are more vibrant looking.  I may even lopped off the new branches 1 or 2 times to manage the tree size.  By doing this, the tree will be around 10 to 12 feet across.  Hehehe... it is best in your yard at this size.

[mnorell]

Maybe there is an olfactory difference going on here? I was just smelling my sister's tree in full bloom in Cardiff-by-the-Sea two days ago (overpowering!), I've been smelling the young tree we have in Rancho Mirage, where only three flowers carry a detectable scent ten feet away...I have smelled them in Hawai'i, Florida and California in heat, cold, humidity and dryness. Since we are all growing a piece of the same tree, there must be something else at work...if not our individual physiologies, maybe certain soils inhibit the fragrance? Could rootstock selection blunt the pungency of the perfume? We need Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on this one, methinks.

[BigFrond]

Hmmm... maybe some tree may have the fragrance.  However, none of mine ever have any smell, and I do not have covid either.  I wouldn't mine the fragrance though.

[Kailua_Krish]

11 hours ago, mnorell said:

Maybe there is an olfactory difference going on here? I was just smelling my sister's tree in full bloom in Cardiff-by-the-Sea two days ago (overpowering!), I've been smelling the young tree we have in Rancho Mirage, where only three flowers carry a detectable scent ten feet away...I have smelled them in Hawai'i, Florida and California in heat, cold, humidity and dryness. Since we are all growing a piece of the same tree, there must be something else at work...if not our individual physiologies, maybe certain soils inhibit the fragrance? Could rootstock selection blunt the pungency of the perfume? We need Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on this one, methinks.

I was gonna guess maybe Cali climate wasn't conducive but that busts that theory.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

My tree does not look as nice as yours but the hummingbirds don't mind.

[Xerarch]

Here is one at the South Texas Botanical Gardens a few days ago, lots of butterflies and hummingbirds were observed enjoying it. 
 

[violar]

My Hong Kong orchid tree is fragrant last year.

[Tracy]

The one I removed because it was always rubbing against a patio cover in my Carlsbad garden.  I make it a point when I'm out walking in the neighborhood and see one to go up and see if I can smell the fragrance everyone else seems to notice and even have recruited my wife to sniff.  For whatever reason, I still haven't walked by one that I can smell, yet I smell my Dendrobiums blooming and the spicy smell of Ravenea glauca male inflorescence is wafting through the backyard right now.

[Brian M]

here's our 25+' monster. Very beautiful flowers but geez is this one messy tree!

[bubba]

Jacksonville Beach! Wow!

[Brian M]

33 minutes ago, bubba said:

Jacksonville Beach! Wow!

Not sure how it does elsewhere, but its one tough tree and grows like a weed here. I usually give it a hard prune every year back to the property line but within a couple months it has a full canopy again.

[bubba]

Bravo!

[Silas_Sancona]

Real deal Hong Kong..  There's another, bigger one that looks really good atm a little further down on the same property, but can't park in the lot next to it ( is in the entrance way to an Assisted Living Community ) So may have to park across the street at a Dunkin Donuts and walk over to it to grab a couple shots..

Have to check and see if the the other Orchid Tree sp. in the neighborhood are at peak bloom yet ( should be )

[Silas_Sancona]

 ..The bigger Hong Kong at the same Assisted Living facility:

Various angles of the entire tree: Like the way it is kept somewhat short..  Only issue w/ specimens here is they need Iron tossed around them 2x a year, and probably some extra K/ Mag. otherwise you see trees that look " hungry " like these. If you look closely at the last picture, can see numerous Pygmy Dates in the beds under the enrty way canopy on the left.








Close ups of the flowers.. FYI: Flowers on both are quite fragrant..  Could detect the alluring fragrance as i got close to them, bigger one esp.

[Silas_Sancona]

Another large, nice Hong Kong a little closer to the house.. Folks were home, so didn't stop to sniff the tree..




Both forms of Bauhinia variegata, standard form, and B. v. var. candida / alba ( White Orchid Tree )  in a yard around the corner from the house.. Can see how they keep their trees nicely trimmed so that they are manageable. Aside from a little burn towards late summer, esp. if Monsoon season has been a bust, trees look pretty nice year round. They do produce tons of seed though.

[BigFrond]

Here's mine this year.  I sniffed at the flowers many times.  I took yuge sniffs too but no smell at all, bummer.

[Silas_Sancona]

Silver Creek area of East San Jose specimen, 9/ 28 / 2013.. Nice and stinky too

[Tracy]

Not mine anymore, but it was mine its first 7 years.  It is beginning to do its annual leaf drop so not looking great.  My wife and I planted it 34 years ago along with the Beaucarnia recuvartas in front of it.  Except for the hardscape I did along with these plants, most everything else came after we sold the house.  We were driving through the neighborhood and my wife didn't want to stop so this was a quick cellphone shot out the window.