Brassavola 'Little Stars,' a Winter Delight

It might be a cold January day outside, but Brassavola 'Little Stars' is happily blooming on a window sill in my kitchen. It's a hybrid of Brassavola nodosa, often called the Lady-of-the-Night, and Brassavola cordata. Like it nodosa parent, Little Stars has a citrusy fragrance at night.

The flowers are white, with large white lips and long narrow sepals and petals. It blooms freely and can have as many as five or six flowers on each spike. The leaves are tubular or terate , reflecting its adaptation to somewhat dry growing conditions.

Little Stars prefers growing conditions similar to Cattleyas -- medium to high intensity indirect light. They tolerate low humidity quite well and prefer to dry out a bit between waterings. This orchid can be grown in a pot or attached to a piece of bark.

No matter how you decide to grow it, Little Stars is a beauty.