BBC News - Rare orchid stanhopea blooms at Treborth Botanic Garden

Rare orchid has flowered unexpectedly amid unseasonably warm November temperatures, giving botanic garden visitors a chocolate scented treat.

Nigel Brown, curator of the Treborth in Gwynedd, said the stanhopea was unusual both in the wild and when cultivated.

Botanic garden staff think the very sunny autumn may have triggered the unexpected bloom.

The plant usually flowers every other year during the summer.

The garden recorded the highest temperature for November in north Wales in 25 years on Sunday when the thermometer hit 18.2C (64.7F)

At Treborth - which is on land bought by Bangor University in the 1960s - the plant has six-inch long leaves coming out of a "green ribbed potato-like" bulb which stores water similar to a cactus.

The flower then dangles below the whole plant and each flower is a couple of inches across.

Mr Brown believes there is a link between the unusual November weather and its appearance.

Small flower fills a garden with the look of balloons

Dwarf balloon flower

Every garden looks like a party when filled with balloons. A small flower blows up buds that look like balloons, which then open to star-shaped violet-blue flowers.

Botanical name: Platycodon grandiflorus "Sentimental Blue"

Why you want it: This little charmer makes a dandy border along a walkway or tucked in a container garden. It requires little maintenance, is very drought tolerant and blooms all summer.

Flowers: Puffy orbs that resemble hot-air balloons unfurl into bell-shaped flowers with pointed petals, 2 to 3 inches wide. Blooms the color of the summer sky at sunset start in May and continue through September.

Foliage: Dull green, oval leaves have pointed tips and serrated edges.

Size: Plants grow 8 to 10 inches tall and 12 to 15 inches wide.

Care: Although balloon flowers tolerate full sun and are drought tolerant, plants look best with afternoon shade and regular water in the summer. Cut off old flowers and fertilize once a month to keep the plant blooming.

Hardiness: This is a tough little plant, unfazed by extremes of heat or cold. Plants die back to the roots after the first hard freeze and are slow to emerge from dormancy in the spring. Don’t give up on them and dig up the roots. They will eventually sprout back in late spring.

Landscape uses: These flowers display best when planted off the ground in a pot, hanging basket or window box, but they make a nice display in drifts at the front of a bed.

MARY WILHITE OWNS BLUE MOON GARDENS, A GARDEN CENTER NEAR TYLER. VISIT WWW.BLUEMOONGARDENS.COM, OR CONTACT WILHITE AT MWILHITE@EMBARQMAIL.COM.

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Susan Smith is Archivist at Minnetrista and is a member of the Delaware County Master Gardeners. She can be reached at 213-3540, extension 144, or ssmith@minnetrista.net.