Bloom Event - Bratonia Shelob 'Tolkien' (2)

I hadn't realized quite how different the two (well actually three, but two of them are divisions of the same plant) of these would be. I have to say I'm very impressed by the one that has just opened. The flower is larger by about an inch, more neatly arranged on the flower spike, and they seem to be better coloured as well on a robust stem. There are eight flowers. The overall plant dimensions are larger, too, though it is a somewhat 'dirty grower' and always seems to be covered in black marks (probably a trait inherited from its Brassia parent; my Brassia seem to be always marked as well).

I think you'll agree the form is much better than my original plant (don't worry, I'll post a photo of the two together further down). As this plant has a varietal name 'Tolkien' I would imagine that there are other forms of Bratonia Shelob but I've never seen or heard of any.

a gratuitous flower close-up. I assume the third plant will be the same since they are divisions. More of these seem to be turning up in garden centres these days. When I first heard of it, plants were very uncommon and sold on eBay for silly money; now you can pick one up for £10 or less. I don't know if they were too expensive in the past or whether they are too cheap now. There are a few going on eBay as I type this so I might as well hang on to my plants.

The plant seems to have larger dimensions than my original plant. I had thought it just needed to do some growing but I don't think this is the case. The newer one shows more willingness to break double, and the third plant has two growing points.

Here is a side by side shot so we can compare the two. My original plant is on the left, the garden centre plant on the right. I think it is pretty obvious which one is better. There's really not a lot more to say about these, but I thought it was worth comparing the two.