Cycnoches cooperi is one of my all-time favorites. The flowers come in various shades. The plants tend to put out gobs of flowers. The scent is fascinating. The species is fairly rare. I remember when it first appeared in the trade it tended to be very high priced, and I had to wait until it was more in my price range. In recent years more people are propagating it and prices have moderated greatly, and it is generally more available, even on eBay. I have 4 or 5 of them, in different colors. This one is a saturated dark wine red/bronze, and appears almost black. Only when you place it in very bright light does its inner reddish purple show. Very impressive! The fragrance on these varies from plant to plant it seems. This one has a kind of musty sweet fragrance, a blit like moldering Welches Grape Juice. What I found impressive about this particular individual is that this season it put out a quite floriferous spray on just a 5 inch pseudobulb. This species, however, can grow to very hefty proportions-- up to about 2 feet tall I would say. And under those conditions this species can put out dozens of flowers. What more could one ask for?
My recommendation on growing this species is that you need to give it lots of atmospheric humidity, and be extremely careful watering as it approaches dormancy. Let it dry well between waterings, then when it drops its leaves, do not give it water until the new growth is well along and vigorous. This specimen is growing in pure medium grade Aliflor, a sort of round gravel of fired 'volcanic' clay. It is in a clear plastic pot with a single drain hole about one inch up the side of the pot. This tends to treat the watering as semi-hydroponic, and a little water remains in the base of the pot. I plan to leave it for more than one year in this material. It seems to like this treatment.
