I recently purchased and received Eloquent Cay and was wondering if it is normal for this one to open up over the course of 2 days. It sent up its premier scape and I noticed that each bud always looks like the bloom has hung up on the first day (1/2 to 3/4 opened - looks like a massively ruffled, tangled up ball) but on day 2, it finally unfurls the rest of the way and straightens itself out to form its flower. Is this normal for this cultivar or is it related to this being its first scape in my garden? Also, are there 2-day bloomers in commerce?

I'm not sure if that is normal for Eloquent Cay maybe someone who grows it can chime in. A few that come to mind as being partially open for a day or two are Planet Claire and Starbase Alpha.

Planet Claire is nocturnal and begins to open the afternoon before



By the next morning it is full size and a gorgeous extra large bloom!



Starbase Alpha is an odd one taking 4 days to completely open. This image shows 3 buds with different days growth.



The fourth day you have a full size bloom.

Those are stunning. I'll definitely be putting them on my wish-list/to buy list.

Sorry I am late to the thread, I missed it...

I used to grow a diploid double that was a full bloom, but each petal was kind of thin. I had fun crossing it into spiders... It was Maymont Double. It started opening one day, was open all the next day, most of the following day, and started to close the day after that.

I have that one and I love it.

Thank you so much for the info. Beautiful flower - I'll be adding it to my list, too.