# Cattleya labiata coerulea ‘Blue Bells’



## DrLeslieEe (Nov 27, 2021)

A lovely blue blooming it’s little heart out. Sister of ‘Blue Balls’. Big flowers at 15.5 cm.


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## monocotman (Nov 27, 2021)

Stunning! Again great colour and form,
David


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## GuRu (Nov 27, 2021)

Lovely one, Leslie !  Large flowers, good colours and a good shape...that's all you need.


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## Guldal (Nov 27, 2021)

monocotman said:


> Stunning! Again great colour and form,
> David


 What can one add to these words of an expert, but acquiesce!


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## My Green Pets (Nov 27, 2021)

Wow, the second photo especially, how nice. And so blue looking!!


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## LO69 (Nov 27, 2021)

Wow!!! Deep Blue lip. Clap clap clap


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## Ozpaph (Nov 27, 2021)

beautiful. Any chance of a 'natural light' photo?


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## abax (Nov 27, 2021)

Lovely Catt. with a pearly look to the petals. What's the background of this plant?


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## tnyr5 (Nov 27, 2021)

...blue balls?


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## Just1more (Nov 28, 2021)

Gorgeous blooms! Love it!


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## dodidoki (Nov 28, 2021)

Fantastic flowers!!!!


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## southernbelle (Nov 28, 2021)

DrLeslieEe said:


> A lovely blue blooming it’s little heart out. Sister of ‘Blue Balls’. Big flowers at 15.5 cm.
> 
> View attachment 30772
> View attachment 30773
> ...


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 29, 2021)

Ozpaph said:


> beautiful. Any chance of a 'natural light' photo?


I will when the sun comes up... it's been snowing and cloudy this week.


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 29, 2021)

abax said:


> Lovely Catt. with a pearly look to the petals. What's the background of this plant?


This one came from a selfing of labiata coerulea 'Natural Wonder' AM/AOS in Hawaii.


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 29, 2021)

tnyr5 said:


> ...blue balls?


Yup, the sister plant has perfect round lip like a ball... thus the name.


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## terryros (Nov 29, 2021)

Leslie, I also have a plant that I got from Orchids Limited as ('Natural World' x self) but I can tell by the tag they did not do the cross, so maybe got a flask or some plants from the same source you did. My flower is very similar to yours. The growths are short with thick pseudobulbs. There has always been a thick double sheath that I need cut the top 1/3 of off early to allow the inflorescence to get out. I have bloomed it five times but only once in the fall (twice summer, twice winter) but that must be cultural on my part.


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 1, 2021)

terryros said:


> Leslie, I also have a plant that I got from Orchids Limited as ('Natural World' x self) but I can tell by the tag they did not do the cross, so maybe got a flask or some plants from the same source you did. My flower is very similar to yours. The growths are short with thick pseudobulbs. There has always been a thick double sheath that I need cut the top 1/3 of off early to allow the inflorescence to get out. I have bloomed it five times but only once in the fall (twice summer, twice winter) but that must be cultural on my part.


I would love to see a photo of your flower? Just to see the range. I will post 'Blue Balls' pic up when I find it.


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## terryros (Dec 1, 2021)

Here is a picture that I think was from the June 2020 blooming. I think the lighting conditions washed out the color a bit, but it wasn't a deep coerulea.


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 2, 2021)

terryros said:


> Here is a picture that I think was from the June 2020 blooming. I think the lighting conditions washed out the color a bit, but it wasn't a deep coerulea.
> View attachment 30870


Nice form and color, very similar to mine.

It is not typical for labiata to bloom in summer. Yours is an oddity.


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 2, 2021)

As requested, here are some pics in the natural light:


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## dodidoki (Dec 2, 2021)

Excellent shape and wonderful coloration.Just perfect to me.


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## terryros (Dec 2, 2021)

Leslie, my plant has very thick and compact pseudobulbs, very thick leaves, and the double sheath is also very thick, which is why I have to cut off the top 1/3 early enough or the inflorescence has trouble getting through. The flower substance is heavy. Plus rarely blooming in the fall has had me thinking something is off genetically, but I always doubt my culture until this last year. I will re-evaluate after the next bloom. The new growth has a sheath now so we will see when it blooms and what it is like in better culture conditions.


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## NEslipper (Dec 2, 2021)

Both are beautiful! Congrats!


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 2, 2021)

terryros said:


> Leslie, my plant has very thick and compact pseudobulbs, very thick leaves, and the double sheath is also very thick, which is why I have to cut off the top 1/3 early enough or the inflorescence has trouble getting through. The flower substance is heavy. Plus rarely blooming in the fall has had me thinking something is off genetically, but I always doubt my culture until this last year. I will re-evaluate after the next bloom. The new growth has a sheath now so we will see when it blooms and what it is like in better culture conditions.


The range of genetic inheritance allows the variability we see in our plants. I suspect yours may be more polyploid and therefore have thicker bulbs and heavier sheaths. This polyploidy may also trigger blooming in different times too.

Since it is in sheath now, it won't be long for blooms to pop up.


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## Greenpaph (Dec 3, 2021)

Spectacular flower and photos!


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