# Cattleya walkeriana 'Kenny' FCC/AOS



## John M (May 14, 2015)

This plant is also known as Cattleya Snow Blind 'Kenny'. It is suspected of being a hybrid. If it is, it's mostly walkeriana; but, the flower count is way too high (up to 6 on a single stem), and the plant growth habit is much taller with very skinny pseudobulbs, as compared to other walkerianas. Although, the flower does look like the real deal; but, that is only if you compare it to other "walkerianas" that also have lineage questions haunting them.....like walkeriana v. alba 'Pendentive'. Also, the fragrance is decidedly citrusy; very unlike the floral fragrance of my walkeriana v. coerulea 'Cho-Jo', which is unquestionally pure walkeriana. Then of course, there's the very free blooming habit of this plant. That is not what most people find to be the case with other walkerianas. 

Regardless of it's true identity, it's a famous, vigorous grower and a prolific bloomer, making it a joy to have in a collection. It blooms 2 or 3 times a year for me in my greenhouse despite being dark from mid-October through to mid-February. This plant started out for me about 8 years ago as a 2 growth front lead division from a local orchid friend. 

The flowers are VERY thick and heavy/waxy/hard and they last well. Sometimes it blooms from a leafless pseudobulb and sometimes, when it's received too much water before and during the development of the new growth, it blooms from a leafed pseudobulb. In nature, walkeriana blooms during and at the end of the dry season; so, the plant doesn't use up energy and water to make a leaf on the flowering pseudobulb. 

The new growth reaches upwards, as any normal Cattleya does; but, as the many buds develop, they get heavy and slowly weigh down the growth to the point that it becomes pendant by the time the flowers open. Sometimes I support the new growths as they grow, so that they remain upright; but, this time I did not. I like the "wild" look.


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## troy (May 14, 2015)

Very nice!!


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## Erythrone (May 14, 2015)

What a cutie!


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## Wendy (May 14, 2015)

That's a beauty John. Any extra bits of this hanging around? :drool:


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## Paul (May 14, 2015)

fantastic bloom, even if not pure walkeriana!!!


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## John M (May 14, 2015)

Thanks everyone. 

Wendy, no extra bits yet. I'll keep you in mind, though.


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## SlipperFan (May 14, 2015)

What a beauty!


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## Migrant13 (May 15, 2015)

Wow....so well grown and flowered. Is mounting a preferred way to grow these guys?


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## JeanLux (May 15, 2015)

Excellent, bravo John!!!! Jean


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## John M (May 15, 2015)

Thanks again.

Yes, C. walkeriana and any hybrids with a lot of walkeriana in their lineage, prefer to be mounted. Or, I sometimes pot walkeriana divisions in 4" clay pots and put in only 3 or 4 big chunks of Maple bark. The chunks are about the size and shape of a standard business card (give or take); but, much thicker of course. A walkeriana potted like this can almost be considered to be bare-root, in the pot. The interior of the pot will be completely dry by nighttime, if it was watered in the a.m. and that's what walkeriana likes......a good, thorough drenching and then a quick drying off.


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## paphioboy (May 15, 2015)

Gorgeous plant and blooms..


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## Ozpaph (May 15, 2015)

Does everyone own one of these except me?
Thanks for the useful cultural advice


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## Brabantia (May 15, 2015)

Vert nice flowering. I have also some C.walkeriana C. nobilior and C.mesquitea.


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## orchideya (May 15, 2015)

It's beautiful. 
And thank you for the info John. I just got a BS plant of this clone from Orchis in March.
I potted it into clay pot with chunky pieces of CHC, and it just started new PB and a fat new root


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## OrchidIsa (May 15, 2015)

Beautiful one John! :clap:


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## eaborne (May 17, 2015)

Beautiful photos and very well grown John!


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## Happypaphy7 (May 18, 2015)

Beautiful!!!


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## Stone (May 18, 2015)

Hi John, Yes I would definitly consider this clone a hybrid. Probably with C. loddigesii back-crossed to walkeriana or something like that. Pendentive is closer to walkeriana in habit but I still believe it too is a hybrid with loddigesii blood in there somwhere.
The history of Pendentive is rather vague but from what I can make out it came from 1 or 2 generations of selfings with the ''Orchidglade'' clone which I believe was found growing wild in Brazil? Do you know any more?

So if that is the case, it would make Pendentive and possibly Kenny natural hybrids, which I personally consider as valid (botanically) as the species.

I have made a cross with Pendentive as the pod parent and coerulea as the pollen parent. They are getting close to flowering size (maybe 18 months??)
I am hoping for well shaped blues but as both coerulea and alba are recessive genes they might all turn out as pink?

I have also made a cross with coerulea and a flamea Divina. Still in pod. I will save some seed for you?

I am also waiting for my coerulea Edward x Mont Azul to flower so I can get into some blue breeding:drool:

Viva walkerinana!
http://www.orchid.url.tw/myflowers/cattleya/cattleyawalkerianavaralba.htm


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## naoki (May 22, 2015)

That website has lots of nice photos, Mike!

I think you are right about the lineage, Mike. According to this:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community/cattleya-alliance/32817-walkeriana-kenny.html
'Kenny' is 'Pendentive' x 'Hunabu.RTM'. 'Pendentive' is the kid from wild collected 'Orchidglade' x self. The study referred by Harry of H&R (catwalker808) was interesting, but not conclusive.

I'm a bit curious about this, so I'm getting 'Pendentive' x self flask from Troy Meyer to see how much segregation in traits occurs if 'Ocrhidglad' was a real hybrid.


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## Stone (May 23, 2015)

naoki said:


> That website has lots of nice photos, Mike!
> 
> I think you are right about the lineage, Mike. According to this:
> http://www.orchidboard.com/community/cattleya-alliance/32817-walkeriana-kenny.html
> ...



I think pendentive has been selfed a few times before. As far as I know the seedlings all look rather similar. I don't know if ''dorothy'' is one of its seedlings but it looks almost exactly the same as pendentive. I have both and I need to look at the lable to tell them apart.


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## Kawarthapine (May 25, 2015)

Very nice plant.

Love the purple blush along with the lime green and powder white.

I also like the more natural, rambling form...it is very complimentary, as are your pics!

Thanks for sharing.


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## John M (May 25, 2015)

Thanks for all the nice/interesting comments, everyone!


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## naoki (May 26, 2015)

Stone said:


> I think pendentive has been selfed a few times before. As far as I know the seedlings all look rather similar. I don't know if ''dorothy'' is one of its seedlings but it looks almost exactly the same as pendentive. I have both and I need to look at the lable to tell them apart.



That's interesting. So it indicates that the Orchidglade was a late generation natural hybrid (i.e., not the recent cross of two parental species), or it is actually a mutant of C. walkeriana. It is interesting that the offsprings inherit the top flowering character (even after backcrossing to C. walkeriana).


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## Paphman910 (May 26, 2015)

John that is a nice one! So many flower! Too bad there are speculation about the origin of this plant. I think we all like vigorous free flowering walkeriana!


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## John M (May 26, 2015)

naoki said:


> It is interesting that the offsprings inherit the top flowering character (even after backcrossing to C. walkeriana).



This plant blooms both from leafless and leafed growths. My walkerianas do the same. It all depends on how much water they get. During times of drought, as in nature, no leaf is on the flowering growth. When water is more frequent, the flowering growth produces a leaf as well.


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## naoki (May 26, 2015)

Thank you for the info, John! That is very cool. I didn't know the water influence the flower pattern, but it does make sense!


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## Ozpaph (May 26, 2015)

great info. Thanks


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## Leo_5313 (May 31, 2015)

These are the nicest pics I have ever seen. I really like it mounted. Superb!


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## Lanmark (May 31, 2015)

Very nice!


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