# Cattleya...First love.



## LO69 (Nov 27, 2021)

Hello orchid lovers, I wondered what was for you the spark which pushed you to starting an orchid collection? 
For me no doubt a giant strongly sweet smelling dark magenta coloured Cattleya!!!
When I entered that GH, many years ago,and saw that heavenly beauty which hit most of mine senses, I was sure I had to have one! And so It was.


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## monocotman (Nov 27, 2021)

It was a photo of dendrobium densiflorum in full bloom in a copy of National Geographic when I was about 11.
It was over 50 years ago and I am still besotted!
David


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## GuRu (Nov 27, 2021)

It was a visit in an orchid nursery nearby where I lived in these days around 1980 (last millenium) and I think I bought a white Phalaenopsis maybe amabilis.


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## Guldal (Nov 27, 2021)

It started with the almost proverbial Phalaenopsis - actually, two of them from IKEA, that I somehow succeeded in not killing off. They seemed to thrive in the light of my 5th floor window sill. During a summer vacation, I borrowed a book about growing orchids from the local library, and visited Hans Christiansen's nursery in Fredensborg.... and off I was down the slipper(y) slope...
At some early point of my "career" a colleague at work, supposedly a bit fatigued by me talking *on* her about orchids, proposed that I joined an orchid society. I remember clearly my immediate reaction to that: I'm not that much of a nerd! And here we are 8-10 years later, and me having just accepted the post as vice chairman of our local branch of The Danish Orchid Society!


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## LO69 (Nov 27, 2021)

Back then I clearly remember what sort of excitement a simple green tiny root tip or a new shoot just emerging from the pseudobulb was.
I also had joined an orchid society which was situated 40 km. away from Milan, in a beautiful location, a wide park with old lebanum cedars, camelia japonica, azaleas etc. 
There was a fascinating GH dug in the rock with lot of orchids everywhere. Once a month we met there to talk and watch the new flowered orchids. Still have beautiful memories...


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## SouthPark (Nov 27, 2021)

LO69 said:


> Hello orchid lovers, I wondered what was for you the spark which pushed you to starting an orchid collection?



Your wonderful collection of photographs sums up the reason extremely well. The colours - the shapes - the variety - the way that they look ---- their flowers, as well as the whole plant - including roots --- and their various behaviours.

I was immediately impressed with orchid flowers the first time I saw them (in somebody's greenhouse) ------ maybe pretty much like a lot of us orchid growers here. Also was impressed with colours and shapes of carnivorous plants - including Nepenthes. It's not unusual in that many people that like orchids will also like carnivorous plants - and vice versa. And some like all sorts of other plants too. But --- in this thread - it's about what was the spark. The spark is just that - orchids are fascinating to watch - and they have fascinating features.

My favourite individual orchids are Rlc. Memoria Helen Brown - such as *Link1* and *Link2* and *Link3*.

When combined with other very beautiful and interesting orchids in our collections - we are able to have our own home orchid shows - so that we can just watch these wonderful plants leisurely at home.

And when we combine all our pics in orchid forums such as this one ------ we are then able to go to the 'best' (open 24 hour, and free entry too) orchid shows in the world. Our orchid-forum photograph collections combined - make for an impressive orchid show display.

In the past, I assumed that I actually needed a green-house to grow orchids. But - very fortunately - it turned out that it is absolutely not necessary to grow many sorts of orchids (such as Cattleya) in a green-house ------ well, at least not in tropical North Queensland, where most of my orchids just grow under a balcony - sheltered from the rain - which led to the understanding of ----- orchids provided with suitable growing conditions will do just fine - provided we keep attacking organisms under control - or prevent them from doing anything bad to begin with.

Some orchid flowers do indeed have beautiful attractive scents/fragrance. That is certainly an added wonderful feature - even though scent/fragrance isn't a factor for my own liking of orchids.


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## Ozpaph (Nov 27, 2021)

whoa!!!


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## abax (Nov 27, 2021)

The spark??? Attending an orchid society show quite by accident...or maybe fate.


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## LO69 (Nov 28, 2021)

abax said:


> The spark??? Attending an orchid society show quite by accident...or maybe fate.


I strongly believe that anything happens because It has to happen!


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## orchid527 (Nov 28, 2021)

Was working at a research facility when a co-worker from the Philippines brought a phalaenopsis to work. I was stunned by the beauty of the flower. Our home had a sunroom with a lot of foliage plants and it took about 6 months to convert to mostly orchids. That was 40 years and three greenhouses ago. I still get excited when a bud is opening for the first time. In retrospect, the most surprising thing has been that there is always something new to learn. I suspect I will be growing orchids until the very end, which I hope is more than 10 years away, since I just made some new multi-flora crosses. Mike


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## SouthPark (Nov 28, 2021)

LO69 said:


> I strongly believe that anything happens because It has to happen!



Murphy's Law heheheheh


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## southernbelle (Nov 28, 2021)

I grew phals effortlessly on windowsills in 3 different homes over 15-20 years and had about 10. This was way back when the first two or three were $75 each!! Then I saw Lc. Dinard ‘Blue Heaven’ as a showcased plant in an orchid nursery nearby. It had 15 magnificent flowers and I was shell shocked and had to have it!! Brought it home and almost killed it before it finished blooming… I took it back to the grower who divided it into 3 plants (it was huge)! I kept buying catts in bloom over the next 4 years, yet nothing would rebloom for me. Down to 1 of the 3 ‘Blue Heaven’ divisions left and with nothing cattleya reblooming, I decided to give all the catts back to the grower. He suggsted I look into LED lights. The rest is history…. Within 2 weeks of growing under lights my catts were all in spike! All they needed was light!! I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited!! I was hooked. Four or so years later I’m at just under 100 plants (it’s a very slippery slope)—catts mostly, paphs, phrags and a couple of the original phals. I’ve learned most the hard way except for great mentoring from members of this group. That one surviving ‘Blue Heaven’ division is now in an 8” pot and will soon be divided, as that’s the largest pot size my room can handle. It’s still my emotional favorite. Thankful for all of you, but mostly terryros who taught me almost everything I know about growing under lights. Oh and i forgot to mention, I got my first HCC for Paph. delenatii ‘Deborah’s Delight’ (3N) HCC/AOS (‘Pink Lady’ x ‘Deerwood’ AM/AOS (4N)) at the D.C. Paph Forum a couple of years ago (last one before COVID) and was totally surprised and thankful!!


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## LadySlipper (Nov 28, 2021)

Oh my... Incredibly beautiful and the colors are so amazing.


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## DrLeslieEe (Nov 29, 2021)

Great collection LO69.

It was my grandmother's multigrowth Phalaenopsis amabilis with 15 spikes, hanging and growing over the river edge in our wooden house on stilts, in Borneo! It was so majestic it took my breath away at the age of 7. An addiction was born that day lol.


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## GuRu (Nov 29, 2021)

orchid527 said:


> .......I suspect I will be growing orchids until the very end, which I hope is more than 10 years away.......



So will I do and hopefully will get 10+ years ?


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## LO69 (Nov 29, 2021)

Thank you all for your kind words and exciting past memories!


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## SouthPark (Nov 29, 2021)

DrLeslieEe said:


> It was so majestic it took my breath away at the age of 7.



I'm 7 right now.


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## LO69 (Nov 29, 2021)

SouthPark said:


> I'm 7 right now.


True!! Our passion keep us young.


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## LO69 (Nov 29, 2021)

The show must go on!


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## LO69 (Nov 29, 2021)

Last picture Is of one of the oldest orchid that's still with me. The best velvet magenta I ever had, camera can't get its true colour.
She Is Slc. Natalie Canipelli 'moonshot' AM/AOS 
After all this time she has lost vigour but still wants to be loved!


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## LadySlipper (Nov 29, 2021)

They are all lovely and colors are great still. Thanks for sharing.


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## SouthPark (Nov 29, 2021)

A most wonderful orchid show! Thanks very much for loading those photos! If anybody's flame has gone out for some reason - then seeing these pics will put it back on. Wonderful to see.


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## JLOG (Nov 30, 2021)

Thanks for sharing!! They are wonderfull!! And love the little history of all of yours. Each one has a charming starting, and remember its beginning with happiness


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## GuRu (Nov 30, 2021)

LO69 said:


> The show must go on!



.....and it's a great show !


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## LO69 (Nov 30, 2021)

SouthPark said:


> A most wonderful orchid show! Thanks very much for loading those photos! If anybody's flame has gone out for some reason - then seeing these pics will put it back on. Wonderful to see.


I think in our life we all experience bad periods but I'm sure it's a never ending flame where Is true love and passion!!
Orchids are a soul medicine!


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## LO69 (Nov 30, 2021)

southernbelle said:


> I grew phals effortlessly on windowsills in 3 different homes over 15-20 years and had about 10. This was way back when the first two or three were $75 each!! Then I saw Lc. Dinard ‘Blue Heaven’ as a showcased plant in an orchid nursery nearby. It had 15 magnificent flowers and I was shell shocked and had to have it!! Brought it home and almost killed it before it finished blooming… I took it back to the grower who divided it into 3 plants (it was huge)! I kept buying catts in bloom over the next 4 years, yet nothing would rebloom for me. Down to 1 of the 3 ‘Blue Heaven’ divisions left and with nothing cattleya reblooming, I decided to give all the catts back to the grower. He suggsted I look into LED lights. The rest is history…. Within 2 weeks of growing under lights my catts were all in spike! All they needed was light!! I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited!! I was hooked. Four or so years later I’m at just under 100 plants (it’s a very slippery slope)—catts mostly, paphs, phrags and a couple of the original phals. I’ve learned most the hard way except for great mentoring from members of this group. That one surviving ‘Blue Heaven’ division is now in an 8” pot and will soon be divided, as that’s the largest pot size my room can handle. It’s still my emotional favorite. Thankful for all of you, but mostly terryros who taught me almost everything I know about growing under lights. Oh and i forgot to mention, I got my first HCC for Paph. delenatii ‘Deborah’s Delight’ (3N) HCC/AOS (‘Pink Lady’ x ‘Deerwood’ AM/AOS (4N)) at the D.C. Paph Forum a couple of years ago (last one before COVID) and was totally surprised and thankful!!


I long to admire your oldish Cattleya Dinard 'Blue Heaven' so please share a shot when flowering time comes!


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## BrucherT (Nov 30, 2021)

DrLeslieEe said:


> Great collection LO69.
> 
> It was my grandmother's multigrowth Phalaenopsis amabilis with 15 spikes, hanging and growing over the river edge in our wooden house on stilts, in Borneo! It was so majestic it took my breath away at the age of 7. An addiction was born that day lol.


This comment took my breath away. You hail from Paradise???? Amazing. I hope there’s a photo of her amabilis!


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## SouthPark (Nov 30, 2021)

Guldal said:


> actually, two of them from IKEA, that I somehow succeeded in not killing off.



Good quality!!!!! The assembly instructions/procedure could be improved though!


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 2, 2021)

BrucherT said:


> This comment took my breath away. You hail from Paradise???? Amazing. I hope there’s a photo of her amabilis!


Yes I’m from the home of sanderianums!! And roths!

We lost many old photographs of it. Maybe I’ll find them when I visit next.


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## BrucherT (Dec 3, 2021)

I am agog. In awe. I own all the Osa Johnson books, since childhood; I know they’re colonizer trash but they also describe the land so vividly as to make me feel an affinity for the place. My most cherished plant is that wild-collected roth. So interesting that that’s your homeland! I hope you find the photos!!


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## TropiCool (Dec 4, 2021)

For me, it was seeing a picture of Phrag pearcei in the 1970s. A few days after, I had a vivid dream where a giant pearcei blossom was hovering over my shoulder and following me around, while a deep voice kept intoning the Latin name. I kid you not. I became obsessed, tracked it down to J and L Orchids in Connecticut. Of course I bought one.

I was 19 years old at the time, and within a couple of years I had set up my first business, growing, breeding and selling orchids.


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## JLOG (Dec 9, 2021)

TropiCool said:


> For me, it was seeing a picture of Phrag pearcei in the 1970s. A few days after, I had a vivid dream where a giant pearcei blossom was hovering over my shoulder and following me around, while a deep voice kept intoning the Latin name. I kid you not. I became obsessed, tracked it down to J and L Orchids in Connecticut. Of course I bought one.
> 
> I was 19 years old at the time, and within a couple of years I had set up my first business, growing, breeding and selling orchids.


I like your history!! It’s like your dream show you the way


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## Guldal (Dec 9, 2021)

JLOG said:


> It’s like your dream show you the way


Dream? It was, darn, the sacred Spirit of Pearcei itself!


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## My Green Pets (Dec 10, 2021)

My local Kroger (grocery store) in Kentucky started carrying white, pink, and colored lip Phals in their floral department in the 1990s. The flowers were absolutely magical to me. They were like some enchanted plant from middle earth. My mom bought me a pink one, which i killed in a matter of months. I killed a couple more after that and decided they were too hard to grow. Didn't touch another orchid for 20 years until a significant other bought me one to my horror! But luckily by that time the internet and orchid forums were a thing! So i learned quickly and now am completely devoted to my green pets!


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## JLOG (Dec 10, 2021)

Guldal said:


> Dream? It was, darn, the sacred Spirit of Pearcei itself!


Hahahahaha, some scary movies start with that plot


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## TropiCool (Dec 10, 2021)

Guldal said:


> Dream? It was, darn, the sacred Spirit of Pearcei itself!


Well.....to be clear....absolutely so!!!


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## TropiCool (Dec 10, 2021)

JLOG said:


> I like your history!! It’s like your dream show you the way


Certainly felt that way at the time, and looking back from now, no regrets in following that path!


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## shariea (Dec 10, 2021)

For me, it was completely accidental. In about 1992, a friend of a friend of my Mom had passed away, and the family was trying to "unload" his greenhouse full of neglected orchids. I ended up with a mixed bag of Cattleyas, a couple of which actually lived, and a couple of which actually lived and bloomed! A harrisoniana and a giant magenta Cattleya with a tag full of ( ) and X's, most of which are still not registered! Sadly, after my Mom had a brain aneurysm and was disabled, I lost them all (no time for plants at all during that period of my life). My next "1st orchid" was an Oncidium 'Jungle Monarch' that was a birthday present from my sister just before Mom died in 2013. I've never looked back!


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## Guldal (Dec 10, 2021)

LO69 said:


> Hello orchid lovers, I wondered what was for you the spark which pushed you to starting an orchid collection?


I really enjoy this thread! It's both interesting, entertaining and sometimes touching (as the one above) to hear the stories about the first spark that ignited the interest, yeah, sometimes set a frigging fire ablaze! Interesting also to get acquainted with new aspects of people, one in these page has shared the passion with and corresponded with, often for years!

Splendid idea, splendid initiative, LO69! 

Kind regards,
Jens, Copenhagen


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## LO69 (Dec 10, 2021)

Guldal said:


> I really enjoy this thread! It's both interesting, entertaining and sometimes touching (as the one above) to hear the stories about the first spark that ignited the interest, yeah, sometimes set a frigging fire ablaze! Interesting also to get acquainted with new aspects of people, one in these page has shared the passion with and corresponded with, often for years!
> 
> Splendid idea, splendid initiative, LO69!
> 
> ...


Jens, thanks a lot for your warm words!!!
It's a great pleasure for me as I guess for all the members who partecipated in this thread to know something more deep and personal about us.


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## LO69 (Dec 11, 2021)

Blc. Melody Fair Carol....One of my best semi-alba ibrid. Great substance and size I love the contrast of the pristine white petals and sepals and the royal velvet magenta of the lip.


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## LO69 (Dec 11, 2021)

2 more flowers to open!


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## DrLeslieEe (Dec 12, 2021)

LO69 said:


> Blc. Melody Fair Carol....One of my best semi-alba ibrid. Great substance and size I love the contrast of the pristine white petals and sepals and the royal velvet magenta of the lip.


I once saw as a kid a picture of the huge semialba Lc. Persepolis 'Splendor' AM/AOS in a Taiwan Cattleya catalogue and was enchanted! I knew I would grow cattleyas the rest of my life once I saw another Cattleya pic of the two-toned Slc. Empress of Mercury 'Gwoluen' AM/AOS. I just didn't know that other orchid stowaways would tagged along as well lol.


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## LadySlipper (Dec 12, 2021)

LO69 said:


> 2 more flowers to open!


Beautiful, thanks for sharing.


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