Cattleya Helen P Dane 'Magnifica' AM/AOS

[NEslipper]

Original division of the plant from the Dane Estate. Registered by Dane 1941, this cross is notable because it pre-dated Bow Bells which was registered in 1945. The parents are Barbara Dane and Edithiae alba 'White Empress'. This particular Edithiae was also the plant used to make Bow Bells, so while this plant is not a direct Bow Bells descendent, there is definitely a familial resemblance. I have noticed that the growth habit seems to be quite different from the Bow Bells and Bob Betts in my collection, in particular it has extremely tall and slender pseudobulbs. It has been open ~3 days and has just started to smell very nice when sitting in the sun. This came to me as a bareroot division a couple of months ago, and it was in sheath - so I can't take full credit for getting it to bloom. It has rooted well, so when I noticed it pushing up some buds, I decided to let it bloom and see what it looked like. The petals recurve a bit more than in some of the other photos I have seen, but that may be because it is still settling into my grow area. I'm excited to see how it looks in the future on a well-established plant!

 

[Ozpaph]

lovely classic catt. Thanks for 'preserving' it.

 

[My Green Pets]

love it. wonder what crossing with a classic bow bells would produce.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Congrats on obtaining a part of history!

And I like MGP idea to cross onto Bow Bells with its pollen. Super whites!

 

[monocotman]

A lovely heirloom catt. Glad these are still being preserved,
David

 

[Guldal]

Adorable classic!

 

[NEslipper]

love it. wonder what crossing with a classic bow bells would produce.

Interesting idea! It looks like Rivermont registered that cross in 1955 as Cattleya North Star. I can’t find any awards to the grex, so I guess none of the flowers surpassed Bow Bells and Bob Betts? Maybe if the right Bow Bells were used though….

 

[Greenpaph]

Beautiful and I can smell it from here!

 

[PeteM]

Amazing that this bloomed off a recent bare root division. Great growing and thanks for sharing. Love the white Catts.

 

[tomp]

Magnifica is right!
there is nothing quite like a classic white. Big, succulent, pure, frilly. All the good stuff.
congratulations!

 

[NEslipper]

Amazing that this bloomed off a recent bare root division. Great growing and thanks for sharing. Love the white Catts.

I was surprised too, but these corsage-type plants were bred to be floriferous and vigorous. I suppose that’s why they have survived ~80 years and are still so rewarding to grow!

 

[Silverwhisp]

I can smell it from here!

 

[Paphman910]

Really beautiful! When I was young I read a book about white Cattleya hybrids and it started a life long addiction to orchid collecting!

 

[abax]

Lovely flowers

 

[NEslipper]

Flowers just dropped today. It started opening up in September, so it lasted a total of 5 weeks, which seems unusually long for a complex white hybrid. I wonder if it passes this trait on to its offspring?