Cattleya lueddemanniana

[NEslipper]

A first for me, this is the first time I have bloomed this species! Now I can finally see what all the fuss is about! The cross is 'Big Pink' x 'Dark Pink' from Orchids Limited. I purchased it a few years ago, and up until 1-2 weeks ago the cross was still for sale on their website, albeit for significantly more than I paid for this plant. It's certainly not going to win any quality awards, but I am completely in love with the lip, the veining and splash pattern over the yellow and white is exactly what I was hoping for. It's also the first cattleya I've bloomed that seems to resemble the old botanical prints where the flowers are comically large for the size of the plant. The two blooms dwarf the plant. Very light fragrance, that to-be-honest is not my favorite, hopefully it improves as the flowers age. Now if I could only get some of my select divisions to bloom...

All my cattleyas currently in bloom from left to right C. lueddemanniana, C. Cynthia 'Model' FCC/AOS, C. Joyce Hannington 'SOG'

 

[monocotman]

Super clone and lovely display!

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Congrats on first lueddie bloom. It’s large too. Form can improve over next few years so don’t give up award potential just yet.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Love the lip, and that's quite a trio!

 

[Ozpaph]

'softer' lip markings on this one.

 

[NEslipper]

This lueddemanniana is in bloom again on it's second growth for the year. I seem to remember Chadwick's book mentioning that this species rarely flowers on the late summer growth in the US and UK, so I'm glad this clone seems to be pretty willing to bloom now that it seems to have adjusted to my conditions. Still waiting for any of my select divisions to even throw a sheath..... Only 1 flower instead of 2 on this late summer blooming, but it smells fantastic, and it is absolutely enormous. The NS is about 16cm, which doesn't really do it justice, the petals are 9.5cm so if it were perfectly flat it would be 19cm. It's really impressive in person, the flower dwarfs the plant.

To give you sense of the flower to plant ratio:


At home on the windowsill:

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Lueddies can flower twice a year if there’s enough light and multiple growths.

You get to be the lucky one .

 

[Guldal]

Wonderful, NE!