Lc. Cynthia 'Model' AM/AOS, FCC/AOS

[NEslipper]

I'm having a disappointing year for my catts, in addition to blasting C. Bob Betts 'Lines' AM/AOS, I just saw that buds on C. trianae var. alba 'Broomhills' and Rlc. George King 'Serendipity' AM/AOS were also cooked at various stages of development. This plant is a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating year. Registered by Charlesworth in 1927, Lc. Cynthia is the cross C. Schroderae x C. Enid (1898). The parental Schroderae in this case is not the species, but confusingly a hybrid of the same name. The individual 'Model' is from the original grex, and was awarded its AM in 1933 and FCC in 1934. This is an original, virus-free division I obtained from Waldor, who acquired their mother plant from Vacherot & Lecoufle in France. It's blooming this year with seven 18.5cm flowers on two spikes, really quite spectacular. According to Waldor, a well-grown plant can carry 6 flowers per stem. It has a pleasing, if slightly lighter cattleya scent. The plant is an absolute beast, the leaves and pseudobulbs easily reach 55+ cm, but it's really worth the space to see it in bloom. It's certainly earning its keep in my eyes. They really don't breed them like this anymore, and for a nearly 100 year old plant it still has tremendous flower quality, with upright dorsals and overlapping segments, and it's vigorous and floriferous to boot. It was clearly bred to be a cut-flower, but these large, floriferous plants seem to have fallen out of fashion, hopefully, they will cycle back into fashion at some point!

 

[Ozpaph]

That is a great display.
and thank-you for the history.

 

[monocotman]

Wonderful show!

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Gorgeous blooms on a nice heritage plant.

 

[Tony]

It was clearly bred to be a cut-flower, but these large, floriferous plants seem to have fallen out of fashion, hopefully, they will cycle back into fashion at some point!

This is just the sort of plant that finally led me to develop an interest in Catts after mostly ignoring them for the last 30 years, I'm really enjoying the species, primaries, and historic plants.

 

[monocotman]

It’s a stunner! I lost my plant before I’d really found out how to grow them.

 

[NEslipper]

This is just the sort of plant that finally led me to develop an interest in Catts after mostly ignoring them for the last 30 years, I'm really enjoying the species, primaries, and historic plants.

I find the historic plants particularly rewarding to grow. They're still around for a reason, they're incredibly vigorous and free-flowering, traits that were really selected for in breeding for cut flowers in England and the Northeastern US well before the advent of LED grow lights. The problem is that there are still too many for my windowsills, and they take up a lot of space.....!

 

[NEslipper]

It’s a stunner! I lost my plant before I’d really found out how to grow them.

I hope you're able to source another, it's really been rewarding to grow and flower!

 

[tomp]

BEAUTIFUL AND CONGRATULATIONS !!
I am also a fan of the big old fat classic style. Your plant made my morning !

 

[Arne]

I'm having a disappointing year for my catts, in addition to blasting C. Bob Betts 'Lines' AM/AOS, I just saw that buds on C. trianae var. alba 'Broomhills' and Rlc. George King 'Serendipity' AM/AOS were also cooked at various stages of development. This plant is a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating year. Registered by Charlesworth in 1927, Lc. Cynthia is the cross C. Schroderae x C. Enid (1898). The parental Schroderae in this case is not the species, but confusingly a hybrid of the same name. The individual 'Model' is from the original grex, and was awarded its AM in 1933 and FCC in 1934. This is an original, virus-free division I obtained from Waldor, who acquired their mother plant from Vacherot & Lecoufle in France. It's blooming this year with seven 18.5cm flowers on two spikes, really quite spectacular. According to Waldor, a well-grown plant can carry 6 flowers per stem. It has a pleasing, if slightly lighter cattleya scent. The plant is an absolute beast, the leaves and pseudobulbs easily reach 55+ cm, but it's really worth the space to see it in bloom. It's certainly earning its keep in my eyes. They really don't breed them like this anymore, and for a nearly 100 year old plant it still has tremendous flower quality, with upright dorsals and overlapping segments, and it's vigorous and floriferous to boot. It was clearly bred to be a cut-flower, but these large, floriferous plants seem to have fallen out of fashion, hopefully, they will cycle back into fashion at some point!
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Fantastic plant and great post!

 

[PeteM]

Stunning, definitely a bright spot. thanks for sharing!

 

[NEslipper]

Thanks for the nice comments! Just an update, I was at home during a nice sunny day, and the scent was actually quite strong in the afternoon, so it's slightly different from some of my other cattleya hybrids which tend to be more fragrant in the morning. Also, I've included a "top-down" photo of one of the spikes on my coffee table to give a sense of the size of the plant. For the record, my coffee table is not that small, the plant is just that big.