Rhyncholaelia glauca

This species is also know as the Glaucous Beaked Laelia and is found growing in Guatemala and Mexico. Rhyncholaelia glauca grows on trees in mountain forests from near sea level to 1500 meters. The original plants were discovered growing near Veracruz, Mexico.
Plants are medium-sized and look a lot like unifoliate Cattleya orchids. This species was thought to be a Cattleya species until it flowered when it was first imported to England.

Flower grow to 5 inches (12 cm) wide. The flower of Rhyncholaelia glauca has apple green petals and a white, heart-shaped lip. The margin of the lip is complete, not heavily fringed like Rhyncholaelia digbyana. Occasionally, some flowers will have a pink cast. Flowers are very fragrant and have a sweet scent. Flowers have a heavy waxy substance and are long-lived. Blooms in late Spring to Summer.

Provide warm or intermediate growing temperatures. This plant grows best mounted on cork bark, tree fern plaques, or slatted baskets. Provide high light and good air circulation. The roots need to dry between watering. Few hybrids have been made using this species.

Schomburgkia crispa

Schomburgkia crispa is also known as the Curled Schomburgkia.

Schomburgkia crispa is found growing high up in trees where it received nearly full sunlight and breezes throughout the day. Schomburgkia crispa is found growing in Venezuela, Surinam, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.

Plants are large. The elongated pseudobulbs of Schomburgkia crispa are topped with 2 or 3 leathery leaves.

Schomburgkia crispa has beautiful, medium-sized glossy maroon flowers with heavily undulated petals. The lip is narrow and lighter in color with a yellow triangular blotch near the tip. Many flowers are clustered at the end of a very tall erect or arching flower spike. Blooms in summer and fall.

Schomburgkia crispa was the first species of Schomburgkia to be described and is the type species for the genus. Schomburgkia crispa grows best mounted on a strudy hardwood mount or in large slotted baskets. Provide as much light as possible; schomburgkia's require more light than most cattleya orchids to flower. Provide intermediate to warm growing temperatures.

For more information:

• Cattleya Orchid Source
• Cattleya Source Wiki

Cattleya dormaniana

This species is also known as Dorman's Cattleya and is native to the jungles of Brazil. Cattleya dormaniana is found growing Organ Mountains in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro thriving at moderate elevation in humid conditions.

Cattleya dormaniana is a medium-sized bifoliate Cattleya and has slender, cane-like pseudobulbs with two narrow leaves on top.

Flowers grow to 3 inch (8 cm) and are fragrant. The richly colored bronze flowers of Cattleya dormaniana are pleasantly accented with a ruby or magenta lip. Only one or two flowers are produced by each growth.  Blooms in autumn.

Provide intermediate to warm orchid growing temperatures for best results. In its native environment, summer days average 82-84 F (28-29 C), and nights average 71-72 F (22 C), with a diurnal range of 11-12 F (6-7 C). Winter days in its habitat average 77-79 F (25-26 C), and nights average 64-65 F (17-19 C), with a diurnal range of 9-11 F (5-6 C).

Provide average to bright Cattleya light. Provide 80-85 percent humidity for most of the year. Its acceptable for summer humidity to drop into the 75-80 percent range. Cattleya dormaniana should be watered regularly throughout the year, but they must dry rapidly after watering. Make sure that the plants never stay dry for long periods of time, however. Divide, repot, or remount only when new root growth is just starting. This lets the plant become established in the shortest possible time with the greatest success. Easy to grow.

Cattleya dolosa

This species is also known as the Dolose Cattleya and is native to Brazil. Cattleya dolosa grows on rock outcroppings or sometimes trees.

The plant is very similar to Cattleya walkeriana. The fragrant flower of Cattleya dolosa is similar in size and form to Cattleya walkeriana. Each 3 inch flower stem has between one to (rarely) four, 5 inch flowers that are very waxy and have a heavy substance. Flowers are long-lived. Blooms in spring.

Cattleya dolosa is frequently grown mounted on cork slabs or in baskets, but some growers report success using pots with extremely open fast draining medium such as coarse bark nuggets.

It was once thought that Cattleya dolosa was a natural hybrid between Cattleya walkeriana and Cattleya harrisoniana or Cattleya loddigesii. However, after years of hybridizing, Cattleya dolosa was not able to be reproduced through experimentation and was awarded species status. It is rare in cultivation but worthy of a spot in your collection.

Cattleya bowringiana

This species is also know as Bowring's Cattleya and was named after an English orchid grower who lived in the late 1800s.

It is native to Belize and Guatemala. Cattleya bowringiana prefers to grow on exposed rocks near free-flowing streams. They can be found near cliffs between 200 and 900 meters. Atmospheric humidity is high at all times. It may grow as a lithophyte in rocky ravines, with the plants splayed out on rocks with little shade. Interestingly, Cattleya bowringiana has occasionally been found growing as a terrestrial on quartz sand along rapidly flowing streams in addition to its more traditional habitat of large tropical trees.

Cattleya bowringiana has bold, club-shaped pseudobulbs, that can reach 10 to 15 inches in height, and are topped with two (sometimes three) leaves. The leaves are thick and leathery. Well-grown plants can reach 20 to 30 inches and produce up to 25 flowers per flower spike. Flowers are 3 inches (7.5 cm). The flower spike emerges from short-lived spates and grows to 10 inches (25 cm) before the flowers open. Flowers grow in clusters from a few (5 to 10) to a maximum of 15 to 25. Blooms in the fall and winter.

Grow in cool or warm Cattleya growing conditions. Cattleya bowringiana is easy to grow. As one reviewer put it, "There is no special treatment for these plants; they just grow". The plant sends out new growths in late May or June that will mature by late summer and will flower without a rest period in late September and October (in the United States). Provide lots of water when actively growing.

Cattleya bicolor

This species is also know as the Bicolored Cattleya orchid.

Like many other Cattleya species, this one is native to Brazil. Cattleya bicolor is found growing in the Brazilian states of Distrito Federal, Goias, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Plants are medium to large in size. Cattleya bicolor has long, ribbed, cylindrical pseudobulbs that are topped with two oblong leaves. This species can grow to be a large robust plant. The larger the plant, the more flowers will be produced per spike.

Flowers grow to 4 inches and very fragrant. The petals and sepals of Cattleya bicolor are a mahogany-brown with purple overtones. The lip is rosy pink or magenta. Flower color can vary considerably between individuals. Sometimes the petals and sepals are olive-green in color. Flowers are long-lived and of heavy substance. The flower spike emerges from a healthy basal sheath and has between one and seven flowers beautifully displayed. Blooms from fall to spring.

Cool to warm growing conditions are acceptable. Cattleya bicolor needs a large well drained pot or basket, good ventilation and sunlight. The potting media should be open, apply adequate water and fertilizer when growing. Reduce watering when the plant rests after flowering.

For more information:
Cattleya Orchid Source
Cattleya Source Wiki

Cattleya aurea - Golden Cattleya Orchid

Cattleya aurea is native to Columbia. It grows on trees between 300 and 1000 meters in elevation.

The plant resembles Cattleya labiata or any other typical unifoliate Cattleya orchid species. The upright pseudobulbs of Cattleya aurea have one green leaf.

A well grown Cattleya aurea plant can produce up to 5 or 6 large flowers per growth. The flowers are large, well-formed and have an impressively marked broad lip. The flower petal color is usually yellow (compared to Cattleya dowiana's olive). Flowers are fragrant but short-lived. Blooms in spring.

Cattleya aurea is very similar to Cattleya dowiana but comes from a different part of the world and blooms a few months later. This species is highly endangered in its home country due to habitat destruction and should not be purchased as a jungle-collected plant.

Cattleya aurea grows well under typical Cattleya conditions and light. Some growers have reported difficulty keeping the plants growing for more than a few years. Perhaps as more seed-grown plants from greenhouses enter the trade the problem will lessen.

For More Information:

Cattleya Orchid Source

Cattleya Source Wiki

Cattleya amethystoglossa

Cattleya amethystoglossa is also known as the Amethyst Cattleya.

Cattleya amethystoglossa grows in a warm, humid environment near sea-level in the State of Bahia near the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Its roots cling to palm tree trunks, rock formations or the highest branches of very tall trees where there are high light levels and good air circulation. The native habitat of this formerly widespread species is rapidly disappearing because the areas are being converted to agriculture and the coastal and drier interior forests are being cut down.

Cattleya amethystoglossa is one of the tallest Cattleya orchid species and is the most robust of all bifoliate Cattleyas.

Flowers grow to 4 inches (10 cm) and are fragrant. The petals and sepals are light lavender to pale rose with mauve or magenta spots. The amount of spotting varies widely between individuals.

Give Cattleya amethystoglossa a warm spot in the greenhouse and water and feed heavily during active growth. Reduce watering when the pseudobulbs mature and let the plant get a rest. Provide bright light for best flowering.

For more information:
Cattleya Orchid Source
Cattleya Source Wiki

Euchile mariae - Maria's Euchile

Euchile mariae is also known as Maria's Euchile. This species is native to Mexico where it grows on oak trees in dry oak forests in northwest Mexico.

Plants are medium-sized. Euchile mariae has pseudobulbs that have two or three grayish-green leaves.

Flowers grow to 3 inches in diameter and are fragrant. The flowers of Euchile mariae are produced on 5 to 12 inch (11-30 cm) long flower stem that has between one and five blooms. The flowers have green petals and sepals and a broad white lip and bloom in the pring Spring and Summer.

Provide high light (brighter than normal Cattleya conditions) for best results. Euchile mariae does best when grown mounted on driftwood or cork bark. Provide bright light and a dry winter rest. This species was first discovered in 1937.

This species is also know as Encyclia mariae, Epidendrum mariae, or Prosthechea mariae.

For more information:
Cattleya Orchid Source
Cattleya Source Wiki

Welcome to the new Cattleya Source Blog.

Cattleya Source blog will discuss the genus Cattleya and related orchid species.  Cattleyas have historically been the favorite orchid species for many years.  They are easy to grow in the greenhouse and can be coaxed to grow and bloom on windowsills throughout the world.

Here are some pictures to enjoy.