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Inorganic fertilizers are mixtures of various salts (e.g., calcium nitrate and monopotassium phosphate), and the fertilizer formula on the front of the package (e.g., 13-3-16) indicates the percentage (by weight) of some, but not all, components. The package label should give the percentage of...

Mixing metaphors, during the last year, I went down the rabbit hole and into the weeds with the issue of seasonal changes in growing conditions for Cattleyas. I purchased the Baker culture sheets for my thirteen unifoliate Cattleya species because they were the most detailed information I could...

Goldenzelle is a 1982-registered hybrid of (Rlc. Fortune x C. Horace) and my plant is a first-bloom mericlone of ‘Lemon Chiffon’ from Waldors. An objects color is based on what it absorbs and reflects from any light source. Natural sunlight is variable based on the time of day, how far the...

I almost threw this plant out last year, but I gave it one more chance and it opened a week ago. Charlesworth Ltd. in England registered Dinard in 1930 and Arthos in 1942, but Arthos was never awarded or used in breeding, suggesting that there was nothing special about the original plants...

First bloom of my plant from an Orchids Limited cross. Adrienne de Wavrin was RHS registered in 1906. I know nothing about RHS awards but there has only been one registered progeny of Adrienne de Wavrin, so it has not been well regarded as a parent. There is only one AOS award (an HCC) for...

I grow a few hybrid Miltoniopsis (Mps.), a genus infrequently discussed on Slippertalk (and Orchid Board) and usually considered difficult to grow well in many locations. The following picture is from my two-pseudobulb (division or mericlone) of Mps. Andrea West ‘Harford’s Wei’ (formerly called...

Here is a picture of the first flowering of my Agdia-strip-negative mericlone of Cattleya Horace ‘Maxima’. I don’t know who did the cloning. This first bloom is a single flower about 15 cm in horizontal spread, but the conformation is excellent. I don’t know what caused the color deformity on...

Phragmipedium besseae was officially recognized as a new species in 1981 and when legal importation of the species became available, it was intensely used for breeding. Phrag. besseae has a mostly orange to orange/red flower. Phrag. sargentianum's flower has a lot of yellow/green/brown but the...

About a year ago Southernbelle graciously gifted me a division of Cattleya Dinard ‘Blue Heaven’ AM/AOS. I bloomed it for the first time this past week and this is a picture in 5000K lighting to get the truest color rendering: The final Dinard genetic mix should be (warscewiczii 25%, warneri...

NOTE: I have updated this post as I hear about new information from other forum members, including: NEslipper I was recently able to purchase a mericlone (Agdia-strip negative) of Cattleya Bob Betts ‘Tacoma’ from Chadwicks. There were also Slippertalk posts about Bob Betts cultivars ‘White...

I do this post to avoid cluttering DrLeslieEe’s post on Cattleya warscewiczii semialba ‘Everest’ where I raised a question about a color form in a few Cattleyas called “albo-oculata”. Leslie’s definition of this term was “usually means a white flower with a dark dot inside the throat base” My...

There are only a few AOS awarded semi-alba and alba trianae, indicating that they are probably genetically difficult to create. Jerry Fischer at Orchids Limited obtained a division of trianae semi-alba ‘Queen of Snows’ decades ago from an outstanding orchid grower, Dr. Clarence Schubert in...

I have always respected the detailed orchid species culture sheets produced by now-deceased Charles and Margaret Baker. I just happened to search the other day and found that the sheets are now available online from Troy C. Meters for $1 each. Cattleya dowiana was one of the initial 10 that I...

This plant is reputably from a line of divisions from an original plant at the Dupont estate (subsequently Longwood Gardens) and the current flower is 13.5 cm wide. I don’t think that ‘Bankhouse’ has been mericloned. I have always liked the leaves of this plant and the impressively tall flower...

This is the first bloom of a plant from an Orchids Limited cross (‘Gold Lip’ x ‘Blue Bird’). I appreciate the genetic difficulties of creating coerulea forms of Cattleya species even though I do not like most of them as much as alba, semi-alba, and rubra forms. DrLeslieEe has explained on...

This is the fifth flowering of this plant, this time with 5 flowers, the largest about 17 cm. It has grown well under LED light with Hydroton as the potting medium. The purpurata color form striata has been described as unbranched lines or stripes, of any color, that radiate out along the...

This post is about the evolution of an orchid’s quality as it’s genetics change. I am using Phragmipedium Fritz Schomburg (kovachii x besseae), registered in 2007 by Glen Decker at Piping Rock Orchids, as an example. Glen and Fritz were two of the small initial group of orchid growers who...

This is another of my Cattleyas that must compete for space. ‘Dark Rose’ is not an awarded cultivar but a reputable source told me it was considered tetraploid (4N) and a selfing of it should still be 4N. This is the third time I have bloomed the plant, this time with three flowers. Largest...

This is a joint post from southernbelle (SB) and me (TR) about our plants from a remake of this 1898 primary hybrid that we purchased from Orchids Limited. Both parents are considered polyploid (tetraploid, 4N). SB’s plant was the first to bloom in September 2022 with two flowers and her picture...

I have posted this flower before. It comes from good breeding and I think it turned out to be a good flower. It is about 14.5 cm NS. My question concerns the terms to describe its coloration. We have discussed this issue with trianae in several different chains on this forum. Dr LeslieEe has...