C. lueddemanniana coerulea

[NEslipper]

So excited to finally see this in bloom, it has exceeded all my expectations. A select division purchased from Steven Christoffersen, this plant originally came out of the breeding program of Drago Strahija from his cross of C. lueddemanniana coerulea 'Siquisiqui' AM/AOS x 'Amparo'. My understanding is that 'Siquisiqui' and 'Amparo' were two of the original 4 type coerulea lueddemannianas collected from the jungle. This plant is incredibly vigorous under LEDs, throwing multiple leads and multiple growths per year. My first flowering of this plant, it has 3 flowers (on the smaller side for lueddemanniana) but that give off the most intense fragrance of any cattleya I have yet flowered. I love the splash/waterfall/veining pattern on the lip, much more than the coeruleas with a solid lip. Based on this flowering I would call it a "C. lueddemanniana coerulea pincelada venosa", I'm certainly not a taxonimist, so I'm curious to see what others think of that? As far as I know this plant is not awarded, but I would think on a good blooming it should be competitive for a quality award.


Here are so photos with a black background, which I find distorts the color a bit, making the lip look more lavender than purple:


Here's a photo with one of my blooming paphs, which really emphasizes how gray the petals are:

 

[monocotman]

Wow you lucked out in the genetic lottery for this cross. Very nice.
The bar is set very high for awards for this type of lueddemanniana as the wild coerulea parents found were so good. Armando Mantellini reckons that the coerulea clone ‘mariauxi’ is the very best wild lueddemanniana ever found.

 

[Ozpaph]

very attractive flower

 

[GuRu]

Wow, she really is a beauty ... a feast for the eyes... congrats to own and flower her.

 

[dodidoki]

That one is wonderful!!!

 

[cborchids]

Great color great lip, love the veins - not all have them - the flaw I see is the folding on the top of the petals. I'd look at it in judging. I have 'Drago #3' which is similar but I bet yours is not that one.

 

[NEslipper]

Been busy the past couple weeks, so I haven't had time to post much, but I did snap some shots before the flowers dropped and they continued to develop the dark veining. It has a second growth developing with a sheath right now, so fingers crossed for another round of blooms.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Good job in blooming this.

I would classify this as coerulea pincelada. I refrained from the venosa designation because the striations would be more darker and distinct.

At the present time, it is not within the awardable standards, but with improvement in petal shape and lip roundness, in subsequent bloomings, it has a good chance. Keep it happy!

 

[NEslipper]

Good job in blooming this.

I would classify this as coerulea pincelada. I refrained from the venosa designation because the striations would be more darker and distinct.

At the present time, it is not within the awardable standards, but with improvement in petal shape and lip roundness, in subsequent bloomings, it has a good chance. Keep it happy!

I doubt I will ever be able to flower it to award standards, but this is the photo Steven Christoffersen posted to his instagram that made me immediately want to acquire a division. It can certainly be spectacular when flowered well (again, not my photo):

 

[cborchids]

I have 'Drago No. 3' which also has the veining - not all do - and yours looks just about as good. Unlike other species, the veins in lueddemanniana coerulea appear to me to be unpigmented, so darker in that they absorb light, rather than veins carrying more pigment as we would often use "venosa" to describe.

 

[Mathias]

Very nice!

 

[My Green Pets]

Wonderful flowers and nice photos!

 

[DrLeslieEe]

I doubt I will ever be able to flower it to award standards, but this is the photo Steven Christoffersen posted to his instagram that made me immediately want to acquire a division. It can certainly be spectacular when flowered well (again, not my photo):
View attachment 46320

Huge award potential at this flowering in photo.

Trust in yourself you can do it!!! We believe in you!