Cattleya lueddemanniana coerulea venosa

[monocotman]

Morning,
Another plant flowering for the first time on a less than fully established division. I can see the coerulea bit but the venosa part hasn’t developed. Not sure it will on this flower Venosa give a ‘veined’ look to the petals and sepals. It’s pretty uncommon.
Dr Leslie,, would you care to comment? Is venosa something that can come and go in cattleyas like flaring on the petals?

David

 

[DrLeslieEe]

David, the venosa patterns doesn’t appear all the time. Sometimes it may take a few days to develop.

Other times, the flower is label incorrectly as venosa when it’s lightly veined at edges (which is normal in some pure coerulea flowers).

So in this case you might have to wait a few more days or see the next flowering on a stronger plant. Hope this helps.

 

[monocotman]

Many thanks Leslie!
fingers crossed!

 

[Ozpaph]

i learn everyday!

 

[Guldal]

Very lovely lip....keep us posted, where the rest are going, David!

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Here’s my lueddemaniana coerulea venosa from Orquidário Americana in Brazil:



You can see clearly the ‘blue’ veins running throughout the flower from tip of petals and sepals to the base of floral parts.

https://www.facebook.com/orquidarioamericana

 

[monocotman]

That is stunning! Thanks.

 

[setaylien]

Here’s my lueddemaniana coerulea venosa from Orquidário Americana in Brazil:

View attachment 21889

You can see clearly the ‘blue’ veins running throughout the flower from tip of petals and sepals to the base of floral parts.

https://www.facebook.com/orquidarioamericana

In the photo the veins look more pink than blue, at least to my eyes. The form is really good!

 

[monocotman]

We now have veins!
Maybe not as good as Dr Leslie’s plant but it’s a start. They may continue to develop.

David

 

[DrLeslieEe]

There you have it! Shape will improve as plant gets stronger within the next two years.

 

[monocotman]

Thanks. I’m very pleased that it has flowered true to the label. The vendor has since retired. These things are as rare as hens teeth in Europe. It’s the only one I’ve ever seen offered for sale.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Too bad you are across the big ocean, because I have many great plants I can divide to sell or backup in UK with an excellent grower like yourself.

 

[monocotman]

How annoying! Never mind. My windowsills are full and although I’m thinking about a new greenhouse come garden room I’m not there yet.
Do you know anything about the genetics of the venosa type? Is it something that occurs in a proportion of coeruleas or has it to be bred in?

 

[Guldal]

We now have veins!
Maybe not as good as Dr Leslie’s plant but it’s a start. They may continue to develop.

Your veins look great to me, David!

And by the way, you and Leslie have now lured me into the dangerous quackmire of Cattleyas So far the plants grow and seem to thrive...now we just have to find out, whether I can make them flower?!

 

[monocotman]

That’s great news! If they’re growing but not flowering then they are either too small to flower or not receiving enough light. Have you managed to track down a copy of the Chadwick‘s classic cattleyas?

 

[DrLeslieEe]

How annoying! Never mind. My windowsills are full and although I’m thinking about a new greenhouse come garden room I’m not there yet.
Do you know anything about the genetics of the venosa type? Is it something that occurs in a proportion of coeruleas or has it to be bred in?

The 'blue' venosa markings were inherent in wild plants like 'Siquie Siquie' and 'Mariauxi', both fantastically shaped lueddemanniana coeruleas that were used to breed the modern blues. The depth and coverage of the lines vary across the breeding lines, and were not the focus, but rather the shape and size of the flowers were the top priorities. Eventually there were cultivars like 'Adoriana', 'Canaima Friend' and 'Veronica' that were selected with distinct veins. Today, the best coerulea color is created by these veins that are very fine across the flower like the ones below, all bred and grown by Orquidaro Americana in Brazil.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

Below are all lueddemaniana coeruleas, even though they look pinkish in some photos.

 

[Guldal]

That’s great news! If they’re growing but not flowering then they are either too small to flower or not receiving enough light. Have you managed to track down a copy of the Chadwick‘s classic cattleyas?

I have indeed got hold of a used (but completely as new) copy of Chadwick & Chadwick and it's a great read, informative as well as entertaining!
My Catt-interest is so new, that I find it advisable to wait judging on or changing anything culture wise, before we are through one-two growth seasons...I was just elated to see some newly acquired and repotted Catts sending out new shoots, e.g. C. bowringiana presenting 4-5 new growths!
And on your recommendation, David, I've bought a nice set of Catt/Laelia young plants, that Hilmar Bauch from Assendorf offered for sale on ebay + a few additional plants!

 

[monocotman]

The veins continue to develop in this flower!
Dr Leslie, thanks for all the information. Those blooms are amazing. Perfection.
I’ve seen photos of the amazing quality of those coerulea lueddemannianas from the wild. Armando Mantellini comments on ‘mariauxi’ on his new website.
I bought what is supposed to be a division of mariauxi from a German vendor last year but so far no flowers although it’s growing well. When I see Armando offering this clone for 1500 dollars, I am very unsure that it is correct!
Guldal, glad to see you’ve started on the cattleya road. For me the biggest learning issue was watering. After paphs and phrags, catts are so different. If in doubt, don’t water. They need a very definite wet dry cycle otherwise the roots rot. The species are more sensitive than the hybrids. I learned with hybrids but now the collection is moving over into the unifoliates species.

 

[southernbelle]

Morning,
Another plant flowering for the first time on a less than fully established division. I can see the coerulea bit but the venosa part hasn’t developed. Not sure it will on this flower Venosa give a ‘veined’ look to the petals and sepals. It’s pretty uncommon.
Dr Leslie,, would you care to comment? Is venosa something that can come and go in cattleyas like flaring on the petals?
View attachment 21878
David

Very lovely color.