Cattleya (Sophronitis) coccinea dreams coming true

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How’s the bud developing?
Seems to be going pretty well…I’m anxious about watering now. This is a plant I’ve just been dipping into the runoff bucket. I never do this with anything else. I honestly expected it to die, all along, especially after my previous Phragmipedium besseae flavum and regular besseae (both from Tom, gorgeous healthy seedlings, the killing is on me) died in my summer heat, crushing my soul forever. Now I’m watering it three times a week with utmost care! Here is the bud as of this morning. I should note that despite my low expectations, this plant has never appeared stressed in any way; temps in my windows get 90 - 100F during heat waves and this baby grows down in a high open terrarium situation. I don’t know the extent to which it’s just magically adapted for heat and/or I have unknowingly created a perfect microclimate. I take no credit beyond dumb luck but Hausermann’s has a bunch of newly deflasked S. coccinea and you can bet that I will be snapping some more up at the next opportunity. They’re not doing an open house this year, which breaks my heart. But then, here I am having missed Christmas due to a surprise positive COVID test (can’t figure out if I have actual symptoms or am just so sad about Christmas that I’ve taken to my bed), I guess it’s for the best. They do remain open to the public but they do not enforce masks and some workers don’t wear them so…I don’t know. Anyway, ramble over, here’s the bud:

I should explain the webbing; for the past two weeks, I’ve been finding tiny baby spiders all over the house. No idea where they hatched but they’ve appeared in every room. I’m both superstitious and softhearted and so they get placed among the plants. I know I have some scale here and there and I worry about mites, so I welcome these spiders’ work. Here’s hoping I make it to their spring release without regret.
 

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Yayyy bud is doing well!
Should I have worried that it wouldn’t? I don’t have much experience blooming Cattleya or adjacent. I’m holding my breath. One thing I’m surprised about is the bud doesn’t look red. I’ve only seen these in photos and the color is so saturated that I can’t imagine such a pale bud. I guess there’s a flavum? But maybe the bud is just young.
 
Should I have worried that it wouldn’t? I don’t have much experience blooming Cattleya or adjacent. I’m holding my breath. One thing I’m surprised about is the bud doesn’t look red. I’ve only seen these in photos and the color is so saturated that I can’t imagine such a pale bud. I guess there’s a flavum? But maybe the bud is just young.
Bud will be fine as long as you keep plant in same spot, as there shouldn’t be any extreme change in conditions.

The bud stays pale pink yellow but opens orange red, deepening and getting saturated over 3-4 days. Then it expands in size over a week or two.

Mine is still in good condition so far at the start of the 3rd week.
 
Well, here she blows! Tiny and a bit bumpy, orange instead of scarlet but I CAN BLOOM SOPHRONITIS FROM FLASK! I love this plant and sure hope I can continue to please it. Maybe flowers will “improve?” But l don’t really care. I will try to grow more of these. I have a Cattleya (Laelia) lundii about to open and — might even plop them together just because.
 

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Congrats, Brucher! Nice to see your long term effort rewarded! 🤗

I tested positive today. Weeeeee!
Sorry to hear that, Eric!
I presume, though, that the Omikron variety at the present is the most common variety also in NYC? In Denmark it has almost excluded the Delta variety with 93.6% of all positive tests being Omikron. It might be a comfort to know, that the Danish health authorities (SSI which is the equivalent to your CDC) now, based on data from studies from South Africa, England, Scotland and Denmark (we have at the moment the little flattering record of being the absolute hotspot in the world with the highest incidence of Omikron, i.e. the highest amount of new cases pr. 100.000 inhabitants) concludes with a high degree of certainty, that this variety has markedly lesser negative health consequences than prior varieties, when it comes to deaths, hospitalization and probably also long term sequalae!
 
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Brucher, this is a great flower even if the colour of the flower does slightly differ from what you obviously expected. 👍
Aw thanks! It’s funny how I have it sitting in front of me at last and can feel anything other than delight. So, I’m back to delight! Thank you.
 
Congrats on the milestone! We both achieve the holy grail of Sophronitis ... to bloom a coccinea!!!

And it's a beauty!

From this I have ordered other Sophronitis species like brevipedunculata, riograndensis, pygmeae, and more cernuas and coccineas!
 
Congrats on the milestone! We both achieve the holy grail of Sophronitis ... to bloom a coccinea!!!

And it's a beauty!

From this I have ordered other Sophronitis species like brevipedunculata, riograndensis, pygmeae, and more cernuas and coccineas!
Aw thank you Leslie, I’m screwed! lol. What about wittgiana? Remember, you have a whole cold tank! I just have an elderly apartment.

I really want a coccinea flavum as well…and a serious scarlet one. I’ll be shopping for tiny seedlings.I feel like that’s the difference here. It came out of the flask se Hausermann’s and the potting mix couldn’t have been more than a few days old, at most. Bright bark, roots starting to adhere. It grew up in my conditions and didn’t know any better but to bloom! :)
 
Aw thank you Leslie, I’m screwed! lol. What about wittgiana? Remember, you have a whole cold tank! I just have an elderly apartment.

I really want a coccinea flavum as well…and a serious scarlet one. I’ll be shopping for tiny seedlings.I feel like that’s the difference here. It came out of the flask se Hausermann’s and the potting mix couldn’t have been more than a few days old, at most. Bright bark, roots starting to adhere. It grew up in my conditions and didn’t know any better but to bloom! :)
Oh yes I did get a few nice wittie divisions too. Let’s hope they survive to bloom in my cold tank!

Do get some more BT! So we can track our progress.
 
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Oh yes I did get a few nice wittie divisions too. Let’s hope they survive to bloom in my cold tank!

Do get some more BT! So we can track our progress.
In the past, I’ve tried mature or NBS plants. This was the first seedling and only because it was…I think $6? Or $4? Sale item. But spritely and I couldn’t resist.
 
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