sophronitis/cattleya coccinea 4n

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Or whatever the preferred name now is.
These 4n clones seem to be widespread now and this is the first of two I bought last year from Popow.
Both are well established with several growths.
I lost another one last year due to insufficient watering over winter.
It grows in sphagnum in a clay pot and is kept damp all year round.
Rainwater and Akerne's rain mix feed at every watering are giving good results.
Summer outside seemed to suit it well and four new growths were produced in early autumn.
Winter is spent in the kitchen under some supplementary lighting.
I just have to be vigilant for slugs as they seem to like the newly opened buds ( the 2nd flower is damaged).
The first photo is under lights and the second natural light outside.
These selections have gone through several generations of line breeding and have nice flat large flowers and appear to be much easier and more vigorous than the 2n forms,
David
 

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Electric color! I've always liked these but I can't provide cooler temperatures, so I 've never tried one.
 
coccinea size

Jeanlux,

this flower is 6.25 cm ( just under 2.5 inches) across and probably still growing. I will measure it again in a week.
Both this growth and the last one each produced two flower buds but I cut off the 2nd flower from both to allow the main one to reach full size.
This 2nd bud production may be genetic as the other clone has two new growths each with only a single bud.
The Tokyo orchid nursery advertise expensive clones with flower over 8cm across to this one is pretty run of the mill.
However my aim is to grow them into plants capable of flowering with several flowers open at once so size isn't everything!

David
 
Nice! Like the red color! It's too hot here for them to bloom! The plants I've seen in cultivation keep on growing but never bloom!
 
Very nice! And appreciate the complete name. I have no clue what Cattleya coccinea is, but do know what Sophronitis coccinea is.
 
Very nice! And appreciate the complete name. I have no clue what Cattleya coccinea is, but do know what Sophronitis coccinea is.
...or how to grow it!

Actually, I've heard they like copious water in the winter, but dryer in the summer. Is that true?
 
Dot,
you may well be right about watering.
They tend to be fairly dormant during the summer and start to grow and start to flower as the temperatures drop in the autumn.
They have a different growth cycle and set of cultural requirements.
I like to think of them as growing more like pleurothallids that want good light.
David
 
Coccinea flower size

Jean
This plant had a small flower last year just after it was bought - maybe 3 or 4 cm across.
I think the size is closely related to quality of culture plus plant size and degree of maturity.
These tetraploid clones have all been line bred for several generations for flower quality so they should all be uniformly good.
David
 
a second clone from Popow

Hi,
a second, not quite so nice clone has started to flower. The petals are not as flat or as big as the first one.
Interestingly this plant has much taller and narrower pseudobulbs than the first clone. Apparently there is quite a lot of variation in their size and shape when you look at the various ecotypes seen growing in the wild.
The 2nd photo shows a comparison of the two clones and the third shows the 1st clone still looking good.
Both are 6.25 cm across.
David
 

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