What do you think this is?

[Silje]

In May I bought a NoID something? orchid. I bought it because it looked like a vigorous grower and a healthy plant. And it certainly has been. It always has new growths developing and it filling out the pot nicely. It's a fast grower with thick, solid roots. At the moment it's potted in a 20 cm (8 inch?) plastic pot, just to give you an idea of the size of the plant.

It is unifoliate, and it has long and slender leaves, but they look nothing like the leaves on my Brassavola nodosa, and they are also thinner than normal cattleya leaves. The largest leaves are roughly 30 cm long on top of an app 15 cm pbulb so it's not a small plant.

The sheaths have been empty up to now and I take full responsibility for that. The foliage is also too dark because it's been standing in a less than ideal spot in the greenhouse (the weekend project is to do a bit of re-arranging and weeding in there). I will try to provide it with more light from now.

It's generally doing really well. Up to now, I've been telling myself that this is some kind of brassavola/catt hybrid, but that's just a guess. What do you think?











(My apologies for the bad photos...)

And I should have posted this one in the identification section...sorry about that as well.

[dounoharm]

looks like it could be...its hard to tell without a bloom, but you are right it is sure a healthy something! if indeed it has the brassavola in the background, it definitely needs max light, I have found they do well hanging in the rafters in the past....good luck with a bloom!

[Orchid Whisperer]

Something generally in the Cattleya alliance. Beyond that, it is hard to tell, but it looks healthy!

[tucker85]

I think it could be a standard unifoliate cattleya. It definitely has some good genetics to produce abundant growth like that. Hopefully it will be a strong bloomer also. Post a picture when it blooms.

[IncurablePlantHead]

I don't know......but its really cool and I like it!

[Silje]

Somebody suggested a laelia purpurata or a hybrid with purpurata parentage, and although I know it's impossible to know for sure at this stage, the leaves and the growths look very similar. I've re-shuffled the greenhouse today and it's now in a spot where it will receive more light. Hopefully those sheaths and new growths will result in some flowers.

And, I realized that with a bit of tidying I've got loads of space in the greenhouse so I can go shopping! Whiiiiii!

[silken]

The growths do look like my Laelia purpurata quite a bit in that mine are quite tall and upward growing. Mine are quite a lime green, and yet the thing still doesn't bloom for me either!

[james mickelso]

This looks more like a laeliocattleya to me. Maybe Piccalo or something like that. Purpurata is also a good bet. But here it has gotten too little light and too much nitrogen. Lots of vegetative growth at the expense of blooms. Try giving it a higher ratio of phosphorus/potassium to nitrogen when that new pbulb gets half mature. Once you see the sheath it is too late to switch. Works for me. Before I did that I had lots of blind sheaths. Now I have this..... and that's just a small sample.

[GregorK]

My guess would be Laelia tenebrosa... they are very large and their leaves are a bit thiner then a standard cattleya ones.
L. purpurata could also be an option as mentioned above.
You will know when she will be in flower

Best regards
Gregor

[Silje]

Originally Posted by GregorK

My guess would be Laelia tenebrosa... they are very large and their leaves are a bit thiner then a standard cattleya ones.
L. purpurata could also be an option as mentioned above.
You will know when she will be in flower

Best regards
Gregor

I will be very happy if this turns out to be a purpurata or tenebrosa. Preferably a tenebrosa. I know the nursery had tenebrosa seedlings and afterwards I could kick myself for not buying, because I think they're amazing.

I think I got a bit further, even if the plant is not yet identified (and maybe never will be). I hadn't considered laelias, but from the look of it that is more likely than a catt/brassavola hybrid.

Thanks for the input all of you! Always appreciated!