Must Haves: Classic Cattleyas

[MrHungx]

So recently I've been rediscovering my love for cattleyas. I have cleared out 90% of my collection to focus more on growing cattleyas. So what are some must have classic standard cattleyas? Here is what I have now:

Lc. Irene Finney ’Spring’s Best’ AM/AOS
Blc. Pink Empress ‘Ju-Sen’ AM/AOS
Lc. Orglade’s Grand ‘Yu Chang Beauty’ AM/AOS
Lc. Purple Cascade ’Sweet Beauty'
Lc. Dinard ‘Blue Heaven’ AM/AOS
Iwan. Apple Blossom ‘Hihimanu’ AM/AOS
Blc. Blue Kauai 'Long Life'
Lc. Melody Fair 'Carol' HCC/AOS
Blc. Morning Glory 'H&R' AM/AOS
Bc. Pastoral 'Rose'
Blc. Campobello 'Mendenhall' HCC/AOS
Blc. Lawless Walküre 'The Ultimate' AM/AOS
Blc. George King 'Southern Cross'
Blc. George King 'Serendipity' AM/AOS
Blc. Marcella Koss 'Pink Marvel' AM/AOS
Cattleya Portia var. coerulea 'Mrs Carl Holmes' HCC/AOS
Lc. Drumbeat 'Heritage'
Cattleya mossiae 'Willowbrook' FCC/AOS
Lc. Sheila Lauderbeck 'Equilab' FCC/AOS
Blc. Goldenzelle 'Lemon Chiffon' AM/AOS

[tucker85]

Wow! You have several excellent cattleyas on that list. Blc. Pink Empress is one of my favorites because it has a spectacular flower and a wonderful fragrance. Both of the George King cultivars are beautiful and fragrant. Lc. Dinard is great because of it's unusual color. Orglade's Grand and Melody Fair are spectacular semi-albas.

I grow mostly large blooming cattleyas and I have many of the plants on your list. Here's a few of my favorites, that aren't on your list, that have grown well for me.
Rlc. Chia Lin 'New City' - Spectacular big red cattleya
Rlc. Memoria Crispin Rosales 'Victory' - Stunning large lavender with p-bulbs that grow straight up and close each other.
Rlc. Lawless Zauberflote 'Apricot' - Beautiful burnt orange flower with red lip, strong grower and very good bloomer for me.
Rlc. Memoria Anna Balmores 'Convex' - Excellent bloomer with self supporting spikes that don't need to be staked. Mine had 18 flowers on it last year. One of my favorites.
Rlc. Alma Kee 'Tipmalee' - Beautiful yellow with awesome red lip.
I could go on and on but it's probably best to amass a collection slowly over a period of years. There's no end to the variety of standard cattleyas available and exciting new crosses come out every year. Good luck.

[Trollsvans]

Impressive list!
I'm also having a craving for the classics.
My wishlist is:
Brassavola nodosa
Cattleya aclandiae, forbesii, intermedia, guttata, bowringiana, skinneri and maxima.
Laelia anceps, itambana and tenebrosa.
Sophronitis coccinea and cernua.

As for hybrids, I find most of them somewhere between unattractive and uninteresting, but some have caught my attention:
C. Tropical Pointer and SLC Jewel Box. I've also had BC Binosa and Maikai (in my earlier years of fanaticism), ans I'll have them again some day, because they're really likeable.

[MrHungx]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I was eyeing a Rlc. Chia Lin 'New City' and finally bought one the other day. I was looking at some really old hybrids on eBay, though I'm worried that many of them have viruses.

I see that Hausermann has the Brassavola nodosa and will have to get one with my next order.