Can Cynoches warszewiczii get really big?

[SG in CR]

I found a person selling Cynoches near me an went yesterday to see what they had. He had a row of huge plants that he claimed were C. warszewiczii. The p-bulbs were all 12" to 18" long and up to about 1 1/2" in diameter, far larger than I thought that species could get. He showed me some pictures of the flower which was similar to what C. warszewiczii looks like. Further investigation last night shows that C. ventricosum is also native to Costa Rica and has flowers that are similar to C. warszewiczii. He was asking around $40-50, which was a bit pricey for me. My question is, is really possible for C. warszewiczii to get that big? Or is the seller just mistaken on the ID.

[isurus79]

CW gets pretty big! I don't know how the plants compare to ventricosum though. The flowers are easily distinguishable since CW has flat flowers and CV has petals/sepals that are swept back.

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

CW gets pretty big! I don't know how the plants compare to ventricosum though. The flowers are easily distinguishable since CW has flat flowers and CV has petals/sepals that are swept back.

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I picked one up that he gave me a lower price on because it has already bloomed twice and is developing a 3rd spike. Looking forward to seeing if it's really just a giant C.w.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by SG in CR

Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I picked one up that he gave me a lower price on because it has already bloomed twice and is developing a 3rd spike. Looking forward to seeing if it's really just a giant C.w.

Please post pics! Will you attach it to a tree?

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Please post pics! Will you attach it to a tree?

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. But I'm planning on leaving it attached to the piece of wood I bought it on till next growing cycle when I'll tie it to a tree.

[SG in CR]

OK, here's everything going on with Cynoches in my garden.
Here's a picture of the large C. warscewiczii that I mentioned earlier. It's mounted to big 4x4 chunk of wood.


Some other Cynoches that I suspect are warscewiczii too.



A C. warscewiczii that bloomed last year but is struggling this year.

And a SVO hybrid that I divided. The part that remained in the pot is in bud, the part I mounted hasn't really changed much.


I really hope they bloom soon. I need to head back to the States in a couple weeks and would hate to miss them blooming.

[isurus79]

Oh wow, that's so cool! I really hope to see the blooms!

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Oh wow, that's so cool! I really hope to see the blooms!

Well, here's the first one to open up.

I got this one tossed in for free from a guy I bought some other orchids from. He said it was C. warscewiczii, but this doesn't look like that to me. Almost looks like some pictures of C. egertonianum that I found. Once it fully opens It's getting pollinated with this Catasetum hybrid I picked up last week with the idea of using the pollen for hybridizing.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by SG in CR

Well, here's the first one to open up.
Attachment 154727

Oh wow, that's an odd one! I don't think it's warscewiczii.

[SG in CR]

The big Cycnoches that was in the first pictures is finally blooming.

Flickr
I'd say that it looks like a typical C. warszewiczii. Sadly the other Cycnoches that had female flowers all aborted the seed pods. Looks like Cycnoches may be a bit finickier than Catasetums about hybridizing. Gonna harvest the pollen from this and keep it in the fridge till the Mormodes start blooming in a couple months.
My hybrid Cycnoches from SVO bloomed while I was out of town but luckily it's starting a second bud.
Correction: The female flower that I pictured a couple posts up is actually developing a seed pod. It's hanging up high and I forgot all about it. I tried two others that were mounted in trees and both of those failed.