Catasetum pileatum var. imperiale

[AvantGardner]

Yes, it's 'SVO Blood Red'. I bought a tiny piece from Stephen Moffitt two years back. Honestly I didn't know if it would survive. It didn't do much the first year. It rebounded nicely this year, until one night in July we had a terrible storm with 75mph sustained winds. Beat up all my plants pretty bad. This one in particular. Snapped one out of four leaves. Somehow it pulled through and put on quite a bit of mass. I'm surprised it bloomed this year.

I have to say pictures don't do it justice. The substance of the flowers is amazing, the texture of the lip is like porcelain. This plant is a stud for sure. I can't wait for it to grow up. Enjoy

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful!

[isurus79]

For some reason I can't see the pics again.

[AvantGardner]

Again. Rotated. I miss photobucket...

[isurus79]

Ah, very nice! Definitely one everyone should have in their collection!

You should try flickr. Its where I host my photos and they do decent job.

[Dollythehun]

I don't know about the "stud" part but, that flower is a heart throb!

[orchidsarefun]

I also got one from him 2 years back. I divided it, but it hasn't bloomed. Growth is sketchy but that may just be in my weather conditions, I don't know.
Seeing your photos made me remember why I got it in the first place.

[smweaver]

Interesting blooms. The color is really attractive. Do the flowers have any scent?

[AvantGardner]

Yes, they smell like cherry cough drops with a hint of eucalyptus