Cattleya forbesii

[thefish1337]

I wish there was better genetics for this species available in the US, I'm quite jealous of some of the work being done in Brazil. When I acquired this form I asked Santa Barbara orchid estate for the plant with the shortest distance between pseudobulbs to try to get one with a better growth habit. I have seen forbesii varietals that are much taller than mine as well. Bulbs stand 4" high on my plant. Hard to capture the pink blush showing through the petals and lip with my camera but its really a nice color, in my opinion. My original plant had multiple leads and had been severely under-potted and was growing out of control, I cut off one lead growth sold the main mess of a plant and put it in semi-hydro... the plant loves it! I have never achieved more than one bloom which I believe is a combination of my own culture and the genetics that I have. I was giving the plant way too much light previously as I have found that this cattleya enjoys medium to low light so hopefully I can get the flower count up to this plants genetic potential under new cultural regimes.

[SouthPark]

Those green longitudinal stripes on the tepals and the pinkish tubular lip is so nice. A very cute one.

[camille1585]

Great looking flower! Thanks for sharing the story behind the plant, I always find it interesting to hear about a plant's history.

When you say they are doing a lot of work on this plant in Brazil, what are the sort of features that they are selecting for? Basically, what makes for a superior plant that you aren't finding in US sourced genetics? (I'm guessing bulb height is one of the criteria)

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Great looking flower! Thanks for sharing the story behind the plant, I always find it interesting to hear about a plant's history.

When you say they are doing a lot of work on this plant in Brazil, what are the sort of features that they are selecting for? Basically, what makes for a superior plant that you aren't finding in US sourced genetics? (I'm guessing bulb height is one of the criteria)

better flower counts, other color forms, better growth forms, better looking flowers

this video is a good example:

[isurus79]

Very cool! I always appreciate cultural tips and tricks in people's posts.

FYI- The pink version of this species is thought to be derived from C. harrisoniana, which naturally hybridizes with C. forbesii. I wonder if the taller plants are similarly due to hybridization or culture?

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Very cool! I always appreciate cultural tips and tricks in people's posts.

FYI- The pink version of this species is thought to be derived from C. harrisoniana, which naturally hybridizes with C. forbesii. I wonder if the taller plants are similarly due to hybridization or culture?

I wonder, though if the plant naturally hybridizes when its growing sympatrically then we would expect that mixtures of genes from both plants probably exists in "tipo" populations of each respective "species" as well. I studied plant systematics extensively in college and in my opinion, the concept of species if often applied too rigidly to plants when the biological reality is much more messy. A lot of the original concepts of species are based in the study of animals, and such qualifications fall apart rapidly when looking at other kingdoms of life like bactera, fungi and plants. Either way I'd love a tall floriforous pinkish forbesii! They're so easy to grow and free flowering which cant be beat when it comes to species Cattleya. I plan to cross this forbesii with a coerula schilleriana I think it would make a really cool green flowered primary hybrid.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by thefish1337

I wonder, though if the plant naturally hybridizes when its growing sympatrically then we would expect that mixtures of genes from both plants probably exists in "tipo" populations of each respective "species" as well. I studied plant systematics extensively in college and in my opinion, the concept of species if often applied too rigidly to plants when the biological reality is much more messy. A lot of the original concepts of species are based in the study of animals, and such qualifications fall apart rapidly when looking at other kingdoms of life like bactera, fungi and plants. Either way I'd love a tall floriforous pinkish forbesii! They're so easy to grow and free flowering which cant be beat when it comes to species Cattleya. I plan to cross this forbesii with a coerula schilleriana I think it would make a really cool green flowered primary hybrid.

I can't remember if both species grow sympatrically throughout their range or if there is a single, small location with introgression. I suspect the latter, but a buddy of mine is borrowing the book I would reference!