Cattleya (Laelia) crispa sheath question

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I'm not big on "judging standards" especially as applied to species ... I really like natural orchids. So many species get so line-bred that a pollinator likely would not recognize them. One of the fringe benefits of growing species is to preserve them ex-situ where habitats are endangered. And line breeding to the point that they don't look like the species any more defeats the benefit of that.

Your're right - I never thought about the downside of in-line breeding of species from a preservation stand point. Sometimes I wonder what a "species" actually means to an orchid grower, considering all the in-line breeding that has been done. I've been gravitating towards "species", simply because I tend to find it more appealing.

I certainly don't mind crisped flowers with thinner petals... I find them more airy, delicate, and fanciful - especially as a cluster of flowers. I shall find out what my L. crispa is like...