Cattleyas - 'Sibling Rivalry'

[Fairorchids]

I am starting this thread to show how different plants from the same seed pod can be.

First up: C. Christina Mendoza (intermedia aquinii coerulea x Floralia's Azul)
I have bloomed two, and have a third in bud (photo should be available in about a week).

The 2nd flower is somewhat larger than the first, but is open and lacks the splash.

[rbarata]

I am a light color hair guy while my brother has black hair.

[Fairorchids]

And here is the 2nd entry, an as yet unnamed new hybrid:
Rth. Picotee Flight ‘SVO Picotee’ X C. Memoria Trudi Marsh ‘Sun Flair’

The first plant was more compact, and has two leads, both in bloom with 3-4 flowers each. The second to bloom is single lead, but slightly larger - and by far the better flower. It has 5 flowers on the spike.

[fishmom]

Great thread--and examples!

[estación seca]

An interesting situation: AOS judges award for large, flat, round flowers. I suspect a lot of windowsill growers prefer vigorous, easy to grow and flower, smaller plants that regularly break multiple leads and have more flowers, multiple times per year, even if the flower form and size aren't up to judging standards.

[MJG]

Kim, thanks for this. I had read that this happens, often on growers' websites when they make the disclaimer that the actual plant you're ordering may not look like the one in the picture. I had no idea the differences could be so pronounced.

Originally Posted by estación seca

An interesting situation: AOS judges award for large, flat, round flowers. I suspect a lot of windowsill growers prefer vigorous, easy to grow and flower, smaller plants that regularly break multiple leads and have more flowers, multiple times per year, even if the flower form and size aren't up to judging standards.

ES, what do you mean by "flat" flowers? Once again, something you see in a growers description. No clue what it means or why it's desirable.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

The 2nd flower is somewhat larger than the first, but is open and lacks the splash.

Both very nice flowers Kim! The one of the right has petals that are quite appealing in shape ----- and having colour just on the lip while no colour on the petals is nice. Draws attention to each feature. Definitely has some character.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by MJG

ES, what do you mean by "flat" flowers? Once again, something you see in a growers description. No clue what it means or why it's desirable.

MJG - I'm not entirely sure, as I've never judged before or learned enough about judging. My interpretation of 'flat' is a guess ----- as in petals and sepals relatively flat along a plane, which requires the petals and sepals to be opened up and not too curved.

Maybe if we look at the flower from the 'side' (side-view), and form a rectangle around the orchid where the tepals occupy (in the side-view only) ---- excluding the lip region ----- then 'flat' could be a measure of ratio of the horizontal to vertical dimension of the side-box being relatively small. This is just having fun with guessing hahahaha.

Also - some tepals are curled too ----- and can even curl 'the other way' (reflexed - curved one way and then curving back the other way when getting out toward the tips).

The above is aside from 'symmetry' features, where judges look to see if flower features on the left-hand side is similar to the right-hand side. Eg. a left petal folded more, or has extra folding ----- not matching with the right-hand side is a symmetry consideration.

It's all natural anyway. I'll let the judges do their thing instead hahaha. Probbaly like most of us here ----- I personally like orchid flowers simply for just what they are heheh. But can also understand that a competition can involve satisfying the criteria provided by the organisation holding a competition.

[SouthPark]

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[Jeff214]

Yes, thanks for these examples. It is interesting to see how different the siblings can be! Makes sense why people buy multiple seedlings for a new cross.