Mini catt species?

[theorchidapartment]

I'm looking for a mini catts, but I'm confused by all the re-classifications and was hoping someone could recommend some mini catts, specifically species.

My impression is that some species that were formerly Sophronitis are now the parents of many mini Catt hybrids and maybe there are also some former Laelia species that are considered mini...???

Planning to buy from Peter T. Lin, who is a mini catt specialist; i just am a bit overwhelmed by the list on his website!

Thanks in advance!

[SouthPark]

TOA - you can take a look at this link here, and there will be some species names in there.

Click Here

[Roberta]

The lumping of Sophronitis into Cattleya messed up a lot of things... genus names, and also the ability to easily identify those. Yes, also bunch (most) of what used to be called "Laelia" - all the Brazillians - also got lumped. I took a look at the Diamond Orchids list, and it looks like Peter has kept the old genus names, (and indicates size... the only Laelia that isn't mini or dwarf is L. purpurata... but we knew that...) And there are several Sophronitis species (S. coccinea and two different S. cernuas). You can also send him an email for recommendations.

[SouthPark]

TOA ----- for species, one well known one is C. aclandiae

One very nice mini catt hybrid is C. Mini Purple ...... each grower looks for particular looks or styles. Some look for everything hehe ..... just depends on what the growers are looking for.

[Roberta]

I'd hardly call C. aclandiae a mini... not compared to Sophronitis or the Hadrolaelias or the rupiculous Laelias. Take a look at the Diamond Orchids list. Dwarf and Minis are identified.

[SouthPark]

Roberta ----- it's all relative. It depends on how 'mini' is 'mini' heheh. Even a micro could be called a mini ------ maybe.

TOA - if you can find any Rth. Dal's Emperor (eg. from SVO -- eg. Pot. Dal's Emperor 'SVO') ------ could take a look at those too.

[Leafmite]

How small do you want your Cattleyas? Do you prefer fragrance?

Some smaller ones that are fragrant are: pumilia, aclandiae, sincora, luteola, walkeriana. These are not tiny but they do stay small. I tend to look for hybrids with these in the mix as I like the small but fragrant Cattleyas. Currently, my only species is the aclandiae.

If you want to go really small, Soph. cernua, Laelia liliputana are two of the smallest. Neither are fragrant. The Laelia and Soph. groups have many really small family members but I am not very familiar with these groups as I like orchids that bloom more than once a year with fragrant blooms.

[theorchidapartment]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

TOA - you can take a look at this link here, and there will be some species names in there.

Click Here

Thank you, will definitely check this out!

---------- Post added at 05:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

I took a look at the Diamond Orchids list, and it looks like Peter has kept the old genus names, (and indicates size... the only Laelia that isn't mini or dwarf is L. purpurata... but we knew that...)

Oh oops, guess I was so overwhelmed that I failed to even read the list properly!! I will revisit it. Appreciate the advice; I'm completely new to catts!

---------- Post added at 05:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Leafmite

If you want to go really small, Soph. cernua, Laelia liliputana are two of the smallest. Neither are fragrant. The Laelia and Soph. groups have many really small family members but I am not very familiar with these groups as I like orchids that bloom more than once a year with fragrant blooms.

Thanks for this. Yes, really small is the name of the game. My orchid grow space is effectively one wire shelving unit so I have to make every inch count! Interesting about fragrance; I will look into the others you mentioned as well!

[Roberta]

Just for the record... my S. coccinea blooms twice a year or thereabouts. No fragrance, but the color... Oh baby...

[Orchidtinkerer]

I came across a nice little article on the history of mini catts

Amazing Minicatts

I found it interesting. I haven't seen most of the crosses mentioned before and the numbers really reflect a shift from Big flowers being popular in the 50s to more compact plants later on.

the lc clive sounds like a nice hybrid I'd never heard of before, probably lost to time by now

However, one of the most successful early minicatt crosses was Laeliocattleya Clive (L. pumila x C. dowiana), registered by Clive Cookson in 1893. Between 1894 and 1908, this cross received four FCCs and three AMs from the RHS. This must have been an extraordinary cross to achieve so many RHS awards in so short a period.