C. maxima

[SouthPark]

I have to get those painters to come back and re-do the paintwork.

The right-hand petal must have been touching the lip before the paint was dry.

Google drive link (higher res) : Pic link

[realoldbeachbum]

Southpark - Stunning! That is the most beautiful bloom I have EVER seen. I just added it to my wish list. Thanks for sharing!

[Diane56Victor]

That has certainly undergone some colour drenching!

Beautiful colour, worth the wait just for colour but even the slight fragrance you mentioned should elevate it even more to anyone's wish list.

[SouthPark]

ROBB ----- you are most welcome anytime! And thanks very much for joining me in seeing the pics of this flower here in this thread. An absolute pleasure to share. And also extremely nice to hear from you that you added C. maxima to your list. The variation in colour and patterns for the maxima species is just amazing. I didn't know that until recently!

Diane ------ I was finally able to 100% get a confirmed scent from those flowers. The scent is nice - elegant. It is quite subtle - and not overpowering at all. Nice perfume.

I'll give a comparison .......... a recently opened Rlc. Memoria Crispin Rosales flower has an incredibly powerful smell. A nice smell. But possibly over-powering. When the wind in the growing area changes direction and the air enters the louvres next to the growing area ----- I will get the Mem. Crispin Rosales coming right through. Not into the whole house though. Only next to the louvres, where I sit sometimes when watching TV.

The level of scent from the C. maxima is much much reduced. When there is even gentle air-flow, I won't even be able to smell the C. maxima, which is why I needed to really wait and be patient - for a suitable time to get confirmation!

[smweaver]

Excellent blooms (and not quite sure how I missed this post until now). Those intense colors at least imply that it's one of the highland varieties. Do you know if that's true for your plant? How tall is the plant? The color really is quite stunning.

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Excellent blooms (and not quite sure how I missed this post until now). Those intense colors at least imply that it's one of the highland varieties. Do you know if that's true for your plant? How tall is the plant? The color really is quite stunning.

Mee too I missed and is just a beauty. Included also in my list!!! Thank you ❤️

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by smweaver

Those intense colors at least imply that it's one of the highland varieties. Do you know if that's true for your plant? How tall is the plant?

SM ..... excellent catch! The grower who I bought the plant from told me in a email message that this one is a highland variety, and I've kept the yellow-coloured tag that this one came with, indicating highland on the tag. I can take some measurements and check the average height for you SM!

[Shadeflower]

southpark, you have a big collection of cattleya's by now so I'm wondering if there is a big difference in smell between the memoria crispin rosales and the memoria helen brown. You say the crispin rosales is quite powerful, more than the helen brown?

[smweaver]

Thank you for confirming the variety (highland) of your C. maxima. You don't need to take measurements of the length of the pseudobulbs. I was just curious about that, and the only reason I asked is because I have the lowland variety (but not a highland one) and nothing to compare it to.

Steve

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by smweaver

I was just curious about that, and the only reason I asked is because I have the lowland variety (but not a highland one) and nothing to compare it to.

That's ok Steve! I got measurements ----- with the average length from the base of the bulb at the top of a rhizome ----- up to the base of a leaf --- approximately 21 cm.

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

I'm wondering if there is a big difference in smell between the memoria crispin rosales and the memoria helen brown. You say the crispin rosales is quite powerful, more than the helen brown?

SF ---- this particular Mem. Crispin Rosales has quite a powerful scent - and it really disperses everywhere. Not an unpleasant scent at all. Just quite powerful. Maybe too overwhelming if we sniff the flower itself. It's better to just smell it downwind of the flower at some distance, or just smell its scent when in the growing area.

When I sit next to the glass louvres when indoors while watching tv ----- and if a light breeze comes through the louvres, then the scent of the Mem. Crispin Rosales comes through. Quite nice.

As for the Mem. Helen Brown ----- this particular one with no cultivar or clonal name --- I think this time was the first time I was able to pick up a scent from its flowers. I think it is super weak. My nose is actually quite good for smelling. I tried in the past to smell at least something from it ----- tried hard too - various different times of the day as well. But nothing in the past. For this time ----- the scent was really weak, and it wasn't coming from other flower. So for this one ----- very very weak scent. Not much at all.

Although - I managed to acquire a Mem. Helen Brown 'Sweet Afton' year, and that one has a nice scent.