Cattleya Suggestions: Compact Growth / Large Flowers

[mopwr]

I'm looking for some recommendations for a relatively compact growing cattleya - smaller pot size at blooming size and more compact upright growth habit - that has relatively large flowers, something around 4-5"

I live in PA and don't have a greenhouse, so growing outdoors year round isn't an option. I like to grow warmer growing / humidity loving plants under lights in a terrarium that I can control the conditions year round. It's pretty tall (38") and can handle a couple large plants, but I generally grow smaller plants in there. Well, in any event, space is limited. Tangent: I may try growing outdoors next year for a portion of the year, but I'm not there yet.

I've always wanted to grow some of the more larger flowered plants, and I started searching to see what's out there that while not small, could fit in my growing setup and give me some of those massive blooms I only see pictures of. In my search, I found Rlc. Chomthong Fancy 'Fireball' as a potential option. They list the growth as "compact", but I know that's relative, but I've seen the flowers listed as up to 5.5" - which for me would be the largest flower I'd be growing by far. I'll likely be getting this as it ticks a few boxes for me, supposed compact growth, large flowers, plus I like the flared petals.

Being as there's tons of people here with a lot more growing experience than me, I thought I'd ask around to see if there may be more / better options that fit this same bill. Thanks in advance.

[Shadeflower]

hi mop,
I don't think the chomtong is compact... It will fit in 38" I think anything would but it is quite big as far as I remember.

I think you should consider a Cattleya luteola, one of the most compact.

I can also recommend a Potinara Burana Beauty size wise. It's very compact.

But probably not the flower size you are looking for. I have less experience with the more compact and large flowers. On online pictures some hybrids might look like the flower is huge in comparison to the plant but generally the plant is small so the flowers are not as big as on the bigger Catts like the chomtong

[estación seca]

Look through the Compact and Miniature Cattleyas sections at Sunset Valley Orchids and Gold Country Orchids. Note the ancestors used for breeding. Orchid Board member Fairorchids is in the east of the US and may have something for you. If you don't buy from these places you might find the ancestors used in breeding these smaller plants elsewhere.

SVO sells mostly seedlings flowering in 1-2 years. The owner Fred Clarke breeds lots of small Cattleyas. He also sells a lot of seedlings of other small orchids.

GCO sells seedlings and blooming size divisions. The owner Alan Koch specializes in miniature to small orchids of many kinds, to flower on windowsills.

[mopwr]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Look through the Compact and Miniature Cattleyas sections at Sunset Valley Orchids and Gold Country Orchids. Note the ancestors used for breeding. Orchid Board member Fairorchids is in the east of the US and may have something for you. If you don't buy from these places you might find the ancestors used in breeding these smaller plants elsewhere.

SVO sells mostly seedlings flowering in 1-2 years. The owner Fred Clarke breeds lots of small Cattleyas. He also sells a lot of seedlings of other small orchids.

GCO sells seedlings and blooming size divisions. The owner Alan Koch specializes in miniature to small orchids of many kinds, to flower on windowsills.

Thanks, I had seen what Fred has, and I'm looking, but my only problem is that I have a TON of seedlings right now. Was hoping for something a bit closer to blooming / bloom size.

I went to check out GCO, but their website is down, is there another way to order from them / see their available plants? I see they have a Facebook page, but I'm hesitant to use the FB marketplace, unless it's got a lot of good feedback.

[estación seca]

Drop Alan Koch an E-mail and ask. gcorchids at aol dot com.

[Fairorchids]

Hi mop,

Back in June 2020, I ordered 4 pcs of SVO7263 from Fred Clarke (this cross is sold out now). The first plant bloomed in January 2021, with a 5" flower on a Pseudobulb less than 2.1/2" tall. The parentage is
(Pot. Pat Thrall 'Magenta Fire' AM/AOS x Lc. Jose Dias Castro 'Magnifica'). If you look for those parents in the current seedling list, you should get what you are looking for.

Alternatively, if you look for crosses between large complex Cattleya hybrids and Brassavola nodosa, you will get flowers in 4-5" range on very compact plants.

I do have some plants from these breeding lines available (most are in $25-30 range). I don't know where you are in PA; if a trip to NJ is too far (I am near Flemington), I can mail plants to you.

A couple of examples are shown below.

First: Rby. Nosy Williette 'Freya' (Williette Wong x B. nodosa)
Second: (B. nodosa x Rlc. Taeko Tamaki)
Third: Lc. Crimson Dragon 'First Egg'

The last photo is a Fred Clarke hybrid. It is super vigorous, so I have multiple divisions of a plant that was in a 3" pot in 2019. Flowers are exactly 4" across, and the plant is 7-8" tall. Single lead divisions of 'First Egg' are $35 each.

[yug]

C. schilleriana, C. aclandiae, C. Mahalo Jack