Laeliocattleya Floralia's Azul 'Sandra' x Cattleya amethystoglossa coerulea 'Blue Sky

[Jeff214]

Here are the first blooms opening on a C. amethystoglossa hybrid, Lc. Floralia's Azul 'Sandra' x C. amethystoglossa coerulea 'Blue Sky'. I got this from Carter and Holmes Sep 2019, and it's been a vigorous grower with exceptionally strong roots in pots. I grow it indoors, under lights, in coarse bark, with 2-3x weekly waterings during growth.

The buds are still opening up and I detected a faint fragrance this morning. The colors and fragrance might intensify as the buds all open up.

[Diane56Victor]

Beautiful veining and spots, you must be very happy with that bloom.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

That is gorgeous!

[DirtyCoconuts]

Love it. Nice pot too!

[isurus79]

Ohhhh, I saw your IG post. I've gone back several times to look at it. Absolutely stunning! I'm not a huge fan of complex hybrids but this is really something amazing.

[Jeff214]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

I've been shifting towards Cattleya species, but I was really curious what this cross might look like. C. amethystoglossa clearly is dominating here but I love that it softened the overall shape and added some cool patterning. The fragrance is getting stronger but... it's not pleasant so far. I can take a few days for the fragrance to settle down and I hope it improves. Not sure what the parents smell like...

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Jeff214

The fragrance is getting stronger but... it's not pleasant so far. I can take a few days for the fragrance to settle down and I hope it improves. Not sure what the parents smell like...

I was going to ask if you're familiar with the amethystoglossa fragrance. Personally, I love it but I could understand why others might find the muskiness a bit offsetting.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by isurus79

I was going to ask if you're familiar with the amethystoglossa fragrance. Personally, I love it but I could understand why others might find the muskiness a bit offsetting.

Hmm it reminds me how a bradford pear tree smells like, but with some spiciness. I have a C. amethystoglossa, but it's still pretty small. Hopefully, I will be able to compare one of these days.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Jeff214

Hmm it reminds me how a bradford pear tree smells like, but with some spiciness. I have a C. amethystoglossa, but it's still pretty small. Hopefully, I will be able to compare one of these days.

I just googled "describe bradford pear flower scent" and the results were pretty bad!!!

If you get sick of the scent, let me know! I'll trade you something for it! lol

[estación seca]

It's not as bad as rotten fish. Look up surströmming. People in Alaska also prepare fish heads and beaver tail this way.