Cattleya Rex Ayacucho vs. Moyobamba

[mopwr]

I've always wanted a Rex to grow since I first saw them and I recently managed to land a Rex var Ayacucho. I've read up on the care of Cattleya Rex fairly extensively and saw a particularly good video by William Greene, but there's one thing I haven't been able to find anything on significantly:

What are the biggest differences between the two subspecies?

Follow-up: Are there any flower differences - if so what are they?

So far, the only differences I've gathered from digging is that there are claims that Ayacucho forms are more uncommon than Moyobamba, they are more compact, are potentially a little fussier to grow (no reasons given), the underside of their leaves turn purple at high light levels, and they typically have fewer flowers, but the flowers are larger in size.

All of those details are interesting, but not a lot is definitive. I've heard that there are flower differences, but there's not a ton of detail there. The description I read, read something to the effect of "They are hard to tell apart, but an experienced grower could identify which was which if in bloom side-by-side." Surely, to qualify as a subsepecies or a variation, there'd have to be something a little more quantifiable, no?

Regarding the care, I've heard they are slightly different in terms of ideals they seek, but no detail there either. I plan on learning and experimenting (and sharing any successes I make), but with warnings like "these are really fussy / challenging" I just want to make sure I get it to live long enough to report back. The only thing I think I have going for me is that I will be growing mine in my terrarium setup where it can get 12 hours of high light year round (something it couldn't get at my latitude) and warm-ish temps (around 80+ day, mid 60s at night) with humidity stable around 80%... And that fits the general care guides I've heard for this species.

[Clawhammer]

Nice acquisition, congrats! Mind sharing where you got your? Been looking forever!

[SouthPark]

Nice one. Anybody know if C. Rex is in Australia? I've only seen T. Rex before (on tv - Jurassic Park).

[mopwr]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Nice acquisition, congrats! Mind sharing where you got your? Been looking forever!

I got mine from High Desert Orchids, they had listings on their website and I put a watch on it months ago. One came in stock recently (just one) and I jumped on it. It wasn't cheap, but 1.) it was a bloom size plant and 2.) I was using birthday money, so I'm good with it. There are some Rex seedlings very recently listed on eBay, but as most people know here, eBay is a mixed bag and it's a bit of a gamble.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by mopwr

I was using birthday money, so I'm good with it.

I can think of a heap of other things I could buy with birthday money. And I think that a C. Rex is right up there on the bday buy list.

[Bayard]

You might try contacting 4331Steven on eBay. He sells Cattleya rex seedlings from time to time. He offers seedlings and divisions of Cattleya species and is a reputable seller in my opinion.

[My Green Pets]

Someone else posted this same question not long ago.

From what I gather from looking at Peruflora's catalogues, watching the video of Alberto Quevedo in Lima, and browsing the Cattleya rex Facebook group, I can suggest a couple of things.

The Moyobamba and Ayacucho varieties are highland and lowland varieties. Moyobamba grows with somewhat less light, cooler temperatures, and more rainfall. Ayacucho takes higher light, warmer temps, and less water.

To tell them apart, the leaves on Ayacucho are purple on the underside, not so much on Moyobamba. The flowers of Ayacucho are more yellow with red lip, while Moyobamba has a whiter flower, with a red to purple to pink lip.

Here is a link to my Google drive with a bunch of photos of several varieties from Peruflora's catalog. Also there is the original description by James O'Brien in 1889, and as he describes the flower as mostly yellow and crimson, I suppose it was the Ayacucho variety.

I would expect that Manolo Arias and many other Peruvian nurserymen could explain the differences more accurately...but darn it, they do not seem to want to answer emails.

[isurus79]

I stumbled upon this YouTube channel, hosted by the Sociedad Peruana de Orquídeas. I suspect there are some great nuggets buried in there! Turn on English subtitles if your Spanish is as rusty as mine lol

Sociedad Peruana de Orquideas - YouTube

[mopwr]

Awesome, thanks for the info, pics and YouTube channel. It does seem that in order to learn more, I'll definitely need to brush up on my Spanish, as pretty much all information is from the South American growers.

I have my Ayacucho acclimating to my setup and so far so good, it's supposedly bloom size / near bloom size, so with any luck, I may get some blooms of my own to share.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by mopwr

Awesome, thanks for the info, pics and YouTube channel. It does seem that in order to learn more, I'll definitely need to brush up on my Spanish, as pretty much all information is from the South American growers.

YouTube has really upped their closed caption game recently. You can turn on closed captions (which will be in Spanish) and then go to settings to change them over to English, which helps a lot.