The warscewiczii are now in sheath and this eager first bloom seedling had to beat the old timers by a couple months. Not the greatest Alba warscewiczii around but a nice show from a line bred seedling we can trace from Envigado back to Leo Holguin and to Firmin Lambeu (all of which are sheath at the moment and would be cool to compare, I’ll add pictures as they bloom). Funny enough if you asked me five years ago I would never imagine growing unifoliates, as my passion lied in bifoliates but since then my favorite species C. warscewiczii has changed my mind and drained my bank account. I didn’t notice this had spiked and as they grow in full sun, the spike arched and flower pendulously.
The second picture is C. Nellie Cohen, an original division of a 1940s corsage cattleya I’ve chopped to oblivion and back many times. This is second year from a measly two bulb division, growing in sphagnum moss in an uncovered corner of the lathe house, fully exposed to the sun and the elements. Prolific bloomer and grows like a weed.
(I’m not sure how to edit photo orientation on this forum so I’ve included Flickr links to better quality images)
C. warscewiczii
Flickr
C. Nellie Cohen
Flickr