otaara hidden gold

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

This is a very special compact cattleya hybrid (IMHO), I had bought a compot of these from HR and shared with friends as they grew. The really striking color originates from G aurantiaca (oranges and some yellow), broughtonia sanguinea (reddish purple)and laelia Mueller (fiery red) and yes I know the name was changed to Claudehamiltonaara but I will continue to call it otaara hidden gold.

this plant can be acclimated to full sun and one of my friends has one in a basket attached to a wooden fence that is in blooms just about year round in south Fla and it has no shade at all for full day exposure, the plant stature stays compact.

The blooms comes out fiery red, slowly morph to orange and then ripen to a rich golden yellow. Its just great to see the blooms ripen and slowly change as they mature.

blooms several times per year and is pretty much indestructible when mounted or in a net pot (mine is a net pot 4 inch) and allowed to dry in between waterings.

BTW, anyone know why JPG pics are showing up 90 degrees CCW?
thanks