Cattleya Amethystoglossa 4N

[mopwr]

Hey All, wanted to share my first bloom on a recent division I got of a Amethystoglossa 4N. I have to admit, I didn't even expect it to bloom at all, being as it was a recent division I got last year in late September. It didn't have ideal conditions for a bit as I struggled to find (or build) a location to grow it - since it's by far my largest orchid (or plant of any kind). The idea of blooming a plant this large indoors (about 42" from bottom of pot to top of spike), in my basement, is something I was hopeful I could pull off, but I wasn't completely sure until last month.

I built an insulated grow tent of sorts with a led panel and some fans for circulation. Additionally, there's a gravel tray on the bottom where I can add water to keep the humidity up. It gets heated from the heat put off by the led during the day (ends up around 78-80 in winter) and gets a temperature drop at night and falls to whatever the ambient basement temperature - which in winter time gets as low as 62-63.

Regarding the blooms, they are super thick and waxy once fully opened, are so stiff, they would sooner crack then flex if you tried to bend them in your hands. I included pictures of the color which was basically impossible to capture in my basement, even with supplemental lighting. They are a hair over 4" wide on natural spread, but I expect they will improve and be a bit larger on the next blooming since this was a recent 4-bulb division with a relatively small root system... Still surprised it bloomed and didn't abort the buds... 10 flowers no less. Coincidentally, this was also my first experience of seeing these blooms in person. I have a ton of seedlings, small plants, but just for whatever reason never saw these, for sale or otherwise, in bloom locally.

The other thing I noticed was that the color came out as pink background with red spots (first picture is the best color capture I could get) and stayed that way for about two weeks, then shifted to a more white background with pink spots (last two photos on a warm day outside) and held that color for the latter two weeks... Now they're starting to drop, but getting a month of those flowers to look at (and smell) - I can't complain at all.

[isurus79]

Very cool! Such a great species and yours looks like a good one!

[Dalachin]

It’s lovely!

[Louis_W]

Awesome! I love seing pics of these large plants. I have 3, and they are growing extremely well and are on the cusp of blooming size but, like you, I have never seen one in person yet.

---------- Post added at 08:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------

Is the smell anything like tigrina?

[smweaver]

Congratulations on your flowers. They're very pretty. And just be forewarned that there's a very good chance that the plant will get taller than its current height. Cattleya amethystoglossa is definitely one of the more beefy bifoliate cattleyas when it reaches full size. But it's a magnificent species that's well worth the space (and finicky repotting requirements) that it needs.

[orchidman77]

Congratulations indeed! This one is stunning; I wish I could see it (and smell that fragrance) in person.

Until I have more space than my small grow tent, I won't grow this species. I'm also a little scared of it I've heard too many horror stories of repotting at the wrong time or otherwise finding ways to lose roots and kill the plant.

David