Cattleya warscewiczii size question

[isurus79]

Oh wow, that's good info!

[Louis_W]

Originally Posted by Manfred Busche

According to Art Chadwick (personal communication) , son of the author of this piece :: Cattleya warscewiczii , his late father used to tell that those giant specimen were TRIPLOID forms of Cattleya warscewiczii.

And when at that time the technique of hybridization was mastered , new and attractive and non-pricey Cattleya hybrids would draw all the attention of the market.

And to make space in the greenhouses , those giant C. warscewiczii triploid plants were thrown to the garbage.

Gone forever !! Sad ...

This tale should answer this 'size question' , does it ?

Thank you! This is good info! Questions remain! Aren't some of our modern plants also polyploids? No AOS awards for chadwicks giant plants? No photos? Still not sure if I buy it, but I want to believe!

[Manfred Busche]

Originally Posted by Louis_W

Thank you! This is good info! Questions remain! Aren't some of our modern plants also polyploids? No AOS awards for chadwicks giant plants? No photos? Still not sure if I buy it, but I want to believe!

Hi Louis.
You seem passionate about this (smile) ... and so am I , because C. warscewiczii is my favorite Cattleya species
by a mile.

Triploidy is a very rare phenomenon that in nature occurs by chance , and even normal (diploid) C. warscewiczii plants grow to a large size , and this is why nursery men do not reproduce this species freely , and so the chance for a 'nursery-grown triploid' is probably VERY SLIM ...

I cultivate 5 different clones of C. warscewiczii , and 2 have names , 'La Floresta' and 'Ituango' , and I grow them the hard way , under the open sky in a rainy/sunny location at 700 meters above sea level. I will at any opportunity take in more clones of C. warscewiczii. (smile)

A normal diploid of C. warscewiczii is an adult plant when it has grown to 60 cms tall (p.bulb + leaf) ... and a triploid with 12"-flowers should be 80 cms to 100 cms tall , just to be able to produce and bear such oddly large flowers.

So , here is how I try to take care of them :: no fertilizer when there is no new growth , and heavy fertilizer to the individual plant when it's new shoots have grown to 10 cms in length. Plus full sun and much rain water.
And this way , as a next step , I nourish my eternal small hope for a bunch of 10"-flowers on any of my C.warscewiczii plants ... (smile)

postscriptum :: what Chadwick sen. has written about at that time Cattleya warscewiczii were natural plants taken from the forest in the wild old days , not nursery-produced plants bred for size ...