C. Walkeriana semi alba "Tokyo 1"?

[Autumn Child]

Recently, I got back into orchid growing after I settle down a bit from hectic work and family life. I started this hobby more than 15 years ago and had hundreds of orchids. Due to constant moving, busy schedule and family life, most of my orchid has died to disease and sub optimal growing space. However, out of the hundreds, this particular cattleya seems to beat the odd and have survived for more than 13 years. It has grown so huge that I divided it into two plants. It has bloomed semi reliably annually in spring time with one or two flowers. Unfortunately, it has lost its label a long long time ago. Now I can't remember what it was. I remembered having an award winning C. Walkeriana OG with and AM/AOS award and a massive price tag, but forgot the actual name. So I looked at the internet for the closest resembling plant which is the Tokyo No 1. This plant seems huge compared to the C. Walkeriana Coerulea that I had grown before. The bulb size is huge and the leaves are very thick and durable. It actually look like two different plant species than the coerulea variety. Can anyone confirm if this is the right plant?

[Jmoney]

no way to tell from the plant I think. A quick search showed that the only AM/AOS semi-alba cultivars awarded by the AOS pre-2012 are 'Palmetto Star', 'Malli Rao', and 'Tokyo No. 1'.

[isurus79]

Looks like walkeriana, but I don't know that we could confirm a clonal name

[Autumn Child]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Looks like walkeriana, but I don't know that we could confirm a clonal name

Thanks. At least it is a walkeriana. starting to get everything back in my head again. This time I better catalogue the plant in my computer instead of just relying on tags.

---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Jmoney

no way to tell from the plant I think. A quick search showed that the only AM/AOS semi-alba cultivars awarded by the AOS pre-2012 are 'Palmetto Star', 'Malli Rao', and 'Tokyo No. 1'.

Then I think it is the tokyo no.1. The other names are even more unfamiliar to me. Either way, the plant at this point is more important than the tag. It has gone through a lot with me through out the decade and I have grown attached to it emotionally. Thanks for your input.

[Autumn Child]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Looks like walkeriana, but I don't know that we could confirm a clonal name

The plant grows on a window sill and it blooms mostly in spring and sometimes in autumn. It gets mostly sunlight, but also some indoor light as it is on indoors window sill. Is this still considered normal for walkeriana? or is it a hybrid?

[orchidman77]

Looks like a walkeriana species to me. Walkeriana is known to bloom twice a year under the right conditions; I'm happy you've been able to keep this one alive! Good luck growing/restarting the hobby.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Autumn Child

The plant grows on a window sill and it blooms mostly in spring and sometimes in autumn. It gets mostly sunlight, but also some indoor light as it is on indoors window sill. Is this still considered normal for walkeriana? or is it a hybrid?

It certainly could be a hybrid. However, Harry Akagi of H&R in Hawaii regularly blooms many of his plants 2x per year as well. I think even the species can bloom twice a year if conditions are really optimal.

[estación seca]

Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids said his walkerianas bloomed Spring and Fall in Los Angeles (34 degrees North) but only in spring in Sacramento (38.5 degrees North.)