Cattleya maxima coerula parentage

[isurus79]

This is a second bloom plant that I got as a seedling from EOoM a few years back. The parents are coerulea 'Alexandra' x coerulescens 'Thunder Mountain' and you can definitely see the coerulea influence, though I don't think I would go as far as to say its blue. The flowers are very pendant, which is normal for this specie. However, when I was pulling the plant from the slug war zone, I noticed that the bottom half of the pot is a muddy mess, so I lost about half the roots on this one, but no matter. A quick repot and it should be ok. I'm wondering if some of the 'pendantness' is from a poor root system. FYI, this one opened its buds to a very ugly pale pink color and I was very disappointed until I saw that this morning the flowers had darkened quite a bit into a very nice pink/purple color. Enjoy!

[isurus79]

Hmmm... this one is even darker today.

[trdyl]

It's very pretty, but not what I would expect from a coerulea.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by trdyl

It's very pretty, but not what I would expect from a coerulea.

Indeed! I'm glad I have another seedling that has yet to bloom from this batch. I am absolutely very happy with this flower, however. The intensity of the dark pink coloration approaches purple and is much better looking in person than in my pics. I guess I have a ways to go with my photog skills!

[Rosim_in_BR]

It's a nice maxima, Steve. Maxima flowers are normally a little curved down, but not so much as it appears in the second photo you posted. It is also interesting tht many times the flowers open very pale pink (sometimes almost white!) and then get darker as they age.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

It's a nice maxima, Steve. Maxima flowers are normally a little curved down, but not so much as it appears in the second photo you posted. It is also interesting tht many times the flowers open very pale pink (sometimes almost white!) and then get darker as they age.

Thanks Mauro! Yes, I think the weak root system is to blame for the overly droopy flowers. You can't see it in the pics, but the bulbs are very skinny and wrinkled. I repotted it today and its been raining so they should fatten up soon, without me having to cut the flowers!!

[elmini]

Very very very nice, congratulation !

[RosieC]

I really like the look of the curve down that Mauro mentions. It looks very graceful. Wonderful colour.

[tuvoc]

Really lovely color, Steve, and the droopyness has a charm all its own. I have a seedling of 'Hector' X 'Hsinying' that's a year or so from blooming. We'll see how 'blue' this one is.

Kim

[Paul]

Nice lip!