Cattleya nobilior

[smweaver]

That's really a nice-looking bloom. Does it flower like C. walkeriana (that is, on a specialized growth) or do the blooms come from the top of the newest pseudobulb?

Steve

[Anglo]

Steve, C. nobilior flowers from the specialized growth even more strictly than walkerianas do. That is, while walkerianas frequently decide to bud from the tops of maturing pseudobulbs, nobiliors almost never do. I would say “never,” as most sources say, but I did read that it has been known to happen.

Since this plant is the only C. nobilior I have ever grown, I took a special interest in observing the budding process. I took some pictures of the flowering growth and developing buds, which are included here for you and anyone who might be interested. They’re followed by a picture of the flowers that was taken right after they opened. They matured in the following days; the pigmentation became more concentrated, the petals became more erect, and the lateral lobes of the labellum closed more over the upper part of the column.

[smweaver]

Thank you for the informative pictures. It does look very much like a C. walkeriana flowering growth, and I'm not sure that I would be able to tell the difference between the two species if I was to be presented with two plants that were not in flower (although perhaps there are distinctive characteristics that would tell a more seasoned grower what he or she was looking at). Very cool plant and blooms. Congratulations on the flowering.

Steve

[flhiker]

Never seen a growth habit like that one. the 4th pictures say's lot with that honey dew dripping from the bud. And that 5th photo is simply beautiful. Calendar quality. I'd keep it to enter next year's contest. Great growing.

[Anglo]

flhiker, thanks for your kind comments!

And Steve, they certainly could be confused when not in flower. They are very closely related, obviously having common ancestry in their ancient past. Although not foolproof, one clue in distinguishing between the plants is that nobiliors almost always have two leaves per pseudobulb while walkerianas usually have only one.

[catwalker808]

Anglo.
Nice photos & nice thread. Good job growing.
I'm glad to see you responding to the needs & cues from this species, rather than just reading about what it's supposed to need.

You've pinned down pretty well the plant forms & blooming habits of C nobilior & C walkeriana.
Growers, with a lot of experience with these species, have come to recognize that there are no absolutes with these 2 species.

C walkeriana "usually" produces a single leaf on each pbulb. But many juvenile plants that are well fed & vigorously growing, may produce 2 leaves on one growth. As the plants mature, then each growth usually has only one leaf. However, there many instances when 2 leaves are produced even on mature plants ... especially when plants receive ample food & water when they are initiating new growth. I don't imagine wild plants receive this kind of nutritional boost in their habitat.

On the other hand, C nobilior plants "almost always" produce 2 leaves on one pbulb. A single leaf is a rare occurance, almost an aberration.

C walkeriana plants "usually" bloom from a specialized spike emerging from the base of a mature pbulb. Sometimes a spike will emerge from the top of a pbulb, from the base of the leaf. Sometimes the pbulb is immature or not full sized (sometimes when a secondary pbulb starts to develop just prior to the blooming season) It's as though part way through the pbulb development, that growth receives signals that it should become a flower spike. Much less commonly, a flower spike may emerge from the top of a more mature pbulb. But this is rather rare, except among C walkeriana coerulea forms. The coeruleas frequently bloom from the tops, for some reason.

In the case of C nobilior, it's fairly accurate to say they "always" bloom from a specialized growth, which emerges from the base of a mature pbulb. But even this "always" may be subject to a very rare apex bloom.

Of course, you know that this only applies to real C walkeriana plants.

[Anglo]

Catwalker808, thanks for the input -- I always appreciate you sharing your expertise. In fact, It was mainly your advise I followed, from an older thread, about the benefits of a culture that provides better growing conditions through the year than C. nobilior has in the wild. You were right!

[Oscarman]

Very lovely! Thanks for filling us in on your cultural conditions.