Laelia tenebrosa v. aurea 'Richard Santos' x self in bloom

[silken]

Here is another first bloom for me. This has been my summer of first blooms! I got this plant 1 1/2 years ago from Miranda Orchids when he was in Alberta speaking at one of the orchid societies. This is the first time it has bloomed so I will forgive it for having only 1 bloom!

Francisco Miranda said he always grows his Laelias in a clay pot in moss so that's how I have potted it with a bit of charcoal at the bottom. It seems happy and has good roots since I just re-potted earlier this summer.

The bloom has no scent to this point so not sure if it will develop one. I thought it would. The flower is 5 1/2 inches wide and the trumpet throat is more than 3 inches long! I'm very happy with the colour as I bought it without seeing a picture. The picture really shows the lovely pinkish veins over the light gold petals. It looks lovely with a bit of back light.