Guarianthe aurantiaca 'Maruja' syn Cattleya aurantiaca 'Maruja'

[Bud]

This orchid is endemic to Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala; a zone that is very humid with abundant rainfall, therefore the plant does not like to be dry for long periods of time but will succumb to root rot if overwatered. These are small to medium plants; I posted the long stemmed bulbs variety a while ago in another thread. This orchid was recently moved to the group Guarianthe, commonly known as the Orange Cattleya. This is the variety that has spotting on the lip.
For culture and care, I give this plant intermediate to cool growing, yet this can also tolerate warmer temperatures with the aid of good air circulation. I give it bright shaded light during its growing period and dry winter rest with cool night temperatures to induce flowers; it can tolerate down to 50F at night, but I do not stress it just to prove a point it is given 60F at night….what I mean by ‘dry winter rest’ is reduced watering but do not completely deprive it of water ….(I water it twice a week in the summer but only once a week in winter) I have a humidifier with oscillating electric fan in the day and automatically shuts off at night….
Weekly weakly fertilizer added with seaweed mix and worm tea mix.

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful! I'm gonna get me one someday!

[Bud]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Beautiful! I'm gonna get me one someday!

Thank You, Sonya !

*I got this from 'Orchids By Eli' from Puerto Rico

[silken]

Very cheerful and bright!

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Bud

Thank You, Sonya !

*I got this from 'Orchids By Eli' from Puerto Rico

Hehe ... there have ben times I was *this* close to buying the yellow variety from that seller ... Good seller, then?

[ronaldhanko]

Gorgeous, Bud.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by silken

Very cheerful and bright!

Thank You, silken!

---------- Post added at 08:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 PM ----------

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Hehe ... there have ben times I was *this* close to buying the yellow variety from that seller ... Good seller, then?

Very reliable and trustworthy seller. The plants arrive from the mail in less than three days and it is carefully packed. They send large blooming sized healthy plants.

---------- Post added at 08:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 PM ----------

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Gorgeous, Bud.

Thank You, Ron !!!!

[isurus79]

That color is just amazing. Good work Bud.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by isurus79

That color is just amazing. Good work Bud.

Thanks for the visit, Steve !

[Bud]

This gave me a substantial cluster of flowers with waxy shiny petals that smells like one of that hard candy in cans.
Originally described as Epidendrum aurantiacum by Lindley in the BOTANICAL REGISTER for 1838, this species represents the uncertain boundary line that by convention separated the genus Cattleya from the genus Epidendrum. This orchid plant and other closely related Central American species have recently been transferred to Guarianthe. The petals and sepals are similar in shape and texture that is bright cinnabar-red in color. The lip is obscurely three-lobed, the middle lobe somewhat acute, also cinnabar-red with several dark streaks or veins. There are several forms of this species, some being very vigorous with numerous larger flowers. Some forms do not open widely, some are cleistogamous or self-pollinating. This is easy to grow= it makes a nice addition to a collection, blooming spring/summer.