C. Jumbo Beat, first bloom

[silken]

C Jumbo Beat (C. Horace x C. Drumbeat). I haven't seen this cross or pictures of it too often. But it comes from old and quite common parents. Horace is a huge flower so its no wonder this bloom is NS 6.5 inches. I got this from a friend as a huge plant with 44 growths but it had never bloomed. I think it was not enough light. So I re-potted and divided into 4 pieces of which 3 were given away. My large piece finally presented me with a bloom. I hope many more to come next year! I don't detect a scent and its been open a couple days although I kind of expect there to be one.

This plant is a contender for taking up the most space of the Catts in my collection

[Orchids4ever]

Wow,very pretty ,silken
Just hope mine will do something ,some Day .....it's still very small
So i might have to wait for a couple of years or so.

[judith_arquette]

gorgeous!

[silken]

Thanks for looking.

[tucker85]

Wow! That's beautiful!! I'm a big fan of classic pink/lavender cattleyas with a dark lip. You certainly can't go wrong with those parents. Good growing.

[Whimgrinder]

Wonderful! You couldn't possibly go wrong crossing those two classic Cattleyas, could you?! I'd love to find a division of C. Horace one day.

[silken]

I agree, excellent pedigree on this one. And finally, some scent. It's still dark out and in my living room, but it has a scent of baby powder. Quite different than any other scented ones I have, although very pleasant. We'll see if it changes as the day goes on.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by silken

I agree, excellent pedigree on this one. And finally, some scent. It's still dark out and in my living room, but it has a scent of baby powder. Quite different than any other scented ones I have, although very pleasant. We'll see if it changes as the day goes on.

It would be interesting if your plant would bloom during the warmer part of the year so it could be outside during the process. I know of another non-orchid flower, Gymnocoronis spilanthoides that smells like baby powder and it is second to none in attracting Monarch butterflies and is extremely attractive to other species of butterflies as well.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

It would be interesting if your plant would bloom during the warmer part of the year so it could be outside during the process. I know of another non-orchid flower, Gymnocoronis spilanthoides that smells like baby powder and it is second to none in attracting Monarch butterflies and is extremely attractive to other species of butterflies as well.

If it gives me some summer blooms I will put it out and see what comes to it. So long as it isn't bad bugs! I wonder if Monarchs aren't rather more selective tho. I know they like the milk weed plant. But I like butterflies in my flower garden so it would be worth the experiment.

[WhiteRabbit]

Gorgeous!