I got this plant early last year, out of bloom and no i.d., from a neighbor who has a plant service business. She had two benches filled with out of bloom and in various states of neglect orchids. I took this one as it looked to be in good shape. Was it ever - had crazy roots! It was in a tray with other orchids tagged as Wildcat, so I figured there was a good chance that's what it is.
This is a very robust plant! Big fat pbulbs, and surprisingly crazy fat, long roots. It got four new growths last year, and all are now blooming. The spikes that started later (during lower temps and less light) are much smaller than the two that started a bit earlier.
The blooms appear almost black when not in bright light, but definitely red in very bright sun - wine/burgundy color in bright shade.
This wintered outdoors here in zone 9 (sheltered from weather; put in garage on the coldest nights) - without any problems, tho I suspect that the lower temps slowed the spike growth. So, it's been an outdoor plant for over a year - quite temperature tolerant - it has taken short periods of extreme heat (shaded during the afternoon), short periods of quite low temps (mid 30s).
The first three photos are of the plant and roots when I got it. I had posted here looking for advice on what size pot to use to best accommodate the roots, and any new growth - it ended up in an 8" pot (after being in a 4"!). Thanks to all who helped with that - the 8" was definitely the right way to go!
Thanks for looking
Looks like Oncostele (Colmanara) Wildcat ('Red Cat'?)
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