HUGE CATTLEYA!!!

[Call_Me_Bob]

Today at the garden center, i saw a huge cattleya!! it wasn't with the orchids for sale, it was on a high shelf over a little waterfall thing. it was huge!! It was at least 3 feet wide and 3 feet back. it has at least 30 pseudobulbs. and at least 7 spikes in bloom with three flowers each. it looked neglected but thriving. thee pot was overturned and there were roots everywhere. but it looked happy. its blooms were at least 6 inches across and it was pure white, with a little bit of yellow inside the lip. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-!-!

[Junebug]

Yeah, Catts can grow very large. One time a caretaker at a local nursery gave me a special invite to the nursery's "forbidden zone" where I was privileged to lay eyes on (but not touch) a very large stud plant. That Cattleya was at least 5' to 6' in diameter and it would have been impossible to count all the bulbs. It was an amazing site.

[Call_Me_Bob]

yeah!!??!! i had to estimate the number of pseudobulbs

[RosieC]

Wow, great sounding Catt.

Burnham Nursary in the UK has many of it's Stud Plants on display. Some of them in a display area (although some of the plants in the display area are also for sale) some of them as you walk arround their growing area scattered amoungst the small plants and others are in the shop area (but with tags in to show they are not for sale).

I don't think they had Catts, but many of the plants were too large to move, they had massive Phrags with arches of flowers going over your head as you walked arround, I didn't spot one of them because it was so large arching over my head I just walked straight under without noticing until my hubby pointed it out.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Wow, great sounding Catt.

Burnham Nursary in the UK has many of it's Stud Plants on display. Some of them in a display area (although some of the plants in the display area are also for sale) some of them as you walk arround their growing area scattered amoungst the small plants and others are in the shop area (but with tags in to show they are not for sale).

I don't think they had Catts, but many of the plants were too large to move, they had massive Phrags with arches of flowers going over your head as you walked arround, I didn't spot one of them because it was so large arching over my head I just walked straight under without noticing until my hubby pointed it out.

thats awesome!! and that phrag

i saw a pic online somewhere, a pic of this guy next to a vanda that was taller than him. and a dendrobium with 5 of its canes taller than him!


the only reason this suprises me, is that it wasnt an orchid nursery, it was just a garden center, specializing in yards lol. with an orchid section.... and the cattleya was the only on in the vicinity, and it wasnt even near the other orchids.

it just suprised me a good suprise

[RosieC]

Yeah, I would certainly be suprised to see such a Catt or any big orchid at one of the garden centers I use.

[Call_Me_Bob]

i was surprised!!! im gonna call them to see if its for sale do you think i should ?

[johnblagg]

Sure and be prepared for a huge price ...lol specimines like that are not everyday cheap.Anl lol it may have looked neglected but then again in the wild they would be "neglected" so It really isnt if it is that huge it is doing pretty well

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by johnblagg

Sure and be prepared for a huge price ...lol specimines like that are not everyday cheap.Anl lol it may have looked neglected but then again in the wild they would be "neglected" so It really isnt if it is that huge it is doing pretty well

i excpect a huge price!!! they are gonna say like 456789987654$ okay, maybe not, but i doubt ill buy it unless its insanely cheap

[RosieC]

You might be lucky if it's a garden center that does not realise the value. If it's just been shoved somewhere and abandoned they may not think it's actually worth anything... then again they may.