First C. Walkeriana Flower of the Season - ‘Mirtha Isabel Oliveros'
 

It's rather earlier than expected. The bud formed upside down and only made it halfway to upright. I don't think it is going to open any more than it is. The plant has three more buds on two growths.


-Keith

First bloom? Nice color! Looks like another spike forming too.

Thanks. The color is nice in person too. It also matches the color on my monitor, though it may not on some others.

-Keith

This thread was started 10-19-2021 when the flower first opened. Today 11-28-2021 it is fading after it perfumed my greenhouse for 40 days after opening. The next bud is just about ready to open. That's one of the things that makes walkeriana so wonderful.

-Keith

wow, that's impressive.
I've never had a fragrant Catt stay open that long.
Thanks for the update.
I've been keeping an eye out for a good walkeriana variety but now I definitely need to find one somewhere.

That sounds like my dream Catt! I grow indoors and have limited space, I have some compact Catts but they are in bloom for about 2-3 weeks at most. So they take up space for a very short lived reward... Catt walkeriana sounds perfect, and I really love the color of yours! Sadly it probably isn't a good plant for me since the day/night temperature differential indoors is small, and if I recall correctly this species doesn't like nocturnal lighting (I have several bright street lights shining into the room...)

Excellent color. Is this the first time that it's flowered for you? If so, the shape may (should?) improve the next.

Exceptional walkerianas get insanely expensive. Some super nice divisions coming out of Brazil retail at 2-4k. I got some less expensive ones imported that are better than most everything in the USA at the moment. If anyone is interested a couple of these nurseries sell through facebook and I am quite happy with them.

In terms of good walkerianas, krull smith has 'tokyo #1' for sale. I bought one and its a really nice blooming sized plant and tested clean.

Sunset valley orchids has couple really nice looking tipos on ebay right now.

Love it!!! Congrats and enjoy

all that's available at the moment here is an alba or a regular pink one. I'd rather wait.
Really kicking myself I didn't buy a "manhattan blue" last year when it was available.

I did get a Cattleya Final Blue. That is 75% walkeriana, not quite the right one but a nice one does seem to be quite rare.

I've grown indoors about half the time over the years and greenhouse the other half. I confess that I have had mixed results getting walkeriana to flower indoors. Some articles I've seen say that the primary reason this species fails to flower is insufficient light. I think this is likely because there are other day length orchids that are easier to flower. If you use lights, be sure to have the on time vary with the actual day lengths.

That said, one problem with this hobby is that asking 10 people you can get 10 opinions. The one thing I think we can say for sure is that a lot of people have trouble getting them to flower.

My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to buy a mature plant of high quality of a well-known variety other people have had success with, then give it a try. See if it flowers for you next year.

I can't say why, but I find walkeriana to be more interesting orchids than their larger cousins. I like growing them even when they don't flower.

-Keith

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:03 PM ----------

I'm not fond of the blue walkers because the flowers are of significantly lower quality than most others. Actually, I find the blue cattleyas unimpressive in general.

I also have a Tokyo #1 from Krull Smith that was a surprisingly nice three plants, though it hasn't flowered (yet?) this fall.

-Keith

---------- Post added at 06:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:11 PM ----------

Interest here.
-Keith

Missed that you are in the UK. I have a 'Manhattan Blue' its a nice coerulea with great color and vigor, but not the pinnacle of walkeriana breeding.

It might be worth investigating importing some if you are really wanting a nice coerulea or other uncommon color forms.

I had a good experience importing a bunch of walkerianas from Orquidário Americana. Free shipping, good communication, no paperwork (may be different for you), and 1k order minimum.

I got a 4 bulb division with a spike that looks like this for $250
https://scontent-bos3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...44&oe=61CD0915

This photo shows that the Brazilians are light years ahead of us in terms of line breeding, including coerulea walkeriana. This is nearly as good a shape as any tipo.

I asked Dwayne Johnson if he could find me a Brazilian Jewel.

He said he only does that in movies.