Rlc. Li Jiuan Dancer...OH Nose 👃🏼 😫
 

Typically I stay away from large floofy Cattleya types especially pink ones...but I was starting to feel left out, like everyone was a member of the “Pink Ladies” except for me.

So naturally when the orchid expo came to town I bought the largest, floofy-est and most pink hybrid I could find 😂

I ended up finding a lovely somewhat compact plant with healthy roots and two beautiful buds wrapped delicately in styrofoam sheets that looked to be unscathed by the flailing hands of the many enthusiasts.

I must admit I like it much more than I thought I would, especially when I woke up this morning to the fully open blooms and what reminds me of scented garden stocks (Floral with a strong peppery note).

But as my luck would have it...one of my favourite attributes of orchids and even more so the cattleya alliance. The cute little nose of a column that really makes an orchid a orchid is completely and utterly deformed and mutated!!!

I’ve searched endlessly to see if this is a common issue, or whether or not it is possibly something that might go away.
But I cannot find a thing about it even on the entity we call Google.

Just wondering if any experts or fans of the floofy cattleya club can give me any insight before I decide to return my pink jacket and stick to what I know 😜.

Mine is done blooming, I did not have the color issue with the flower

Very Pretty, although it wasn’t an issue with colour. It does look as though your flower also had an abnormal development in the column as well. As the column seems to be fused with the lip in yours as well

This year blooms are perfect. I turn to like this cross a lot for compact growth and small upright foliage.

One thing to think about, especially if the plant was obtained in bud and then the flower bloomed deformed (but was fine the next time)... It is possible that something that the nursery did (to push blooming or some other treatment) caused a mutation. I was using Superthrive for awhile (maybe got too many drops in the gallon)... but had a run of mutated flowers especially in the Cattleya group (in my case, segments not separating properly)... I stopped using it, and I haven't had the problem since.

One of parents (Irene Finney) also does silly things with the “nose”. This happened this year with one flower only, other 5 were perfect. Bloomed normally 6 months ago (second picture).

Ive watched youtube videos where growers have said sometimes a first flowering can have deformed flowers. These growers tended to grow on and see if the 2nd flowering corrects itself.

I’ll agree with Roberta that the deformation might be treatment related.

Some growers that are pushing their plants to be ready for shows use a great deal of auxins on them so they have new roots emerging to compensate for the fact that they haven’t repotted them.

I have personal experience with phal flower deformation when using synthetic auxins (never with KelpMax, I’m happy to say), but not catts. No matter what, let it get acclimated to your culture and let it bloom a second time before making any conclusions.

I suspect that some nurseries push (treat/mistreat) plants to drive them into early bloom.

Additionally, many plants offered for sale have gone through multiple shipments (HI to home state, then home state to one or more shows - untill the plant is sold), spending days in a box and at each show several days in less than optimum conditions.

Thus, I almost always give plants a 2nd chance, so I can see what they will produce after a full growth cycle under my conditions.