Cattleya (Laelia) pumila
 

Was quite popular back in the 1970's, but I have not seen many in recent years. Seedlings became available from Exotic Orchids of Maui about a year ago, so I bought some in 2" pots back in January. To suit my watering schedule, I always pot up plants in this size, into a 3" plastic pot with slits in the side.

The first one is blooming now; while a bit smaller than some that I have seen in the past, it has very good shape & color.

Looks great!

Nice looking specimen.
I too have wondered why this species has vanished.

Cheers

Well done

That very dark purple lip gets my attention a lot!

When this plant bloomed last year, it produce a single flower from each of the two leads. This is normal for C. (Laelia) pumila.

This year, it produced 2 buds on each inflorescence, which is very unusual - but of course desirable. I have used it to pollinate several plants (2 species and 2 hybrids), and also saved pollen for possible use later in the season.

So far, the only plant where I can see that a pod is developing, is a bit of an oddball attempt (on Prosthechea garciana).