Very nice Cattleya nobilior form Marlow's
 

Got this from Marlow's. It was kind of expensive, but these types tend to be, but when it arrived it was larger than I expected, and I'm very happy with it. I feel good about what I paid for it, I feel like it was worth the price. I love Marlow's. Never got a bad plant from him

Wow!!!!!! Very nice and large bulbs on the right-hand side. You'll be getting flowers on that one pretty soon for sure.

I expect it will probably bloom in its next bloom season. I'm not sure when that will be in my region, but I expect blooms from it within a year.

Great looking plant! I've never gotten anything from Marlow's before. Do you know the parents on this one?

FYI- My nobilior start sending spikes out in Feb-April and bloom March-May.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 PM ----------

Oh, don't mess with the roots if you want blooms this spring! This species will not die with chopped roots, but it will set its blooming cycle back by a few years. They won't bloom unless the root system is GIANT!

Yes, it is Cattleya nobilior f. amaliae x sib. I love Marlow's. I've been thrilled with everything I ever got from them. This plant is growing in a small pot with some rocks, and then when it outgrew that pot, they just placed it in a larger empty pot, and it has lots of roots growing outside the pot. It is ready to be in a larger pot, as it is growing over the side of the current two pot setup, so in order to avoid messing with the roots, I placed the whole thing in a shallow 6 inch terra cotta pot and threw in a few big chunks of scoria to fill in the space between the plastic pot and the terra cotta pot. My humidity is pretty good in the summer, but not ideal in the winter. My hope is that the terra cotta and the scoria will hold just enough moisture to keep the humidity around the roots higher, while still allowing free air flow to the roots so that they can dry out daily while still having adequate humidity, as it is my understanding that this is what this nobilior and walkeriana prefer. I think it should work. If it doesn't work, I'm gonna be sad hahahahaha. But I think it will be fine.

I actually got two plants in this order. The Cattleya nobilior and Cattleya Brazilian Jewel. While nobilior was pristine, Brazilian Jewel suffered severe heat damage in shipping. I'm not sure how that works, with one plant being pristine, and the other severely damaged, as they were both in the same box. I guess FedEx must have left the package in a hot location or in direct sun at some point. I was home when the plants arrived and I unpacked them immediately. This is not the fault of Marlow's orchids and I don't blame them. I went back and forth about whether I was going to say anything to them about the problem, but I finally decided that I needed to just let them know. I didn't ask for a replacement or a refund, because I know this was not their fault, and I expect the plant ro recover, but it will be unsightly for a while, but I finally decided to email them and let them know, just so they would know. I did not ask for a replacement or anything, I just wanted them to know. Here's a picture of the two plants together. Noboilior is on the upper left, and Brazilian Jewel is on the lower right. What do you guys think? Did I do the right thing? I mean, I know there are risks involved in ordering plants in the middle of the summer when it is 100 degrees outside, so I don't blame Marlow, and I'm not asking him to do anything about it right now, but I wanted him to know because if all those damaged leaves turn yellow and die and drop off, then maybe we have a serious problem that maybe they can fix. What would you guys have done? I really love Marlow's and I don't want to complain, because I have never got a bad plant from them, and they are one of my favorite nurseries, and I hate to be a complainer, but I decided i needed to let them know, just in case the plant dies. It was a 50 dollar plant, after all. I've attached a pic, so you can tell me what you think.

Sounds perfect! Francisco Miranda promotes low humidity in winter to encourage blooming. Your conditions sounds good to me!

---------- Post added at 08:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:50 AM ----------

I order plants in summer too. Sometimes us Texans have to deal with heat stressed plants! Lol But seriously, your analysis that the Brazilian jewel will be fine is spot on. Should bounce back quickly.

I figured it probably would, so I'm not super worried. It will be unsightly for a while, but i think it will recover. It even has what is probably a flower spike starting, or maybe a new growth, but it looks like a flower spike. The only reason I let Marlow know is that in the worse case scenario, if all the leaves are so badly damaged that they all yellow and drop off in a few weeks, I didn't want Marlow to be first of hearing of it then, weeks later, because that might make him wonder if it really was shipping damage, or if I did something to wreck the plant, so I wanted to let him know early on that there was damage, in case there's a worse problem later. But I think it will be fine. But that nobilior is a spectacular plant. I am very pleased with it. I'm pleased with both of them, damage to the Brazilian Jewel notwithstanding. Despite the damage, it really is a good, healthy plant of a nice size. Bigger than I expected.

And thanks for the tips, and the encouragement that my potting situation is probably going to work out. I'm glad to know that they can tolerate less humidity in the winter. That make me feel more confident that I can grow these plants. I have lusted after them for a long time, but I was worried about whether I could give them what they need, and they tend to be expensive, but I finally decided to give it a try, and after hearing some of the things other people have said about how my potting and cultural habits seem fine, I'm much more optimistic, and I'm glad I bought them.

JScott---- I think you absolutely did the right thing letting Marlow know what happened. It is NOT their fault but they should have that data point for future reference. If it really has been 100 degrees in your area it may be that they need to be more aware of where the plants are going and the conditions en route. It has not been hot here in the northeast (today will be first day in a week) so they may have thought they were catching a window of opportunity and just missed it. From the looks, the Jewel must have taken the bullet and shielded the nobilor.

Thank you guys for the encouragement. I was disappointed when I saw the plant, but I feel more confident now that it is going to be okay. I also struggled with whether to say anything to Marlow, and when I decided that I should, I almost felt guilty about it, but I see now that it was the right thing to do, and I don't feel so bad. After all, it's not like I"m asking for a new plant. Thanks y'all, I appreciate it!