Cattleya (Laelia) tenebrosa
 

Cattleya (Laelia) tenebrosa

Love the dark colors on this one, especially in the lip.

ooooh, this is a stunner!! love the prominent veins and the deep rust orange!!

I love the color!

Beautiful. Do you know which variety is it?

Not really. It is a very old one. At least 25 years. Laelia tenebrosa was what it was called, changed now in Cattleya tenebrosa.
In Europe we do not use variety or clonal names that much, as you obviously know.
But is is a nice one. Dark colors, nice veins, huge flowers. And flowering every year with 5 or 6 flowers on a stem. I love it!

Laelia tenebrosa new growth training issues
 

Hello everyone.

This is my first post at this forum. I have a question about my Laelia tenebrosa. She is a 3 years old plant. She is a root growing monster. However it appears, that she loves to grow on the sides as much as it's possible. I just spotted, that she has an ingrown new growth inside the pot. I removed the old pot and have managed to free a new growth before repotted her. My question is now, how can I train it to grow upwards not downwards to the pot again?

Welcome Max!:)

Give it light from above. Additionally, you can cover the pot so that light doen't pass through its side.

When it starts to grow new roots (probably spring) it could use repotting. I have found that these (and C. purpurata as well) are very vigorous, and do better in baskets for me. They do grow along a rhizome, and tend to climb out their pots.

Thank you for the tip. I shall try this method.

---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

Thank you Roberta. Spring repotting is a great idea.Hopefully i shall find suitable basket for her. She grows really quick.

That was just a guess as to when to expect new roots. Don't go by the calendar, it's all about roots... when they just barely start (little bumps, ideally less than a millimeter) is the time to repot (whenever that happens). Roots tend to be adapted to their medium. So new roots will quickly establish in the new medium - and the idea of catching them just as they start is to minimize damage to those very fragile root tips. (It is hard to not damage them, but if you catch them just as they are starting, there will be more after you repot. ) In fact, Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids recommends that when you repot, write the date 3-4 weeks BEFORE on the tag. Next time, you will be able to anticipate the new roots before they even appear which is even better.

This is an awesome tip, thanks for sharing.