Hawaiian Wedding Song 'Virgin' - It lives!

[mauraec]

This is the old, nasty catt with critters and all kinds of yucky stuff that I cleaned up last week. Just when I had decided saving these neglected catts was too much work....


After cleanup and before bloom



One of three buds in full bloom






Second bud starting...


This was a lot of fun to watch - hope you enjoy them!

[wetfeet101b]

Great job!

These orchids are one of my favorite hybrids and they are very resilient plants.
They can almost come back from the dead if given proper care and attention.
Fair warning though, they grow big and fast!

Here is a little teaser on what your plant could look like in a couple of years.

[ctb]

Beautiful flower, lives up to its name

[mauraec]

To wetfeet:




No fair! How long have you had this one? I'm just glad mine didn't drop its buds when I industrially cleaned it up. Yours is gorgeous - isn't it too bad it doesn't have a fragrance, though? Seems like it should.

[Phillip C]

Yes indeed it does live, it even flowers. If you had seen what I saw this plant have to go through, you would not believe it would keep it's buds and bloom. This is one of a couple of buds from a very old and very neglected Catt. that Maura rescued from leaving us all from benign neglect. The fact that it bloomed is more amazing than the fact that she was able to clean this thing up and create a fine specimen plant from it. Have a look in "Other Genra" Not In Bloom, "Two New Catt. for Rescue, am I Insane" for documentation of this painstaking work. All I can say is "WOW". Check out a few more pic's I shot of it yesterday. Phillip

[Phillip C]

A somewhat better shot, same as the last, but brightened up some. Beautiful. Salvaging grand old specimens, growing award winning paphs, Miltassia, Prosthecea Cochleatum, Brasiduim... I'm beginning to believe she's got a green thumb...at least

[wetfeet101b]

Maura,

The plant I posted is a three year old division from a really old plant that I rescued and revived.

Here is a picture of the 'mother plant' when I originally acquired it (around 2006 or 2007?).
It is the one to the left of the cattleya in a white pot.
The original owner thinks that this plant is over 15 years old at the time.


Over a year later. All cattleyas in baskets on the top shelf are divisions from the original plant.
The sunburned leaves have since fallen and new growths have replaced them.
Oh man my greenhouse was so empty back then


And from then on, I just kept dividing the plants when needed.

I have even given several smaller divisions to RVO forum members over the years.

[deLadyBex]

Oh yeah, the dream of many an Orchidsit! haha now the place to keep it hum????????????

[mauraec]

reply to John:

Did I see these photos on another website, perhaps? I think I remember a story of someone inheriting his mother-in-law's disastrous catt collection, with pictures like this. I wish I had taken a photo of the plant before I started work on it - all the roots were on the surface and wound up and through the pseudobulbs - and underneath....well.....

All I have is a photo of the scene in our living room when the cleanup crew went into action - this shows about 1/3rd of the whole area. Just looking at it makes me tired.

[Cjcorner]

Someone gave me a tiny Wedding Song awhile back. They really do grow fast...most baby catts die around me. This one is thriving....that bodes well! lol When it grows up I hope it gets tons of flowers like the ones above.