Cattleya harrisoniana

[Halloamey]

Hey here is the second blooming of my Cattleya harrisoniana. I also got this one in in 2009, it was in bud then. It bloomed a very faint flower then. Now it is blooming after two years with very beautiful blooms, they do not have a very good broad petals as some other forms but the colors are simply superb. The stalk is very long about 40 cm. The loddigesii, harrisoniana distinction is very difficult and fishy I must say. Harrisoniana is supposed to have short stalks and a lip like this one while lodd is supposed to have long stalks but somewhat diff. petals and lips. Anyways here are the pictures.

Here is one of the flowers



The lip



And finally the entire plant with the long inflorescence

[catttan]

Very nice colour, Amey.

[lakshmanamoorthy]

stunning!!!

[seetmei]

Live the colour.
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[espranch]

I really love that intense purple color, Amey! Great orchid...Betty

[Halloamey]

Than you everyone, Betty I also loved the intense color, very few cultivars with such nice deep color in harrisoniana. If only it had better shape, I could still use it for some crosses I think.

[gardenguysorchids]

Lovely. The color is superb. I hope you do use it in some crosses. You may be suprised with what you will be rewarded with.

[Horst]

Amey,
Although the lip, the column and the color are typically from C. harrisoniana.
The extreme long stalk the leave shape and the cane (pseudobulbs) thickness are not typically for C. harrisoniana. I'm not telling your plant isn't C. harrisoniana, but it is very unusual. Maybe too much nitrogen?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Stunning orchid Amey!! Love the color and the lip.

Cheers,
BD

[Halloamey]

Thank you everyone for liking this beauty.

Amey,
Although the lip, the column and the color are typically from C. harrisoniana.
The extreme long stalk the leave shape and the cane (pseudobulbs) thickness are not typically for C. harrisoniana. I'm not telling your plant isn't C. harrisoniana, but it is very unusual. Maybe too much nitrogen?

Exactly Horst, I am confused, as I wrote earlier, the long stalk was the one that concerned me, so when I read on IOSPE, it said that loddigesii has long stalks. There is also some evidence that harrisoniana and loddigesii are not two different species but may be subspecies. I will look into the fertilizer aspect, but they do get a 19:19:19 balanced feed. Another reason I think could be a contributing factor is that I am using a foliar feed for micronutrients that has Gibberellic acid and cytokinins may be that is causing the stalk to elongate. Another factor is light, this plant has a light source exactly at the top of the plant prompting it to grow straight, too many variables to consider hehe. Lets see how it blooms the next time.