Potinara Dick Smith 'Aloha Spirit'

[mauraec]

If I remember correctly, if I treat it well it blooms twice a year, mine just bloomed in January. Tucker gives good advice about mounting. You could also repot it in a tree fern pot and in some time you have a mounted plant, I've done this to several and use tree fern pieces and charcoal as the medium, hers a pic of 'Paradise' Attachment 62373

What a beautiful bloom! This really is a splash-petal with some elegance to it. Thanks you for the advice!

[mauraec]

23 species and at least 10 generations of breeding to get to this. All Cattleya now except Rhyncholaelia digbyana, so Rlc. it is. If that is what it looks like when it is fading it must have been a laser light show when it was fresh.

Thanks for the input, Kirk - very interesting, and I'm relying on others' knowledge even more while I'm away from my library and OWiz computer. By the way, it WAS intense when it was going into peak - the colors were so unusual that I regret not trying to get a shot of them at that point -alas.

[phalspital]

I went to a show yesterday and bought a big Aloha Spirit--it has 2 technicolor heavily fragrant blooms, with 3 in bud on another bulb, and a sheath coming on another. WOW. I'm really getting to love catts...or whatever you want to call them. Divided some of my older plants yesterday and now have 7 big ones, all fragrant. After this winter's disappointment of my phal blast, I may be switching!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I must have missed this when it was originally posted. Love the coloring in the bloom, Maura!

cheers,
BD

[78Terp]

Very pretty!

Quite similar to my Set Rainbow Fantasy. Different color sepals. Mine has developed a scent of roses.

[phalspital]

Bruce, how's the cleanup? So sad.

[Wade's Orchids]

Sophronitis are different animals than Catts, and I don't care if you're a taxonomist or not. The culture and plant habit need to be considered on occasion.

[phalspital]

Wade, how should they be treated, then? Cooler, warmer, more or less water and food? This is my second year experimenting with non-phals...

[Wade's Orchids]

In almost all cases the hybrids are treated as any other in the Cattleya alliance. For Florida, I'd say very bright diffused light (direct morning sun is ok). I usually fertilize about 10 months of the year with a break mid Nov. - mid January. There is an exception to that though. If they are in active growth or putting out buds at any time I usually fertilize them. Most take a break during early winter though. Temperature from low 50s to low 90s is fine. When it gets really hot you can shade it more or mist it if you are home during the hot hours. Catts are generally tough plants and will do well as long as enough light is given. Too many try to grow them inside and there simply isn't enough light unless you are in a bay window that faces south. Hope I've been of some help. Gook luck with it. It is truly a beautiful flower!

[phalspital]

Thanks! I'll start feeding now, because they all have new noses, but I have to devise a way to feed in summer when I'm not here...maybe a little bag of Osmocote in a piece of cheesecloth hanging over them so the rain/mist system feeds them automatically? The mist system kicks on twice a week until the rains come, and it rains almost every day from mid-June to mid-October. Then the problem is to keep them from drowning. I'm only here for a couple of weeks in July, so they have to take care of themselves from May-Nov. They did great last year, though. Beginner's luck?