Are all/most Cattleya Orchids fragrant?

[Miller]

Thanks!

[mauraec]

No. Wish they were. Some of the prettiest have no fragrance whatsoever - and I'm talking species here, as well as hybrids, more's the pity.

[Cjcorner]

...And some of the ones that have scent shouldn't. lol I've got this really pretty yellow one that just faded. It smelled awful! Almost as bad as a few of the bulbo stinkers. And some of the super tiny flowers pack a wonderful scent that you are shocked to realize is coming from that one tiny plant. lol

[tucker85]

I agree, there's a wide range of fragrances and strengths. Some catts have no fragrance. Others have scents that are unusual or even offensive. Some are only fragrant for a few hours in the morning. But some cattleyas have a wonderful perfume scent that lasts for much of the day. I really cherish my orchids that have beautiful scents.

[mauraec]

I agree, there's a wide range of fragrances and strengths. Some catts have no fragrance. Others have scents that are unusual or even offensive. Some are only fragrant for a few hours in the morning. But some cattleyas have a wonderful perfume scent that lasts for much of the day. I really cherish my orchids that have beautiful scents.

You are so right, Jeff! As beautiful as so many orchids are, the olfactory sense pre-empts the optical every time - Just read Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du Temps Perdu. His postulation is that our memories, and therefore our feelings (sensory and emotional), are far more closely connected to smell than to any of our other senses - which, I think is fairly widely accepted today. A lot of alternative medicine is based on it. Anyway, lecture over - over-hybridizing has robbed rose-lovers of that heavenly scent roses used to have, and the same has happened with many cattleyas - unless they are actually hybridized for fragrance, which is still a second class citizen in orchid judging in general. Guess where my loyalties lie!!!

[Miller]

Which fragrant Catts do you guys like? I want to add more fragrant orchids to my collection. Actually, any orchid you find fragrant.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Which fragrant Catts do you guys like? I want to add more fragrant orchids to my collection. Actually, any orchid you find fragrant.

Click on the TAGS search and look for Fragrant Orchids. I've tagged hundreds over the years.

cheers,
BD

[pipsxlch]

Rhy. digbyana....mmmmmmmm. Pot. Cloud's Creek 'Heavenly Scent'........