Cattleya dowiana

[Nataliwind]

This is a long story, or better to say a chronicle...
I bought the Cattleya (Colombian) in May 2010 as a mature size plant. Plant was doing very well till June 2011 when Black Rot killed or damaged many Catts in my collection. The plant was damaged, too, and lost one direction of nice growths. C. dowiana did not recover completely after this stress and developed pseudobulb rot in a while. I had to remove another set of pseudobulbs in August or September 2011, and again in March 2012. After the last “surgery” I was sure that I lost the plant but it did not die. Instead, it developed sheaths in two of three new growths! I spotted them in early May. Unfortunately, the central pseudobulb started to rot very soon after the sheaths appeared. Of course, I was tempted to cut the injured pseudobulb (and almost certainly prevent bloom) but I did not. I decided to give the plant a chance to bloom and it did!
May 19th

you can see well the affected pseudobulb.



May 30th

[Nataliwind]

June 4th




June 6th




June 9th

[Nataliwind]

June 16th



June 23rd


June 28th



June 29th

[Magnus A]

Cattleya dowiana is fantastic and always on my wish list, though it have never made the cut ...

You have a true gem there and I hope you will get rid of that rot and anxiety to lose the plant!

[Nataliwind]

Yesterday, July 1st








That's it!
I forgot to say that the largest (3rd) flower is 5,5" in diameter. Flowers are very fragrant all day long.

[Gurj]

Beautiful blooms!

[123orchids]

Beautiful lip, I love it. Good luck to keeping the plant alive

[panam]

Wow! Great job, Natalie!

[Dazed]

Wow that is cool, love the progression pics. Thanks.

[Halloamey]

Gorgeous !! What do you plan to do with it now? If possible try and get Potassium phosphite (not Phosphate) It is a systemic fungicide and a good source of both potassium and phosphorus. It is well known to combat black rots in other plants but I have never seen it being used for orchids.