LC Mini-purple x Cattleya Brabantiae First bloom

[Janet]

The cross I made between LC Mini-purple "Blue Hawaiian" and C. Brabantiae has its first bloom. As I expected (from having made a similar cross years ago), it's pink with darker coloring on the edge of the lip.

Here are the parents:





And the first bloom:





It's nothing spectacular--very fragrant, but very little sign of any spots, although there are a few very tiny ones. I did find last time that spots became more prominent on subsequent blooms. It doesn't have a lot of substance and after a few days the sepals curled and bent back some.

Still, it's good to see a bloom after such a long time. For some reason this cross took longer at every stage than the one I made several years ago using the same mini-purple, but a more complicated cross based on brabantiae for the other parent. I don't know if the difference is fertilizer, light, or something in the cross.

It is named--by someone else--Lc Purple Haze.

[Cjcorner]

I like the flower you came out with...very nice! I so love the color and shape.

[Gin]

Very pretty lip is beautiful !

[gardenguysorchids]

Lovely. I like it better without the spots but then I really do not care for most spotted orchids other than a few phals.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Congratulations on a successful orchid cross!!

Cheers,
BD

[catttan]

Congrats Janet. I like the colour and especially the lip. I'm sure you must be very excited waiting for the others to bloom - I know I would.

[orchidsal]

I personally think your Cattleya orchid cross is rather smashing. How neat to even try something like this. AL

[Desdinova]

I currently have a capsule on Mini Purple 'Blue Hawaii' by C. Calummata (aclandiae coerulea 'Blue Sky' x intermedia aquinii coerulea 'Blue Sky'. Sadly the pollen parent was neither a coerulea or a splash petal, but had great shape for two such parents and bloomed young. One of its siblings is coming into bloom right now, so we will see if I try it again with the new one. But this gives me an idea of what to expect. As things stand now, I am hoping for some coerulea seedlings from the cross.

Orchids teach you patience if you let them.