Cattleya nobilior v. caerulea 'Kassandra'

As some of you know, despite loving and collecting mainly Bulbophyllum species, I have a guilty-pleasure obsession with Cattleya violacea, and moreso, Cattleya nobilior. To me C. nobilior is the perfect orchid, small in stature, huge flowers, incredible fragrance, highly specialized succulent growth and flowering habit. I think it’s a species even floof-haters can appreciate. I have a small collection of seedlings from crosses that have caught my interest, including three var. caerulea. My understanding is that only three caerulea nobilior plants have been found in nature, and do not always breed caerulea, making color of seedlings a bit of a gamble. I selected this plant from Miranda’s greenhouse after spending too much time looking through the several first-bloom seedlings that were in bud. The buds survived the plane ride from Florida to Texas. Line breeding still has a little ways to go to get caerulea plants with exceptional form, and while many of the plants coming from this cross are a huge step above the previous generation, I have also seen many runts and dogs (I’ve seen probably 30 first bloom seedlings from this cross in person so far in the last two years). So, it’s a real gamble. The color, lip structure/pattern and size on this cultivar are fantastic (the natural spread is 11 cm). Unfortunately, the dorsal sepal is pinched and the lateral sepals are a little reflexed. However, it’s worth keeping for another year for sure.

 

Nope. I will probably take new pics when it gets here though.

 

There are two blooms, and I assumed the bloom on the second one was going to pinch as well. Actually, it's turning out much nicer.

 

Second bud is much nicer.

 

Hand for size. The flowers are as tall as the plant.

 

Har deehar.

 

One of the main reasons it's my favorite species.