Cattleya Orchid Seedling (Psh. cochliata 'Pepe' x Psh. cochliata 'Jules & Elaine 'AM/AOS)

Hybrid seedling plant in a 50mm tube.

The plant ‘Pepe’ has an interesting provenance. It was collected over 70 years ago in the hills above the town of Suchilquitongo in Oaxaca, Mexico, by a young man (at that time) whose responsibility was to pasture the family’s goats and cow. After several seasons on the job, he began to notice the native orchids flowering in the trees and selected this plant as the best he had seen. He brought it down from the hills and placed it on a tree in his yard. Over the years, this plant grew into a huge specimen, and one of my long-time workers, Pepe, asked the now-old man for a division. This plant blooms with 11-13 flowers open at one time, far more than the usual 4-6 that are typical for this species. The high flower count makes a great show! Psh. cochliata 'Jules & Elaine' is without a doubt the most unusual I've seen, with flower stems that are very heavy and stick straight up like a bamboo stake that is 3 feet long! I counted the flowers last time this plant bloomed, and between the first opening in August and mid-March there were 30 flowers, with 4 open blooms at a time, and buds to come! This is just an outstanding plant with an amazing flowering habit. Long-lasting flowers, blooming for months. 

Imported Seedling from Sunset Valley Orchids, USA. Picture shows the parent of this cross. The above description was written by Fred Clarke and details the expectation of this hybrid.

For information on growing Cattleyas check out our growing page at http://barritaorchids.com/pages/growers-resource-page