Always the first show of the new year, our little Sarasota show was fun and entertaining as usual this year. I didn't get too many pictures, and (Holy Cow!) I didn't even buy anything, as it seems the prices of everything had gone up quite a bit since last year.
That Agonizing Angreacum Crestwood
Cute clownie striped Phal, a huge plant with shiny, light green leaves. Couldn't see the name.

Lindsey, is this the version of Palmer's Apricot you were thinking you got?

A very pretty plant of Blc. Robert Palmer 'Palmer's Peach', which I just love the color of. One day, maybe Mother's Day, I'll treat myself to this one.

Patty asked me to get a picture of this new Brassavola cross called 'Peach Bird' from Rafael at Plantio. She got a plant, but there weren't any more or I might have scored this one, too.

Interesting cross that seems like it might be related to digbyana, but again, couldn't see the name anywhere.

My only purchase was a nice packet of greeting cards with original paintings of orchids, done by a lady I know from the Master Gardener program. They're pretty enough, I'm thinking of framing a few of them. Now, where the heck did I put them??

I love the Peach Bird. If you get an opportunity, keep me in mind.

Jim

Thanks Elaine, nice start to 2018!
I am amused about the Zauberflöte, the name goes through interesting changes! (It is the Magic Flute)!
Agonizing Angraecum is aptly named by you! And I too love the Peach Bird!

I thought that I would post another image from a plant that came to my team at the Sarasota Show. You probably recognize Chrystelle Smith?


It is a little charmer of a plant. It had two flowers, the second of which was 20% smaller then this one and not fully open. We were all kicking the plant around so to speak discussing its merits. I think the photograph might show why we were in a quandary. The pink color was even and nicely saturated on the sepals but very uneven on the petals. It just wasn't a bright pink either. The lip was nice and the form was pretty good but the more you looked at it, the more you saw the uneven color.
If memory serves it is Beaufort X Tangarine Jewel. Not sure on that at the moment. It was almost 3" wide.

Yes Elaine, that Lawless Zauberflot is the one I posted the other day with the horrible flowers, there's another sheath so fingers crossed. It was a bag baby, so you should find it at your local bag baby store.
Bill, I have a Crystelle Smith and it's a totally different color..like bazooka bubble gum.


Is this plant that variable?

Bill, that sure is a beautiful bloom! The garden.org database shows Orchid (Cattleya Crystelle Smith) parentage as: Beaufort X Cattleya loddigesii

I'm thinking the color is either variable or that different camera lighting appears to give it different shades. Check out the photos on this page; the one in the first photo appears to be a deeper pink: http://orchidroots.com/natural...

Remember that these may be different clones of Crystelle Smith. Different seedlings from the same cross can look quite different.

Australis said:Remember that these may be different clones of Crystelle Smith. Different seedlings from the same cross can look quite different.

I think someone (maybe you?) told me about clones, seedlings, crosses in another post recently. I'm getting old and don't remember things 5 minutes after I've been told.

No worries, Lin.

These two plants of Crystelle Smith may be different seedlings or clones. They may not even have the exact same parent plants (i.e. it may be a different Cattleya loddigesii, or Cattleya Beaufort, or both may be different!). Seedlings don't usually get named unless they're exhibited or awarded. As for cloning, usually the hybridiser selects the best one or more of the seedlings and has them cloned to sell.

The best chance remember to get a very similar color is by mericloning but even then it might vary a little. Flower color in Cattleyas can be influenced greatly by temperature.
But in a straight cross, the genes controlling color from loddigesii and Beaufort are at work.
Just look at how much Beaufort can vary! Look at the shape too. Some Chrystelle Smiths are more starry, some are rounder and fuller; some have more red in the lip; some with varying degrees of yellow.

Okay, one more cutie from Friday, this is C. Heaven Spice which is Cattleya Pink Spice by Cattleya Seagull's Mini-Catt Heaven.


This was about a 3 and a 1/2 inch flower but the petals are noticeably reflexed. If you look at it, the apical tip of the lip is also reflexed. Now I must confess that there are times when some reflexing is okay with me and other times it is not. It is an "in the moment" kind of thing. It may not show in my image but the overall color of this hybrid was a bit dull or listless, especially the pink.
However with bright and vibrant color I find myself more likely to be more lenient on reflexing but the dullness of color here was not an asset!
Of course some flowers are so reflexed they look like a ski jumper hurtling down the ramp with his arms curled behind him. In short reflexing should be as slight as possible. Some species and their progeny feature reflexing but the progeny should not exhibit this trait to a greater degree then either parent.

Lin, I have Ctsm. expansum in full bloom and was surprised the color was pure light yellow. Looking it up on OrchidWiz, I was further surprised in the variety of colors that represent this species orchid. Here are three file photos imported from OrchidWiz of this orchid:


Jim

Jim, that sure is a variety of colorations of Orchid (Catasetum expansum)

Jim, next to Catasetum pileatum, it is my favorite species.
Just the color, the size, the huge lips, they are all so special!!

Yeah. It is one of those "Who's your pappy?" moments. This is why trying to ID someone's orchid is such a difficult task. And, this is a species. Imagine the variation among hybrids.

Jim

It is by far and away the question I am asked most often where ever I go.
It can be as difficult as seeing a person on the street and you would not only like to know what his parents looked like AND his grandparents too.

I really get immense satisfaction when I can ID something.

Bill, looking at Ctsm. pileatum, there are about as many color variations of it as there are of the Catasetum expansum. I don't know how you can keep them straight.

Jim

Me neither! And it is my job!

Okay, I have left Jim hanging long enough. Pileatum has a broadly "heart shaped" lip. There is no raised callus in the center. The center appears to be puckered inward if you would, sunken in and rounded.
Expansum has a generally, broadly rectangular shaped lip with a raised triangular callus in the center. If you look at the 3 expansum images that my buddy Jim posted above you will easily see the raised callus. It is the richest colored and darkest part of the lip.