Cattleya trianae var. coerulea

[papayj]

This is the very first time blooming for this one. The shape of petals is little bit off, but since it is just the first bloom, hopefully it would be better next time it flowers. The dorsal sepal is remarkably upright and firm, which definitely is a good sign.

[Keysguy]

That's a heck of a nice first flower!

[Orchidtinkerer]

I don't think I've ever seen a coerulea version of the trianae.
Thanks for showing this beauty and congrats on having one.

[smweaver]

It's a good-looking flower to me, and I would guess that there's a good chance that the shape (which is pretty good to begin with) will improve as the plant matures. Congratulations on your blooms.

[papayj]

Now the flower is fully opened.



It has better shape than I originally thought. The dorsal sepal has reflexed a bit though, but not so much. Natural spread is about 18cm. It definitely is a quite promising young plant.

[smweaver]

Outstanding. Yes, this one is definitely worth keeping, and it will be exciting to see how it may improve (hopefully!) with maturity. Congratulations again. You have a very nice representative of this species.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by papayj

The dorsal sepal has reflexed a bit though, but not so much.

The fully opened flower is so wonderful. Flower development is just natural, and will have variations in shape from one and another ------- just as we humans have variations among each other in appearance. It is absolutely normal, natural, and beautiful.

But I can also understand from a orchid-show, orchid-competition perspective - although I'm not a competitor, or breeder etc, so have never focused on waiting by chance for 'ideal' shapes. But I have purposely - out of interest - used 'helping hands' devices for 'undivine intervention' hehe ------ ie. using mechanisms to temporarily hold something into position for a little while, and then see if the petal or sepal or lip 'sets' (position), and then release the mechanism after a day or two.

Excellent captures on this flower papayj. Thanks for uploading the pics for us to enjoy!

[isurus79]

Good looking first bloom!