Favorite white Cattleya?
 

Happy (belated) holidays,

I am thinking of getting a white cattleya and I was wondering if you guys had any favorites. I'm not picky about the size but I'd prefer one that tends to be floriferous with a pleasant scent.


Based on online photos, C. Bob Betts and C. Jose Marti are my top choices... a little pricey, though...

Both are good. Another oldie would be Nancy Off (available from Waldor Orchids).

Nancy Off would be my choice among those three. It is more compact and overall smaller. Mature Bob Betts has leaves the size of oars, like 8” across :)

My favorite white Catt is Callistoglossa 'Taylor.' Big flowers that inherited the purpurata scent, which smells like fruit loops to me.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1865/4...47629f98_b.jpgCattleya Callistoglossa 'Taylor' (purpurata x warscewiczii) by Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis, on Flickr

Thanks for the recommendations. I didn't realize it could get that large! I'll look into C. Nancy Off in the spring. Waldor orchids isn't selling anything online, unfortunately, during the colder months.

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Your C. callistoglossa is beautiful, isurus79. Those flowers have a slender, elegant look. And the smell of fruit loops sounds interesting, haha.

I'm not familiar with Laelia purpurata but hopefully it's not like some of the Mexican Laelias. The latter (finckeniana, at least) seem to ramble everywhere and need direct sun to flower.

I'll look into that one as well, thanks! :biggrin:

This one here is a nice one too..... Click Here

Cattleya purpurata is well know for its compact growth habit, with little space between growths. They can get tall though!

C. Angel Bells is an oldie... I got mine as a division from a friend who has a lot of classics. If you can find one, it's reasonably compact - and grows outside in my southern California back yard, very cold-tolerant. Floriferous and fragrant.

Jeff -

Have you checked out Sunset Valley Orchids? An email to Fred Clarke (the owner) could put you in the right direction... there's been a lot of breeding since the days of the original classics, and I would not be surprised if there are remakes of some that give you what you're looking for. He also sometimes sells divisions.

Roberta,

No, I haven't been to SVO yet. I may shoot the owner an email.

I have been looking at the SVO website for a while and seems like he mostly has compact Catts that have art shades and other vibrant hues. I tend to like the shape of the older hybrids over the new compact Catts I've seen at many nurseries.