1980s-1990s cattleya mail order catalogs - UPDATE: Identification Solved - read down.
 

Anyone familiar with 1980s-1990s era mail order catalog companies selling cattleyas? Pre-internet days. I’m desperately trying to find the name of a cattleya I bought in 1988-1990 from a very reputable, big orchid grower in CA via mail order catalog. I recall a high quality glossy color catalog of cattleya blooms; front cover included two initials. I’ve researched and I think it may be the former Rod McLellan Company, Acres of orchids in San Francisco. Is anyone familiar with their old catalogs and Did they ever go by R & M ORCHIDS? Or similar? That may be the initials I am remembering.

Anyone know of a company that would fit this description? Hoping that there were not dozens of CA companies meeting this same description.

If I can get some confirmation on here in the orchid community I’ll know what my next steps are. Perhaps someone still has an old catalog (stored along with decades of National Geographic magazines) in their attic. I am thinking of contacting also the “new” Rod McLellan Co., San Mateo, CA to see if they can send any PDFs from archived catalogs.

I lost the tag decades ago; it is still the best purple cattleya I’ve seen anywhere. I knew I liked it for a reason 30 years ago.

Thanks in advance for any assistance and sorry for the long post.

You could always ask a florist or other orchid vendors who were in business at that time if they might possibly remember a company with that name, too. Florists often would buy orchids/blossoms and use them for corsages. Maybe a local orchid society might be able to help you. Good luck!

Thank you Leafmite, some helpful suggestions there I will follow through on. I so wanna find that name. I just emailed their successor company this evening hoping they can help me.

Go to the American Orchid Society Web site and browse the back issues of their magazine from that period. The company you bought it from almost certainly advertised there.

The plant reminds me of Cattleya (or Lc.) Bonanza.

Back in that time frame, one of the biggest suppliers of catts was Jones & Scully, out of the Miami area. I could hardly wait to get their annual catalog - it was a “book” about 1/2” thick, full of color photos (and plants priced to cover the cost of that publication).

Thank you. That provides me with another good idea! I will need to look up that Bonanza, I am curious now. My catt has some of the largest, most rigid unifoliate leaves I have seen on any catt. The plant height seems average for the large catts, approx. 15" tall.

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Thank you Ray. Yes, the anticipation for annual catalogs was an event prior to the internet. A trip back to the pre 1990s! The price I paid for that orchid was approx. $40 plus shipping. I lived on a tight budget as a college student back in 80s so that was likely 4x my weekly budget lol. Inflation would put that at $80 now, more than I ever paid for a catt.

Yeah, $40 was a reasonable price for a cattleya in those days.

My very first international business trip was to Brazil, and every day, while driving from the hotel to the factory (I was there three weeks), I would pass a nursery.

They had about 25 acres of lathe shade over moss-covered benches growing cattleyas for cut flowers. They were all labeled, and I ended up buying a bunch of those $40-$50 cattleyas for $3.50 each - with $0.50 off if I let them keep the flowers.

estación seca - I have been going through these back issues now for over an hour. What a trip down memory lane. I see the Rod McLellan Co advertising almost monthly; the graphics look very familiar. I think this is the company. Thanks for suggesting this resource.

Also, I looked up Bonanza and I can see C. trianae in my catt.

---------- Post added at 03:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 PM ----------

What a great story Ray...and a great deal! I am sure you didn't mind discounting the blooms since you saw what they looked like in bloom and probably didn't want the hassle of having to protect blooms while transporting.

Catts in California might have also been Stewart's ... alas, all of these names are gone now. So if anybody has an actual catalog, it's precious. (I have an Encyclia hybrid that I inherited, with a Rod McClellan catalog number and no name... I'm resigned to its being a NOID unless someone has a physical catalog and can tell me what #8387 might be...) At one point I recall trying to contact the "new" Rod McClellan company... it's a Chinese outfit that grows Phals. They bought the name, but I am quite certain that the history is gone.

Roberta, thank you for that information. I went through a decade of the AOS magazine issues and seeing Rod McLellan ads with item #s and orchid names for featured promotions----I will keep an eye out for your #8387 Encyclia hybrid and will let you know if I find yours. I have a few more ideas on how to obtain catalogs---I noticed that Am*zon has a 1976 pamphlet on sale for the company, not quite a catalog though.

Also - if anyone is seeking orchid info from Arthur Freed Orchids, Inc, Malibu, CA, I have a 1975 catalog that my neighbor gave me when she cleaned her attic. Mostly phals in this catalog. If the OB maintains a sticky thread on here for old catalog references / resources I would be happy to post that info there also.