Rhyncholaeliocattleya Memoria Crispin Rosales 'Volcano Queen'

 If you want a large purple Cattleya flower you cannot go wrong with the hybrid Rlc.  Memoria Crispin Rosales.  There are a number of clones of this hybrid available to the public.  I used to have the clone 'Hawaii'.  My plant usually produced two flowers but sometimes it would produce a single humongous flower on the inflorescence.  In my experience very susceptible to white fly and mealy bugs.  I had to be watchful because sometimes white fly would proliferate unnoticed under the dried sheaths of the youngest bulbs.

Rhyncholaeliocattleya Nakornchaisiri Delight

 Rhyncholaeliocattleya Nakornchaisiri Delight photographed at the Mayaguez Orchid society show in the Mayaguez Mall. 

Rlc. Regal Red 'Paradise' x Laelia undulata 'Waldor'

 A cross of a Rhyncholaeliocattleya with a Laelia of the group formerly classified as Schomburkia.   The hybrid has a lovely color that this photo doesn't really capture well.  The flower doesn't resemble much either parent.  Rlc. Regal Red is a round red flower, and Laelia undulata produces a head of small wavy flowers on a long inflorescence.

A cross of Lc. Lory Ann 'Paradise' x Myrmecophila lyonsii

 This cross of Lc. Lory Ann 'Paradise' and Myrmecophila lyonsii is a large plant that produces a head of lilac colored flowers.  The flowers have different orientations but that is due to the fact that the Myr. lyonsii parent has non resupinate flowers.

  

Cattleya schilleriana x Laelia undulata

The flowers of this hybrid look similar like Laelia undulata but are much larger than the flowers of that species.  In this case, instead of the flower bunch produced by L. undulata, the plant has produced two large flowers like Catt. schilleriana.

Laeliocattleya White Spark 'Panda' a Cattleya hybrid that deviates from the norm.

An unusually shaped Cattleya tribe hybrid.  In Cattleya a flat presentation of petals and sepals is considered the most desirable configuration.  This plant is certainly not like that.  However the bright color and the curled frilly petals are very eye catching.  I like it.

Laelia anceps var. veitchiana

This plant is cultivated close to the coast in the town of Isabela, in the north coast of the Island of Puerto Rico.  It is grown in a shadehouse near the top of a hill, with plenty of air movement and humidity.  

Blc. Deseo Sencillo (Blc. Orange Nuggett x Lc. Excellency)

This plant was brought to the April 10 meeting of the AOS judges in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  This is a R. Sobrino cross.

Laelianthe (Schombocattleya) Cruzan Gold

This plant was brought to the April 10 meeting of the AOS judges in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  The plant is large and the flowers delightful.  This is a cross of Guariante aurantiaca and Laelia superbiens)

Laeliocatanthe Batey Taino (Cattlianthe Boriquen Beauty Utuado x Laelia undulata)

This orchid was brought for judgement to the AOS judges meeting of April 10 in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  The plant had tall inflorescences.  It is a big plant.

Schombonia (Bromecanthe) Garnet Glory (Cattleytonia Why Not x Schomburgkia thomsoniana)

I saw this plant in the April 10 meeting of the American Orchid Society judges in Ponce.  The color is quite striking.  the flowers are stunning.  The only fault I can find on these flowers is that they are relatively small, around three inches.  The red color is deep and clear.  The plant form favor the Myrmecophila parent.   Yes, I know they could have a better shape and be more round, but those are things that future hybridizers can address, for the moment, this plant is wonderful. The current name of this orchid is Bromecanthe Garnet Glory, however I am sure this name is quite unfamiliar to most orchid growers.  The inflorecense was about three feet tall.  The color of the flowers, when they are seen under fluorescent lights doesn't look much like you see in these photos, the look darker.

Caulaelia Orchidglade (Caularthron bicornutum x Laelia undulata)

I saw this plant in the 2016 Puerto Rico Orchid Society show.  I was surprised when I found who the parents of this hybrid were because at first sight the plant doesn't really resemble its parents much.  On a closer look you can see the evidence of the Caularthron parent in the lip and that of the Laelia parent in the sepals and petals.  The hybrids of the Laelias and Myrmecophila that were once part of the defunct genus Schomburgkia, are becoming increasingly popular.

Laeliocatanthe Taiwan Orange (Laelia lueddemannii x Laeliocattleya Trick or Treat)

I love the color of this hybrid.  However the plant is large, certainly it is not for windowsill grower or anyone with limited space.  I a tropical garden this plant is sure to make for a colorful display, if one has the space.

Laelia lueddemannii naturalized in a tree in Mayaguez

This orchid was planted on this tree in the campus of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez around the middle of the twenty century.  When I first saw this plant in 1980 it was already large.  It was put there by a biology professor that kept orchids as a hobby.  In those times keeping orchids was a high class hobby as most orchids were either too rare or expensive for the general public.  As you can see from the photos I took last March, the plants are healthy and good for at least another fifty years.  By the way, they have survived hurricanes unscratched, at most just a few pseudobulbs were loosened and fell.

Schomburgkia lueddemanniana, it was sold to me with this identification. The Schomburkia genus is defunct so this plant is now a Laelia.

The easiest by far to cultivate and bloom of all the Laelia (formely Schomburgkias) that I have.  It is tolerant of drought, wind and high temperatures.  With a modest amount of fertilizing and watering it has done very well.  However there is one thing it won't tolerate, a potting media that doesn't allow for good ventilation to the roots.  So I have mine potted in media that is coarse and I don't add much of it, just enough to give some weight and stability to the pot.  This is this plant second blooming.

Laelia marginata also known as Schomburgkia crispa Lindley 1838

I brought this plant as a large seedling a few years ago.  I can’t say I gave it any particular attention.  It was just there in the bench with all the other orchids.   The only thing that I made sure was that the media in which it was growing was composed of good quality bark and that the mix allowed plenty of air to reach the roots.  This is very, very important in these orchids as the roots will rot if the media becomes anoxic which can happen if it becomes waterlogged.  I speak this out of sad experience, I have lost plants because I neglected to repot them timely and the media decomposed and killed all the roots.

This plant is growing in my garden in the north coast of Puerto Rico.   Temperatures in the area can soar into the nineties during the hottest part of the day, nighttime lows are around 75F but at the cusp of summer sometimes they barely go under 80 degrees.  Between the months of May and December it rains regularly, sometimes abundantly but in winter and early spring the weather can be very dry.  The trade winds are good for the plants most of the year but during the dry season they can desiccate the plants pretty fast.

This plant gets fertilized when it is in its growth phase, it gets no fertilized when it is not growing.  It is growing under shade cloth, but one that allows for plenty of light to get through, this is not a plant that loves shade.  So far I have had no problems with pests with this species, although some other Laelias in my garden have had to be treated for scale insects.

So far I have had no problems with this plant except that it grew relatively slowly, but perhaps that is partly my fault for not giving it particular attention when it was in the growth phase of its yearly cycle.   The only complaint that I can make is that it will be a pretty large plant when it reaches full adult size, this is clearly not a plant for the grower with limited space.  On the other hand it will make an impressive garden plant in places where the climate allows for growing this plant outside.

Schomburgkia undulata Lindley 1841 now Laelia undulata

I brought this plant many years ago from Tropical Orchid Farm which is in Hawaii. 

Some naturalized orchids in the town of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

This is a Brassia, I have not been able to determine if it is a hybrid or a species

Possibly Laelia lueddemanni or a related species

This photo is used to illustrate how the flower of the Laelia on the tree look,
This plant is not the same clone as the plant on the tree.

A humongous plant of Dendrobium moschatum, see photo of flower below

A different view of the clump of Laelia lueddemanni

Rhyncholaelia dygbyiana

These orchids were put in this large tree many decades ago.  I can attest that all these plants were alreay in place and well established by the year 1980.  The large plant of Dendrobium moschatum seems to have been planted in the 1940's.  All these plants are surviving entirely on their own and have weathered uncountable storms and a few hurricanes.  If you look at the branch were the Brassia is growing, it is clear part of it snapped away years ago.   Unfortunately some of the orchids I saw in the 1980's died out or fell from the tree.  I recall there was a Myrmecophila, a Cattleya (possibly skinnery) and a Laelia similar to purpurata that are no longer in the tree.  Given that some were pretty high in the canopy, it is unlikely they were removed by humans as it would have taken some large equipment to reach so high.  I hope they remain in the tree for long years to come to delight and intrigue future generations of orchidists.

Brassolaeliocattleya Chia Lin 'New City'

Photographed at the 2014 Ponce orchid show, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Epilaeliocattleya Volcano Trick 'Fireball'

Photographed at the 2014 Ponce Orchid society show, Ponce, Puerto Rico.