Kate,

You have purchased a plant that those of us who grow orchids seriously
(and kill them just as seriously) really hate. The Cattleya Sans Nom v.
"Crap I dont know" also know as Cattleya Noname or Cattleya Home Depot.
We all have different names for them.

Some growers think that the public can't handle the real name for a
plant and are confused when they see the fully qualified name of an
orchid. So to dumb it down for the general public they put a generic
tag on the plant such as the one you have found. Some go so far as to
remove the tag all together because "the public thinks they are ugly".

This creates a problem like the one you have now. All we know is that
you have a Cattleya orchid plant. That narrows it down to about 1/10th
of the possible orchids you could have. Beyond that without the hybrid
name we can't research the parentage and tell you such things as when it
is expected to bloom, whether it needs really high light or moderate
light, when to repot it (or when not to repot), possible times for a
rest period, etc.

If you are really really lucky and can take a picture and post it on
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids there is a small chance that someone else
is growing that same plant and knows the name (or can get you close to
it). Some of our really good Cattleya folks can look at a flower and
tell you some of the parents. I usually can only recognize walkeriana
hybrids because of their big nose (that's what I see when I see them).

Good Growing,
Gene


In article ,
"Kate" wrote:

As it was from a garden centre, all that was on the label was
"Cattleya". Maybe the breeders just give them names like "Cattleya v.
Garden Centre Strain A". The flowers are very dainty and prettily
coloured in pale pinks and off-white. The lip is edged in dark pink
with a deep yellow throat that has dark pink spots in it.

Kate

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
. ..

Kate, what is the name of the Cattleya? Do you know?

Diana

"Kate" wrote in message
...
When visiting an orchid nursery a while back, I smelt this lovely
fragrance. Following the olfactory trail, we found a cattleya. It
was a very small plant but it had a single, huge, bright pink
flower. I looked to see the variety and the label read "Dave`s. Not
for sale" Seems an odd name for a plant...

I suspect that my cattleya is some hybrid developed in Holland so
doubt that I would be able to trace its parentage. As I said
earlier, it did have a smell last year. The flowers are quite small
but with four out (and seven to go), you`d think there would be
something. If the weather is good tomorrow, I will try putting it
outside in a sunny, sheltered spot to see if I can get a reading on
the sniffometer.

Kate