C. warscewiczii var. coerulea (‘La Foresta x outcross)
Select outcross of what is perhaps the finest coerulea variety of this species. Our goal here was to take the superb shape of the La Foresta parent and improve lip color and shape. Parents are pictured.
3 inch pot*
*about 3-4 years from bloom, flower and plant pictures are representational. These are select bred seedlings, not mericlones, therefore natural variation is expected.
Cattleya warscewiczii is found in northwestern Colombia. It grows on trees and on the cliffs adjacent to Rivers Magdalena and Meta beyond Bogoto at elevations of 500 to 1500 meters above sea level.Cattleya warscewiczii is not only the largest-flowered of the Cattleya genus with flowers that can reach 12 inches across from petal tip to petal tip, it also produces the largest flower spikes with as many as 10 of these huge flowers per spike. When well grown, the flower spike stands almost vertical, unlike most of the other Cattleya species, which produce flowers in a horizontal plane. This vertical placement of the flowers adds to the overwhelming grandeur of the bloom spike and makes C. warscewiczii truly the king of the Cattleya species.
MOST people do not grow or flower Cattleya warscewiczii well. If you want to enjoy a really strong flower spike, you should start C. warscewiczii growing as early as possible in late January or early February. You do this by giving it full sun and teasing it with light spraying of water on sunny days. Once the “eye” (growing point) breaks and begins to grow, continue to give it light sprayings of water and as much sun as it can take without burning. The leaves should be a yellow-green and you will need lots of air moving around the plants to keep the leaves from getting warm. Once the leaves feel warm to the touch, you will have to add enough shade to prevent the plants from burning.