Picture of blooms.Velleta

My guess is Lc. or laelia catt. Give it very bright shade. what is the potting medium?

Thanks shavedmonkey ðÂÂÂ. It's potted in stones and coconut husk chips.i bought it a week ago at a local flower show, it was in bud.i actually bought two of the exact same plant just in case one died seeing I actually on the down side with cattleya's. I plan to repot them to charcoal as soon as the finish blooming both media's are way gone.this one is in a clay pot so I plan to just turn it upside down and let the media fall out then just repack it with the charcoal. If you look closely at the pic you will see the roots are clinging to the pot so I don't want to really disturbe them.the other one is in a plastic pot way too big so that will have to be potted down to a smaller pot in charcoal.what do you think? Velleta

It is beautiful and I agree, let it bloom. When it is time to repot, soak the whole pot in water for at least 1/2 hour. Make sure the pot is completely submerged. A much easier transition. The roots get rubbery and there is less breakage. My guess for you Velleta that because you live near the equator sunburn is much easier. A lot further north it becomes tougher to cause sunburn. So perhaps those catts. that have issues it may be the sun and heat. Do you live near the beach or up in the mountain? I imagine the culture to grow orchids has some variations depending if you live up or sea level.

I read that Jamaica has quite a few natural orchid species. Do you have any? I see that Jamaica has an orchid society. Are you a member? They will have the best advice and knowledge on the local species. And how to grow the not local varieties.

Good luck

Not a member of the orchid society they are far from where I live , but are few of its members and I are friends so I get information from them.i live in the mountain area.i don't really have much local orchids , tolumnia ,brassavola mosquito orchid and a few eppidendrum.My collection consists mostly of phals which are my favourite, a few den, and even fewer catts, which I am trying to get the upper hand with.i also do very well with vanda's I have about ten or so of them the bloom non stop.but my green room is on an enclosed porch which gets north western light exposure.i put the phals on the north side along with my A.Vs and I place my den, catts and the others in the western side but I use shade cloth.to be honest my main problem has always been over watering but my dens and catts have been doing much better since I rep potted them to the less retentive water media.they are looking so much health er now, thanks to you and the good growers here.Velleta

Sounds like a great environment for orchids and people! I have had some experience on Caribbean mountains. As I recall It was never hot or cold. Just very pleasant. The rains were pleasant too. What is your temperature range? Lows and highs.

Too bad the orchid society is so far. Do they allow visitors? Might be worth the trip once a year.

If I had the opportunity of beautiful local natural species I would make a collection. Is there opportunity to collect plants in the wild? Are any endangered?

Ok so it can be extremely hot, this year was one of the hottest I felt as for low it really don't get cold just cool.it is a great place to grow orchids but not the ones that like it coolðÂÂÂ.the orchid society is like 150miles from me so���".as for collection they are not really readily available, and they grow in different parts of the island, not really where I live.on ocasions you might find a few at local shows but not really a lot.and yes a few are endangered.locals do hunt them but not on a really wide scale.most people collection is really of other types and a few native one.you can visit a group on Facebook call ed Native Orchid growers and see a few that grow hereâº.Velleta

Beautiful blooms Velleta, I think you've won the battle.

Allymarie

Thanks ally Marie, but I can't take the credit for the blooms I got them in bud a little over a week now so I was just looking some advise as to how to keep them healthy and the name of the variety which they belongðÂÂÂ
Velleta

Velleta, you will never get a name and I suspect that B. nodosa is in the breeding somewhere. Tens of thousands of Laeliinae Hybrids and the infinite variety within each crossing made an id just about impossible.
But worth keeping, nice crisp shape and those little spots in the lip might come from a B.nodosa ancestor.
A great climate there to grow warm growing orchids.

Thanks Arthurm,âºI do really love it and as an added bonus it is fragrantðÂÂÂ.i only found out this morning, went in the green room an smelt this nice rose scent but I thought it was my roses outside after picking up the pot I realize the scent was coming from it.apparently the scent is strongest in the early mornings.thanks again to everyone for your imput. Yes we do have a very nice climate for warm growers, I guess that's why I do great with phals.still my favourite variety ðÂÂÂ.Velleta

It looks to me that it COULD be a Cattleya bowringiana x B. nodosa hybrid or something very similar.

It is never ok to take plants out of the wild. It is always unethical and often illegal. The only exception would be if the area where the plants grow will be developed and the plants destroyed.

bea,

I was visiting on a tropical island in search of the native orchids. This place is thinly inhabited by humans. I had a local guide that also was an orchid hobby grower. He had a mission and I helped. We brought with us several plants that were mounted. We were replacing this orchid in its proper habitat. We also took some orchids back to his greenhouse. The ones we took were very plentiful and no threat to survival. He had 2 reasons for this. He was concerned that various species could be lost. So he maintained them for potential future needs. and the second reason he brought them home was he liked the flowers.

Never is too long and conclusive. I would say never do harm. There are good reasons to take orchids. Not many...

Velleta, I see on the first picture of this thread some vandas in the backround. How about a picture?

Shavedmonkey, i just saw the message and its now 11.02pm, but i will post a pic for you in the morning:). Although slugs are really giving me a hard time with them.Velleta

As promised a pic of my vanda patch.only about three are in bloom and the rest in spike,if you look closely to the front there is also some eppidendrum. I will be going to a bear root orchid sale shortly so I am hoping to expand my collection with a few more Oncidium, catts, dens, and I am really trying to avoid buying any phalsðÂÂÂ. I will post a message with my haul.Velleta

Very nice group of orchids...

Thanks shavedmonkeyðÂÂÂ.Velleta