The problem might come from an ancestor of many spottees. Namely Cattleya aclandiae which I'm trying to grow on a cork mount.

Never had a problem growing many spotted hybrids but light is not a problem here. Here is the link to my plant of Suncoast Sunspots which seems to flower multiple times a year. When the plant gets larger it produces too many flowers and has a crowded raceme.

Your other parent Katherine Clarkson also has a Cattleya aclandiae ancestor

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsos/386188188/in/set-72157594522405496

Blc. Suncoast Sunspots x Slc Katherine Clarkson is registered as Stippled Sunset

Thanks for sharing the photo and the registered hybrid name. You are probably right about the aclandiae ancestry giving me the blues. I am trying to grow one for the second time. My first on just died very slowly over the course of a couple of months. I never identified the cause of the decline.

Well I am pretty set on growing a couple of these spotted catts. I am looking for my Cattleya Brabantia to bloom next. This will be year three of supposedly be blooming sizes and not producing blooms.

Beautiful bloom! I too love the spotties. I'd pick that one up in a heartbeat.

Very pretty

I have a heart for "spotties" too. I bought a Blc. Suncoast Sunspots a month ago and am looking forward to see pretty flowers kind of like yours at some point here.

Beautiful!!!!

It bloomed again. This time it produced two buds and both made it.

You are good

Beautiful.

Congratulations!!

Good growing!

Jane

Hi Eve,

Here is another pic. of my seedling Suncoast Sunspots. Opens green and the colour changes.

It is vigorous, flowers several times a year...and has too many flowers on this raceme.

Registered by Suncoast Orchids in Florida.

Sorry about the link.

Suncoast Sunspots

Thanks for the compliments, all!

Arthur - your Suncoast Sunspots is lovely. While the raceme is a bit crowded, there are never too many flowers. How tall is it?

Darlene, the jargon is "habit & arrangement of blooms" wouldn't get many points for that, but just shows the slackness of the owner, a bit of grooming may have helped. They are using it for breeding because the plant is compact (20cm high) and it makes a growth and then flowers, does this more than once a year. Mine is a seedling (raised from seed), so Eve's plant will will not have identical blooms.

Arthur, that is a stunning picture. I agree with Darlene, there can never be too many flowers! So, how many are there, 8?

I repotted mine recently, so it will probably still take a while for it to bloom, sigh.

I ordered one of these from Sunset Valley and Fred Clark threw in a second one for free. The second plant is blooming now. Like the first one, it started with three buds and two blasted. It is such bright sunny flower on a cloud Ohio day. I will take it. These are registered as Rhycholaeliacattleya Stippled Sunset.

I think I like the first one more because of the spots. However I think the shape is better on the second one.

Hi Darlene, that is a large flower for the size of the plant and hopefully it will have the same trait as SunCoast Sunspots and bloom at different times of the year in your conditions.

Good shape and colour and I not think the stipples detract too much.

I have been a bit slack with the format of SunCoast! (not Suncoast)

Maybe a late spring flowering will lessen the chance of bud drop.

I did not realize that this plant does not take as cool of temperatures as most other cattleyas. It got into the upper 40s when it started to get brown spots on the leaves and I took it inside. Hope it survives, sigh.

Did not know it has C. aclandiae in it and therefore needs warm winter temps.. I am growing one and a cross with C. schilleriana mounted in a south facing window. They seem to be pretty happy there but are still rather small (have not bloomed jet).

Eve, I'm not about to rave on about the tropical myth BUT some places in the tropics get quite cool at night and warm up during the day.

The other species used to make SunCoast Sunspots make it easy to grow. Sure it is in glass-house but that house is not set for Tropical Lowland. It is set for Tropical Savannah and the heater comes on in the very early morning when power is cheap.

At heat on time the temp may have dropped to 5C or below on a few mornings.

No misting in that house either. The water expired by the plants condenses on the glass-house walls. Only water once a week on a day that might be sunny in winter.

I cringe with all this misting stuff!

As for Cattleya aclandiae on its arid cork mount. Perhaps it will flower next growth.

Fingers crossed.

Yes, with a lot of other catts contributing to the gene pool of this orchid one would expect it to be more temperature tolerant but the plant looks pretty bad and there is no saying wether it will survive.

Lows in the 40s can be difficult for a lot of orchids. Across the board 50 is the lowest I let my catts get. Most take it like champs and keep pushing. However I do think I would get better blooming if I provided more heat and humidity for my spotted catts. These have been pretty easy so far. Plus one bloomed twice this year. I just need to keep more the 2/3 of the blooms from blasting.

Good luck, Eve.

I find it hard to discern the low minimum temp for each plant. I do recall some of the extreme plants. Mostly I heat at 50. Can't go wrong. I heat to the highest common denominator. My antelope type dens like 50 and above and many bloom in the winter so they get invited into the living room when in bloom...