New orchid... Caulocattleya Ethels Paradise 'Delight'

[katsrevenge]

So I have a few things die on me... no matter. They are from Lowes and Lowes refunds you when that happens.

..and I just went to look. Really.

I walked out with a Cattleya called Ethel's Paradise Delight. No blooms (it is a baby..?) The tag says 3/27/08, purple and the number HC400. What does this mean?

It was only 7 bucks or so and I felt like taking a chance. And it is supposed to be purple..

The thing is a bit wrinkly but has healthy roots and leaves. It's my first cattleya but I'm having such good luck with the dens and even the phals that I couldn't resist. Anyone have one; what can I expect that will be different from the other two types I have? Any pictures of these in bloom? (if it lives I'll love it no matter what but I am curious.)

And no pictures from me as my cam is having lens issues. It's only a cheap one but it'll still be a pain to replace.

[Fishmom]

I did a quick Google and here is a link to a pic--pretty! I love spots! You got a good one.

[URL removed because it was a link to another forum]

[lmartiny]

I've bought several Catts from Lowe's/HD and they have done OK.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by katsrevenge

...Cattleya called Ethel's Paradise Delight

The full and correct name for this plant is: Caulocattleya Ethels Paradise 'Delight'. The 'Delight' bit belongs in single quotes as it is a cultivar and is not part fo the grex (hybrid name). The orchid is in the Cattleya Alliance but the intergeneric genus is Caulocattleya.

Originally Posted by katsrevenge

The tag says 3/27/08, purple and the number HC400. What does this mean?

It's hard to say what all of this stuff means. The date could be when it was deflasked or maybe when it was last repotted. "Purple" is just a colour indicator, what colour they expect the flowers will have. The number HC400 is probably a cross number or flask number used by the breeder or the flasker.

[sunshine]

..and I just went to look. Really.

Congrats on your first catt My first was a bare root I bought from HD
and is the catt in my sig line. It took me 4 yrs to get it too bloom I told myself no more catts I know have 5

You will need to repot it. I use the Better-Grow Orchid Mix from Lowes and my chids love it. Don't forget to soak your bark. I have also used coconut chip bark for my new catts and it seems to be working well as I'm getting new growth and new roots. I also give them a little drink of superthrive after
repotting. My catts are sitting on the kitchen table in a sunny east window.

I also soak all my chids before repotting and it seems to be less stressful and then I soak them again after repotting and have had no ill side effects

AOS | Cattleya

[berniep]

G'Day katsrevenge

Look forward to seeing your photos when they flower! Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Bernie

[lmartiny]

This was a Lowe's rescue I had posted. I coudlnt' find the prior post. Don't know what I "filed" it under. So anyway, it finally opened. One lone bloom.
It's pretty.

[katsrevenge]

Well, I had a nice long reply written up but the interwebs ate it. :/

Short re-reply.
Thanks fo the info all. I will learn the Secret of the Tags if it kills me.. And thanks for the correct name. Makes it easier to google up info.
I *think* I saw that picture but wasn't sure if it was right. The picture on label looked nothing like it.. more purple and less white. But, thanks to lmartiny.. I think it's probably right. I still love it. And if it wasn't for links to other forums I never would have found this place.

And I did just go to look! LOL Problem was I had the "extra" cash from returning two prior purchases.

I repotted already. I took some of that orchid bark (Better-Gro mix actually, hehe) and smashed the big chunks to medium and soaked it for a day. It was well potted (surprised me) but had been allowed to go bone dry. Still has about three inches of good root.. the rest was bad. After a good watering there is a little 'pot belly' on what I think is the main stick/pod thing. I wrung out some moss and laid it at the sides of the pot away from the plant to keep the humidity up for a bit and put it with my dens for now. This morning they all got some yummy worm/compost-juice.

This was the first one I soaked before re-potting. I initially soaked it because that store has a habit of not watering their plants well.. Most of my house-greenery has been picked up there to the tune of a buck or two for huge well grown plants that are wilted and just need a drink. Same trip I picked up a huge English ivy, a large kangaroo paw fern (each a dollar down from 12) and two tiny plants (another kind of En. ivy and a piliea) for a quarter (down from 3 and 5).. all just needed a drink. While I enjoy saving 30 bucks a trip.. when it comes to the orchids I really wish they'd get it right! They don't bounce back as quick.

(Other then the 'rescue dens'.. so called because their flowers had faded.. every orchid I've bought has had bad roots from over or under watering. One day I will buy a healthy orchid. Really, I will. I bet it will be great. I just don't know where to find them semi-locally.)

And by the time it flowers I hope to have a camera again. :P

And lovely pictures. It looks rather like a butterfly. Did it have a smell?

[lmartiny]

Hey Kat. I just went out a took a sniff and don't really smell anything. But sometimes they'll smell at different times of the day. My tag is identical to your's so it should be about blooming size. It had a bud on it when I bought it about two weeks ago. They had taken it out of it's bag and hung it near the register. I felt sorry for it and brought it home. But I paid $13.00.

[katsrevenge]

Aw, no smell. That's OK though.

It's about hand high with the biggest leaves at 6/7 inches and 4 pods; each with a leaf or two. The smallest leaf is maybe 4 inches. It's a cute little thing, flowers or not. And the time spent with actual moist bark outside a bag has really started to plump up the pod-things. I wish my cam was working, the improvement that quick is not what I expected!

I *should* have paid 13 as well. They had put the box of bagged orchids over a 7 something shelf tag labeled 'orchids' and they had no other tags on any of the bags. It's a cheap money making trick some stores use.. but I always argue (nicely) with them. :P Ah, pity.... pity has me looking for more shelves...

[lmartiny]

OK. My first question is what the heck does :P mean? I've seen that a lot recently and I have no clue. (I'm not a techy or a texter)
The pod-things are called pseudobulbs. They hold energy and moisture for the plant. so it is good they have plumped up. I'm a novice. I'm just spouting stuff I've learned here. I've really learned a lot.

[Yiu Lin]

Hi imartiny,
If you tilt your head to the left, the :P resembles a person with their tongue sticking out - the colon is the eyes, and the P is the mouth and tongue.

Katsrevenge - good buy! Hope to see some blooms soon!

[lmartiny]

OK. I looked a couple of times. Got it. I guess. Is there a code for bafflement?

[E-Jag]

What Lynne said. Yes, the code for bafflement is @#!!%*@!!!

[katsrevenge]

Hehehe, it's normally used to express more humor then a smile but less then the which is a smiley with a huge grin.

Pseudo bulbs just makes me think of tulips and potatoes for some reason.. I'll have to remember that and try to mentally refer to them as such.. instead of 'pod'. To me, they look pod shaped.. even though they don't do what pods do.

I thought it was as well. I hope it grows well for me.

Bafflement is ??? or sometimes the forums will have shrugging smileys.

[lmartiny]

Funny E-Jag. And Kat, I sniffed the flower this morning and it does have a faint scent. Seemed somewhat Spicy, maybe like faint cinnamon??

[katsrevenge]

Awesome!

I was hoping it would have some sort of smell.