Laelia sincorana

Laelia sincorana, now reclassified as Cattleya sincorana is one of the smaller species and a real jewel.  It is from Brazil and blooms here in the spring.  The round pseudobulbs with their leaves are 10 cm tall and the flowers the same size or a bit larger.  The flower spikes emerge from within the leaves just as the leaves begin to unfold and the flowers are usually born singly, though occasionally I get two flowers from a flower spike.  I grow the plant with the highest light I can give it in cool to intermediate temperatures and mounted on a piece of tree branch.

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Laelia sincorana

Laelia sincorana in one of the smaller Laelias (though now reclassified as Sophronitis).  Related to Cattleya, it has very large flowers for the size of the plant and very showy flowers as well.  Both plant and flowers are 10 cm and this year my plant produced three flowers, two from one growth and one from another growth.  The flowers are seasonal, however, and the plant only ever blooms for me in the spring.  All the growths produced at other times of the years are without flowers.

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Laelia sincorana

Though still a miniature, especially in comparison to most of the Cattleyas and to other of the Laelias, this is one of the larger orchids I grow, and certainly has the largest flowers of any of my orchids.  The plant is about 10 cm tall and the flowers about the same size.  The species is from Brazil and has been recently reclassified as a Cattleya.  I still think of it as a Laelia, however, and have difficulty adopting the name change.

The plant only ever produces one flower and does not bloom on every growth, but seems to bloom seasonally.  I grow it mounted under the highest light I can give it, and hold back watering a bit when the growths mature, though there are usually new growths started at the same time.  The lighter colored, flatter flower below is from another plant, slightly smaller and with a smaller flower as well.

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