Orchid of the day: Cattleya cernua

Cattleya cernua (or Sophronitis cernua)

Welcome to my first post of the year. What better way then to show our "Christmas orchid", Cattleya cernua. We nicknamed this orchid, our "Christmas orchid" because every year since we had it, i.e. 2007, it flowers every Christmas (Click here). Let us hope it continues this trend in December 2017!

Our Cattleya cernua began budding in early December 2016 and by December 25th, we had a total of ten flowers. Unfortunately, somewhere between December 31 to January 5, we lost three big beautiful flowers on the top. 

A) The top three flowers were blooming on Dec 7th, 2016.

You may wonder why I mentioned that this orchid is also called Sophronitis cernua. Well if you go back to my earlier post, December 24th, 2014 (Click here), a clear explanation is available. To us, we still call it our Sophronitis.

Arne thought he should write a little something about our Sophronitis, so here's a little paragraph from him.  

'Sophronitis cernua is a miniature orchid from the Minas Gerais region in Brazil with bright orange-red flowers that can be a little larger than an inch (up to 3 cm).  It is an orchid that every grower should have and it is not difficult to take care of as long as enough light can be provided.  Of the 15 species within the genus Sophronitis, this species is probably the most warm-growing and therefore manageable for most growers.  This orchid should definitely be mounted according to me and most others.  Those that have observed S. cernua in situ also took notes of its fondness for moist cliff walls.  So my next experiment will be to mount S. cernua on a piece of stone or terracotta.  In any case I will make sure it becomes a specimen plant with dignity.' ~Arne Schön

B) All ten flowers in bloom. Notice that the top three flowers are bigger than the rest. Approximately 2.8 cm in diameter.

C) The entire specimen with some Spanish moss growing along side on the piece of wood. (Yes, we have Spanish moss with our orchids).

D) Another view of our Christmas orchid.

E) Today, January 7th, the entire specimen with the seven flowers remaining.

F) A beautiful close up of the bright orange flowers. I think the purple hue on the column of each flower, is almost like a beauty spot. Very sweet!

I really love this orchid and I look forward to the flowers every December. I hope you feel the same way as I do. Well, here's to a good week and a good year ahead to everyone!