Cattleya lueddemanniana is a showy, easy to grow species from Venezuela with 3 or 4 large, fragrant flowers of good substance up to 8" across. It can flower two times a year—in spring and fall.
C. lueddemanniana fma. tipo 'Ingrid' originates from the legendary Stewart Orchids. The clone ‘Ingrid’ was selected from thousands of seedlings that were imported from South American in the late 1970s to early 1980s. The sepals and petals are delicate rose-purple and white. The lip is amethyst purple with magenta markings on the mid-lobe.
I have seen the mother plant in personal when I would often visit Stewart Orchids back in the ‘80s. The late Ernest Hetherington, world renowned for his work with cattleyas and cymbidiums, was the general manager and head of Stewart Orchids. Ernest always insisted on giving his breeding plants a clonal name and that is a good indication for new growers. Plant labels are important because it indicates the parentage. Reliable sellers will always include a tag with the plants they sell. It is similar to a pedigree of a dog. ‘Ingrid’ was Ernest’s prized breeder, who guarded it closely and never let it out of his stock greenhouse. ‘Ingrid’ can carry 2 – 3 pink flowers up to an impressive 9 inches in size. When Stewart Orchids was sold by the then owner in the late ‘90s, ‘Ingrid’ found its way to Japan. I believe no division of ‘Ingrid’ exists anywhere in USA today.
Interestingly, ‘Ingrid’ never received an American Orchid Society (AOS) award. It is what we in the trade call a breeder plant. Most breeder plants are prized for their ability to produce enormous amounts of viable seed. Exhibiting for show or award is not the primary concern of hybridizers. Some awarded clones or plants do not necessarily make good breeders.
The clone 'Ken' is a well-known C. lueddemanniana fma. flamea (having splash petals) a proven breeder producing some amazing flame type flower forms in Japan.
We are extremely delighted to import this marvelous new strain of C. lueddemanniana from a very well-known private hybridizer in Japan. We are very impressed with its compact and vigorous growth habit and anxiously look forward to flowering it in North America. These plants should have compact growths bearing 2 – 3 showy, extremely large flowers of up to 20 cm (7.87 inches) natural spread with great form and depth of color and sweet fragrance. A must for any serious Cattleya species collection. Highly recommended for beginners and experienced growers alike.
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