Four years later, the plant has finally had a bloom. The orchid is Brassocatanthe Little Marmaid 'Janet' BM/JOGA. Some people claim that there was a misspelling when the name was registered, and its name should be "Little Mermaid". That makes more sense; however, from everything that I can tell, it was registered as "Little Marmaid". It is a cross between Brassanthe Maikai 'Mayumi' x Cattleya walkeriana. I have two flowers on one spike. As the plant gets more mature, I am hoping for up to four flowers one one or more spikes at each bloom. I am also hoping for flowers that are a little larger, but they will never be very large. It was expected that the flower would be small. Probably why it was named "Little Marmaid".
The lip on this particular bloom is remarkable in that it has a very distinct margin between the creamy yellow center and the lavender color around the edge of the lip. Now, I have seen pictures of other blooms from this plant that have this distinct margin; however, this bloom has an additional feature that, combined with the distinct margin, makes it remarkable. Along with this distinct margin, the lip also has distinct waterfall splashes of dark purple on a lighter lavender background. On other examples of this orchid, sometimes these splashes of purple are lighter and they merge into the yellow center without a distinct margin. On other examples that have distinct margins, the splashes of purple have been either non-existent or were not very distinct, having a more muddled appearance. The lip on this bloom really makes the flower stand out. Hopefully this feature will continue to express itself on future blooms.
I grow this orchid completely bare-rooted in a slatted, wooden basket.
1 comment:
It turns out that this orchid is also quite fragrant, particularly in the morning. It is a bonus for a very attractive flower.
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