At the May meeting of the Naples Orchid Society, gold ribbons were given out to the Special Hybrid Award and Special Species Award orchid plants. The winner of the Special Hybrid Award was Lola Monesko for her orchid Ascda. Memorial Louis Hatas, and the winner of the Special Species Award was R. Wilma Swann for her orchid Encyclia bractescens.      

The June meeting of the Naples Orchid Society will feature David Junka of Junkabear Orchids giving a talk called ‘Divide and Conquer’. The meeting starts at 6:30 pm.  A senior AOS judge, David Junka has been growing orchids since the age of thirteen and worked for the Franklin Park Conservancy in Columbus, Ohio. He also has won many AOS cultural awards and currently lives in Palmetto, FL.   

I really like spotted orchids and here are three of my look-alike favorites -  

     Cattleya Brabantiae, a cross between C. aclandiae and C. loddigesii, is really an old timer, originally created and registered by J. Veich & sons in 1863!! They were one of the original “greats” in orchid cultivation and hybridization in Great Britain. Of course this cross had been “recreated” so the plants one buys today are not from the original, but the name still applies. C. Brabantiae is a prolific bloomer, often flowering two or three times a year, and has a nice fragrance. C. Brabantiae has earned 26 AOS awards, has been a parent in 70 crosses, and a “grandparent” of 171 crosses.   

   Cattleya Bobker’s Kaleidoscope is a cross between C. Polychrome Mountain and C. Brabintiae. It was created by Jack Woltmon of Hawaii and registered by Robert Bobker of Seminole, Florida in 1986. It has not won any AOS awards, but it has been used as a parent in five crosses. This plant blooms on every new growth, so it blooms several times a year. The flowers last 2-3 weeks and are pleasantly fragrant.

      Cattleya Summer Spot. a cross between C. Summer Stars and  C. aclandiae is much newer. It was created and registered by Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids in 2004. It earned a HCC/AOS in 2006, but alas, no “kids”. Summer Spot also blooms about twice a year, and is quite fragrant. The flowers last about 2-3 weeks. It is interesting to note how dominant the C. aclandiae is in this cross. C. Summer Stars is white and none of its ancestors is known for spots. Yet C. Summer Spot is definitely spotted!

All three of these orchids take after C. aclandiae and have “wanderlust”.  The rhizomes like to “sprawl” and grow outside the pot and it is very difficult to contain them. So I put each of them in a 12 inch cedar basket with osmunda fiber and let them “crawl” away. I have them sitting side by side, so I truly have spots, spots, and more spots! Now if  I could get them all to bloom at the same time…

If you are into spots with fragrance, then any or all of these would reward you nicely. Both C. Bobker’s Kaleidoscope and C. Summer Spot are available at Jade Orchids Click here.