I like them both but the first one is amazing...do you grow outside or under lights?

Thanks Calvin. All my catts are grown indoors near a glass wall and are under flourescent lights all-year round (12 hrs/day).

So pretty!!!! When I see such a beautiful flower I wish I could grow catts but they seem to need something that I can`t give them. I will just have to admire other peoples catts. :o)Deanna

I like that Pot. Martha Clarke! Great Shots!

Thanks Deanna and Bayard!

@Bayard --- I like this one too! The flesh color tone with deep magenta is unique color combo for me :)

Great flowers and photos. Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids has done some fabulous breeding with "mini" and "mid" sized Cattleyas.

I have a similar colored Martha Clarke in sheath (3 buds) (I named it 'Cherry Cheeks'). I was wondering if your Martha Clarke came from the original cross (# 660), or one of Fred's more recent sibling crosses (if so, which siblings?). Thanks.

Thanks jwv_ont! I'm happy Fred is around to carry the kind of plants that Frank Fordyce used/created. I am in awe as to the amount of crosses he makes every year looking at his flask offerings semi-annually.

I got my plant from Peter T. Lin. It's from the original cross that he got from Fred several years ago either as compot or flask.

Please post some pics of your favorite COL hybrids when you get the chance :)

Exquisite! ~Charm

Beautiful ! Gin

Absolutely beautiful
Olya

Beautiful blooms!!! Fred spoke at our OS and mentioned that when you name a plant for your wife or mother, it had better be one of the best! I don't see how that lovely Martha could be improved upon.

Sheila :)

I think it is really amazing that people manage to grow these orchids under artificial conditions. I struggle even in the natural climate! Please try a couple of "original" Catt minis such as as Sophronitis coccinea, S. brevipendunculata, or Laelia pumila. They "self" easily and if you can get the seed they can finance your habit, sorry hobby.

Thank you all for your nice comments!

@ifraser25: I have my share of difficulties when I started growing these sophronitis-based hybrids. Inside the house, I observed that they tend to rot their roots easily when it remains wet for several days esp. when the plant is dormant (BTW, I use clear pots). So to mitigate this problem, I stopped using mixed media because water retention last longer indoors (even if you have air spaces/pockets in the pot) and I switched to straight hydroton for even drying-out (no, this can't qualify as semi-hydro because the pot holes are still at the bottom). The flowers came when I started to have plants with healthier roots/larger pbulbs. Anyways, I have a some primary/secondary hybrids of the 'original' mini catts that are still too young to bloom but as for my wish list, I'm looking for a good Soph Coccinea --- a var aurea and a round red 4n :)