Harvey, It's bloody gorgeous.

That has to be one of the most beautiful Cattleyas I have ever seen and a superb photo to do it justice.

Harvey, it's beautiful. Mossiae tends to bloom around this time (Easter and Mothers' Day). I had a beautiful one that grew to specimen size and mourn it to this day. It had a compact habit. Leaf size tended to be quite small compared to other bifoliates.

Carol

Thank you for your nice comments.

I have limited know-how on the recommended culture and growth habit of this particular species. I just give it the usual treatment as my other catts and luckily enough, it thrives. The one thing I observed from this plant is that it feeds heavily prior to resting/blooming (plump pseudobulbs) but spends the stored energy during the blooming process (pbulbs shrink/get wrinkly once more)...

Nice flowers! Do the petals eventually fall forward?

Hi Bayard!

I just checked the flower once more and it's barely noticeable. The bloom is actually facing 45° up with respect to an imaginary horizontal plane (I tilted the pot towards me when I took the photo). I think that it's hard for the petals to fall forward because of the natural orientation of the flowers.

Is your C Mossiae 'Alayon' blooming this time?

Thanks!

Two incredible beauties. Wonderful photograph!

Sheila :)