I responded to some questions regarding the tendency for some Slc's and Potinaras to sunburn. I suggested that the grower cater more to the Sophronitis requirements. In nature it grows in higher altitudes, under cooler and damper conditions than the Laelias, Brassavolas, and Cattleyas. Sophronitis contributes its small size and bright colors to progeny, and has been used extensively in hybrids with fantastic success for exactly that purpose.
Satisfying the cultural requirements of hybrids may be tricky. The developer will have the best intentions in the world. They will provide names and descriptions of the parent plants, culture sheets, describe previously bloomed siblings, and attempt to describe unbloomed seedlings based on their best guess and previous performance of similar crosses. However there will be variations within the cross and sometimes the parent species with the smallest percentage wins.
I have two siblings of the same Potinara cross. They bloomed within 3 days of each other. They grow on the same bench, get the same light, are watered, and fed on the same schedule. Both are planted in clear pots, the medium is CHC, perlite, and charcoal. One grows upright with the bloom facing forwards. The other wants spread out and down with the blooms below the pot. It tips unless it is hanging or braced in a heavier pot. The photo was taken while the pot was propped nearly on its side otherwise the blooms are down below and barely visible.
It sounds like a joke to say "It looks like a catt and blooms like a catt, but it secretly wants to herd sheep". It is actually a serious observation, not because it is a dog. It just gets the cultural requirements and growth habits from one of the other species in its ancestry. Even when the culture sheet suggests "grow under cattleya conditions", sometimes I find myself asking "Which cattleya?" While I may not be doing anything grossly wrong, I may not be getting it optimally right either. One may do well in a pot, the other may be a candidate for a mount of basket. There's always another year. Maybe next year they will get less of the blistering heat and more rain.
This is the catalog description of the two siblings:
Blc. Oconee 'Mendenhall' AM/AOS x Pot. Frank Gilmore 'Mendenhall' -- The first to flower was a beautiful red. We expect good growth and excellent flower quality. Frank Gilmore is a large, concolor yellow. Fragrant/Fall
