Here's one you won't find in Walmart.  Bc. Thortonii was hybridized in 1897.  This plant has out lived 2 different orchid grows so it's most likely over 60 years old.
 

What a beautiful flower.

Pure magic.

Very Nice, I like other things, not just figs...LOL

That's one gorgeous looking orchid!

Lovely. B. digbyana and what else?

Honestly I don't remember and would have to get on RHS website since the cross is so old.  I guess I should since I'm bring it to judging this Saturday.  I'm going to re-start as a student judge after taking a year off to deal with the new job and relocation.

Ok Got over my laziness  and looked it up.  Hating all the name changes and it's going to take forever to get all the labels changed.  It is now Rhyncholaeliocattleya Thorntonii registered by T.W.Thornton in 1897.  Don't know if anyone one ever remade the cross or if this plant is from one of the original seedlings.  Cross is Rl. digbyana  x  C. gaskelliana.

Very beautiful! 60 years old!?...really green thumbs!

Lovely!!!

Here is one from Walmart  :)

 

Nothing exotic.  Bought last Mother's Day, this is the 3rd set of blooms since the original ones dropped off. 

Hello, so I have great interest in this orchid as my great grandfather Thornton hybridized the orchid. We have always had a black and white photo of the orchid, but this is the first time I have seen this in color! I am not sure how to go about ordering a seedling, or better yet, getting a nice photo of it, without the gentleman in it. I would love to be able to get one for my mother. Would you be willing to help me? I have been searching for years.

Steve Milton

Quote:

Originally Posted by schaplin
Here's one you won't find in Walmart.  Bc. Thortonii was hybridized in 1897.  This plant has out lived 2 different orchid grows so it's most likely over 60 years old.
 

It just finished blooming again.  Are you looking for the plant or just a better photo?  Let me know.  Very cool that your grandfather hybridized it.  He did a number of crosses as I recall.  The fragrance on this plant is fantastic.

I grow phalaenopsis. I bring them up from the grow shelves and put them around the house when they are in a bloom for a week or two at a time. We always seem to have one with flowers on it no mater what time of year it is.

That's a really nice cross.  The lip is the prize.

Years ago, when I was still in my 'salad days'...I killed some of the best orchids that Rockefeller's money could buy.  I searched all over for exotic, new plants.  Gloxinias, Amaryllis, Clivia....ditto.  Nothing escaped my self-generated, "Black Death" of plants.  I burned through a small fortune worth of prime, chlorophyll, before I got wise and gave up.  It's almost impossible to keep tender, indoor plants, alive and healthy in my climate, with my short, growing-season, and dark, dry, winters.  Oh, it could be done.  I just don't want to go through all the trouble and the specialized culture.  So, gone are the lighting systems, humidifiers, fans, etc.  Now, I like to keep things simple.

So, it's figs, and a few caudex-forming succulents. Both are dormant throughout my long, dark, NYC winters.  For close to ten years, I managed to keep a few fig trees alive and well, and, growing in containers.  I was on a winning streak!  Then, last winter came along.  Fig trees, gone.  Succulents, (Cyphostemma juttae, Fockea edulis, Bursera fagaroides) ...still alive and well.

I still have a smoldering, lingering spark for trying to grow orchids, but alas, I lost my taste for windowsill funerals.  My only triumph was growing the very easy, Bl. "Yellow Bird".  Why?  You can grow it sunny, hot, and threat this orchid just like any succulent plant.  I had a huge specimen of this hybrid plant, and it was almost never without loads of beautiful flowers - which lasted for many weeks.  A perfect plant for a beginner, either in pots, or mounted.  Just water, feed, give it sun, and sit back and enjoy the flowers.


Frank

BL. yellow bird is a great plant. 

I apologize for the late reply, I was in Ecuador with some students.
I definitely would love a photo without the gentleman in it. That would make our day!
How would I go about getting one, learning to care for it, etc. I am new to all of this.
Steve Milton