Sophrolaeliocattleya Circle of Life

This is one of the few hybrids I grow and one of the few Cattleyas I grow.  It's a hybrid of Laeliocattleya Culminant and the tiny red species, Sophronitis coccinea and due to the renaming of the species in its background would now be known simply as Cattleya Circle of Life.  It is a small plant as Cattleyas go, only 25 cm tall with 7-8 cm flowers, two per growth.  It blooms faithfully every spring and is one I raised from a very small seedling.

Sophrolaeliocattleya Circle of Life

I grow mostly miniature species, but have a few Paphiopedilums, Phalaenopsis and Cattleyas that I grow on windowsills and this is one of them, a hybrid of Laeliocattleya Culminant and the tiny red species, Sophronitis coccinea.  It blooms faithfully every spring and is one I raised from a very small seedling.

Sophrolaeliocattleya Dream Catcher

Here is another of the few Cattleya-type hybrids I grow, Sophrolaeliocattleya Dream Catcher, a hybrid of Sophrolaeliocattleya Bright Angel and Sophrocattleya Beaufort.  I have two of these and one blooms orange, the other red.  This is the red-flowered plant, though I've included a picture of the flowers from the other plant as well.

Sophrolaeliocattleya Circle of Life

I do not grow a lot of Cattleya hybrids, in fact, I do not grow a lot of hybrids of any kind, but several years ago in a fit of madness, I brought a whole raft of seedlings from one of the best hybridizers around and many of them have now bloomed, though as they bloom I sell them off.  Don't know if I'll sell this one, though.

Sophrolaeliocattleya or Slc. (Cattleya if you prefer the new names) Circle of Life is a hybrid of Laeliocattleya (Lc.) Culminant and Sophronitis coccinea, a miniature fiery red species.  The plant is 13-15 cm tall and the flowers are 10 cm across.  This is its first bloom with four flowers on two spikes.

Sophrolaeliocattleya Dream Catcher

This mini-Cattleya has everything going for it.  It is small plant, around 15 cm, with large 6 cm flowers that are of excellent shape and good clear color.  It blooms on every new growth, with two flowers per growth and the flowers are very long lasting.  They open a reddish-orange color, but quickly fade to a bright orange that is veined and lightly flared in red.  The lip, as can be seen from the photos is yellow with red veining and a red mid-lobe.  The difference in color in the photos, however, is due not only to the age of the flowers but also to the season.  The flowers that open in warmer weather are distinctly lighter and less deep in color than the flowers that open in cooler weather.

Sophrolaeliocattleya Minibeau

This mini-Cattleya is a hybrid of Sophrocattleya Beautfort and Sophrolaelia Minipet.  The plant is less than fifteen cm tall and the flowers very large in proportion to the plant, around eight cm across.  It is one of the few hybrids I grow.