The Evolution of the Cattleya

By Lee Potts
DSBG Orchid Specialist

The Cattleya species has come a long way since being discovered by William Swainson in 1818. It soon became sought after for the large lavender flowers but had yet to be successfully grown and bloomed outside its native habitat. In an effort to try and grow the Cattleya outside of its habitat, Swainson shipped the Cattleya labiata orchids to English horticulturist William Cattley from Brazil in 1818.

At one point during the 1800s Cattleya labiata was thought to be nearing extinction in the wild due to Swainson's poor record keeping and in part to coffee farmers clearing land in Rio de Janeiro. It took 71 years before these orchids were rediscovered in Pernambuco, Brazil, but this was the beginning of an era that would change the landscape of orchids.

Cattleyas became known for their use in corsages but were only affordable to the very wealthy until Cattleya 'Bow Bells', registered in 1945, opened the doors for mass production of large, white Cattleya cut flowers. Through improvements in cross pollination, these cut flowers dominated the commercial sale of Cattleyas until the 1980s when orchid hybridizers improved tissue culture methods.

While still widely known as an orchid commonly used for corsages, the Cattleya would soon be known for the endless variety of sizes and colors they offer. Horticulturists and botanists have not only prevented the extinction of a number of Cattleya species, but also, through hybridization and tissue culture made it possible for all of us to enjoy the wide variety of colors, sizes and fragrance available today in the Cattleya alliance and earning the title Queen of Orchids.

Winter Gardening with Kaiti O'Donnell - DSBG Lead Horticulturist

A winter garden is much more than just the silhouettes of bare branched, deciduous trees against the gray winter sky, and more than the shrubs whose flowers have long since turned to berries. A winter garden is more than just the scent of evergreen conifers that hint at the holiday season to come.

In addition to the outline of branches against a chilly winter backdrop, berries and textural bark – take note of a few plants worthy of mention that provide bloom as well as fragrance in the winter landscape.

Take for example Edgeworthia chrysantha, also known as rice paper plant that is featured in the Four Seasons garden. Not only will the unusual flowers entice you into taking a closer look, but the fragrance will surely make you look forward to each future winter come. What’s more, this unique shrub stays in bloom for several weeks!

Another winter blooming plant worth mentioning is Jasminum nudiflorum-an interesting shrub that provides a characteristic mound of arching green branches throughout the year followed by a vibrant, long lasting display of fragrant yellow blossoms in January.

Lonicera fragrantissima, a non invasive honeysuckle,(unlike it’s vine cousin),- produces a fragrance so notably sweet that it is to die for .

Camelia sasanqua and C. japonica have countless cultivated varieties, too many to name, - in fact, but these lovely broad-leaf evergreens provide a long season of interest-with the earliest varieties setting bud and often blooming as early as October. Others show flowers in middle to late winter, while others bloom through the early parts of spring. Fragrances range from sweet to spicy, and colors include a wide array of pinks and reds, white and rarely, but occasionally yellow. Flower shapes are many and include single, double, rose and peony forms. Because of their year round interest, robust nature and all around versatility- Camellias are a must have for any southern garden.

In years when winter weather is mild – Winter Daphne will perform true to its name generally showing blooms in February and exuding a wonderfully sweet fragrance.

For the tail end of winter into early spring note the Winter Hazel which may provide late winter to early spring interest with its fringy and fragrant blooms.

Early flowering spring bulbs such as Glory of the Snow, Snowdrops, species Crocus and even some daffodil varieties such as February Gold will often surprise you by emerging from the ground in late winter months .

Thus, the possibilities for winter blooming plants are more vast than you think and some of the season’s finest examples can be seen throughout the Garden .

Calling all Shutterbugs!

As we end 2009 with a wonderful year of events, exhibits and amazing members and guests, it's nice to recap it all with our annual photography contest, Shutterbug! The contest deadline is Dec. 31 and it's just enough time to take pictures of Holiday Lights. It is so exciting to get an envelope marked Shutterbug entry and to open to see what magical moment was captured here at the Garden. We have 7 categories: Plants, Wildlife, Water, Architecture & Artwork in the Garden, Orchids & Tropical Plants, Events/Celebrations and People. Contestants may enter one photo in each of the categories if they like. Another exciting aspect of this contest is that we have an adult amateur and youth amateur category. To see some of the youth entries and then look at their age is incredible to think being that young and taking such a great shot. I remember using the Kodak disposables as a kid and that was either a hit or miss...most of the time for me a complete miss! The picture that accompanies this blog was taken by one of our youth contestants, Stephanie Aliano, and won 1st place in our Youth/Wildlife category. I think I'll be signing up for one of the many photography classes we offer here at the Garden to see how it's done. Good luck to all of our 2010 Shutterbug contestants and if you would like further details just visit www.DSBG.org.