After yesterday’s unusual blue orchid we have a different version of ‘blue’ today with the coerulea variety of Cattleya maxima.

Coerulea means blue but in this case the flowers are a very pale grey version of blue but despite this they are elegant large flowers with the delicate shape and intricate lip characteristic of Cattleya maxima.

Here is a reminder of the more normal variety

The two plants out together show the wonderful diversity present in so many orchid species and we would not be without either.

Rather excitingly we have seed germinated of a cross between the two varieties and it will be lovely in about five years time to see how these turn out.

Cattleya maxima is native to South America from Venezuela down to Peru. It grows in forests from sea level up to 1500m and so is warm growing.