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Summary: Learn the various characteristics of Cattleya and Laelia Orchids in order to decide if they're right for you. Learn more in this free educational video series.
Bill has been working with orchids since 1951 but is the first to admit that he is still learning. He graduated from Stockbridge School of Agriculture in Floriculture/Horticulture. He...read more
"WILLIAM HUTCHINSON: The Cattleya Alliance is a wide group of plants with similar characteristics and what's even more important in terms of today's orchid world is they are compatible and can be bred back and forth between each other. Some of the ones that we can see and there's probably 48 different groups that can be bred back and forth. The common one is the cattleya orchid and actually this one is a multi cattleya orchid and it's made up of three genera being interbred. Or that is going to the species of Laelia which also have very naturally large flowers and a much larger flowers than plants. And some other ones that here have the unique feature of cattleya alliance which is often the [SOUNDS LIKE] sheet that we see and if you look up through the light, you may actually see the buds on the inside of the plant."
eHow Article: Caring for Cattleya & Laelia Orchids