cattleya luteola x alaorii

cattleya luteola x alaorii

Cattleya luteola was apparently grown successfully in Europe during the 1830s and 1840s at a time when most orchids, including other Cattleya species, grew poorly, or simply not at all. It was conventional wisdom back then to put all orchids in a heavily shaded “stove” or hot greenhouse, steaming with excessive humidity. Most orchids grew so badly under these conditions that they died in a short time and Europe became known as “the grave of tropical orchids” during this period. The ability to grow C. luteola well under low-light and high-temperature conditions seems to account for its survival when other orchids died from the same treatment.