Cattleya Aurora’s Little Ian: a novelty mini semper-flowering material and a genetic parameter for superior clone selection

Abstract

ABSTRACT Orchids are an important horticultural culture. Cattleya and its allies are among the most used ornamental group of this plant family. Cattleya hybrids normally are big pot plants with a determined flowering season (spring, summer, autumn or winter), so a small plant with vivid and multi-flowered spikes coloured and non-determined flowering season is desired. The hybrid Cattleya Aurora’s Little Ian is a new small pink-reddish hybrid flower, producing over four small to medium flowers per bunch. For the first time there is a description of a parameter, petal width, with heritability estimation and efficient to select superior clones derived from plants of the Section Cyrtolaelia in the Cattleya hybrid group. It could be easily grown either at shade house or at windowsill emitting shoots and flowering freely in each new shoot, independent of photo or thermoperiod, as long as it is kept in good growing conditions.