Hi everyone....I hope everyone is having a great day! I was wanting to ask if anyone knows if Lc. Ethel Merman still exist? It is an old orchid. I had one when I first started raising orchids. I had her before I had a greenhouse and she done wonder inside during the winter and great outside during spring and summer. Then we had a bad winter that knocked the power out for several days in the house and those couple of days done her in and I lost her. I have not been able to find another and would love to have one. So does anyone have a division they are willing to sell. Thanks Mike

I wish I could help you, @JMS54, aka Mike, but I have never had that variety. Hopefully someone will come up with one that is large enough to divide.

I looked around on-line for your Orchid and the only one I came across was your C. Ethel Merman crossed with L anceps at Santa Barbara Orchids.
http://www.sborchid.com/plantd...

Hi Ken and Ursula.....Thank you both. I saw the one at SBO. I am afraid I will never see the Ethel Merman again. It was an old cross when I first got mine from my friend.

Cattleya Ethel Merman (Cattleya Jane Dane x Cattleya Canhamiana) was registered by H. Patterson in 1952 and has never won an AOS award. There are no pictures of it on OrchidWiz. Note: It is now called a Cattleya. I've found some references to it on the web but all were in reference to old crosses.

Jim

Thank you Jim...I knew it was a very old cross. The cross was done 10 years before I was born...lol. The piece I got was from an older gentleman that was a friend of mine that lived just a few miles from me when I first moved into this area. He is deceased now and the family auctioned off all his orchids, sold the house. The house is where two large greenhouses were located. He use to provided a lot of the florist in Atlanta with cattleya blooms for corsages. Sure do miss him. He taught me a lot.

Mike, is it possible to contact other friends of the older gentleman who gave you the plant? He may very well have given others the same plant.

Or, perhaps the family has a record of at least some of the people who bought his orchids? Any hope of contacting a family member to ask?

I'm sure those plants, or divisions of them are still around somewhere.

Also - there must be an orchid society in Atlanta, there are probably several, where you could ask the older members about Ethel.

Ask Mr Gilmore, if he is still growing catts he may have some old ones left. I got my Elenor Roosevelt and Marcia Foster 'Picotee' from him in the 80's. They lived in Birmingham proper.

Hi Elaine..good ideas, but the only other family memember I knew was his wife and she died before him and the only other person I know who had a possible division of it she died this year at 90 and I do have a friend of hers checking with her daughters to see if her division is still alive. Have not heard anything has of today. Thank you again.

Alice...The Atlanta Orchid Society want tell you anything unless you join the society and I am like 45 miles from Atlanta and they meet at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens once a month. I think their dues are a little high also.

Roberta...Who is Mr. Gilmore? I am not familiar with him...sorry.