Small Cattleya, Up-potting?

[ChrisFL]

Hi All, first post.

I'm new to orchids, but I've been growing standard tropical fare since I was a young kid. Living in Florida probably helped. My grandfather's family used to be in the corsage business in New England, and my mother has photos of greenhouses exploding with luxuriant Cattleya blooms, so cattleyas have always been something I've wanted to try my hand at. Today I bought a small, inexpensive cattleya from Lowe's as a starter plant. This cattleya is in a 3" x 3" x 3" pot planted in a fine grade of orchid bark with the pot wrapped in plastic. My first concern is for the roots, with all that moisture locked inside the bark, but the slight amount of root that is visible appears healthy. Should I repot this orchid straightaway? or should I just up-pot it and leave the original mix intact? The grower brand is Better-Gro, which I assume is a mega-greenhouse corporation, but if anyone has any experience with them or other general insight to share, that would be fantastic.

Thanks,
Chris

P.S., the name of the variety, according to the tag, is Gold Digger.

[janet_a]

if the holes in the bottom are covered by this plastic, yes, unwrap it. no need to repot right away; i'd sort of hang out and watch the thing for a month and see what it's doing: how long it takes to dry out, that sort of thing. also, the catt experts on here can tell you when it's best to repot; catts are tricky about the timing.

but you don't need to do anything right now but enjoy it.

[ChrisFL]

Ahh, and preceding the 'Gold Digger' is the acronym LC, which I see means Laeliocattleya. Kind of a bummer that it isn't a pure cattleya, but still exciting.

[janet_a]

from what i understand, Lc's are less picky to grow than pure catts. (i have an Lc that i've managed not to kill yet--i suspect if it were a catt it would be long gone. )

[ChrisFL]

Thanks Janet. I will let it hang out. After doing some reading on this bulletin board, I have the feeling that the orchid bark I bought may be much too coarse for such a small orchid. The largest leaf is perhaps six inches in length with a 1.5" pseudobulb. Any fertilizing tips? Fertilize at each watering? The fertilizer I bought is a 20:14 N:P.

[Maddy]

I have four little catts I bought bagged up like that from Lowe's. They're all doing quite well, although none of them have bloomed yet. (Too young yet, I think.)

On a related note, is it okay for a catt to have roots sprawling every which way out of the pot, even though they don't seem to have outgrown it? I have two doing that - they're quote healthy and the roots are all alive, but there are just as many growing out of the pot as in it.

[ChrisFL]

Thanks Maddy,

I also wonder, are cattleyas well suited for those wooden orchid boxes once it comes time to up -pot?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you are thinking of a wood basket, I would recommend against it if you are growing in a home. They dry too quickly and orchids should be watered by taking to the sink and running large amounts of water thru the pots. Plastic pots slow the drying and make for a reasonable watering schedule.

The rule of thumb for most orchids, and especially Cattleyas and their hybrids, is to not repot unless you have to, as repotting usually damages roots. The time to repot plants that grow sideways (sympodials) like Catts is when the newest growth is just starting to produce its first roots. At that time there are a lot of hormones for root growth and the damaged root system will be replaced very quickly.

Repot if the plant is about to grow over the side of the pot, if the pot is starting to hold water a long time (search on 'skewer'), the mix is obviously broken down, or the mix is one you just don't like and doesn't fit your style of growing. Bark can be tested by pressing down on the mix. If your finger goes into the pot, repot (in season), and watch the watering (lengthen schedule as needed) until it is time to repot. Any time the bark can be removed without damage to the roots, repotting need not wait, just don't do a lot of damage putting the new mix in. Also, the new mix needs to be pressed well into the pot to make sure the roots are in good contact with the mix, and that water can wick thru the pot. You should be able to pick up the pot by only lifting the plant. Choose the smallest pot that will allow for about two years growth before reaching the side of the pot. Needless to say, the plant must be placed in the pot such that the oldest bulbs, the side opposite the new growths, are pressed to one side of the pot, leaving all the extra room for the growing side of the plant.

Monopodials like Phals and Vandas can be repotted anytime, and so can Paphs, as they have tough roots and don't like stale mix.

[ChrisFL]

Thank you Cynthia.

A couple more, if I may,

Originally Posted by Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

If you are thinking of a wood basket, I would recommend against it if you are growing in a home. They dry too quickly and orchids should be watered by taking to the sink and running large amounts of water thru the pots. Plastic pots slow the drying and make for a reasonable watering schedule.

So cattleyas don't lend themselves to mounting then, if grown in home? Such as perhaps in a high(er) humidity setting like a dedicated orchid terrarium?

The rule of thumb for most orchids, and especially Cattleyas and their hybrids, is to not repot unless you have to, as repotting usually damages roots. The time to repot plants that grow sideways (sympodials) like Catts is when the newest growth is just starting to produce its first roots. At that time there are a lot of hormones for root growth and the damaged root system will be replaced very quickly.

When is the season typically for catts?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Humidity, if you can provide it is great, but not absolutely necessary for mounted plants. What is needed is a place to keep it where you can mist it often. Some place where the over spray and dripping from the mount will not ruin the furnature. If you can not mist every day sometimes, then you could always use a large baggy zipped up to keep the humidity high while gone for a while.

Unfortunately, there is no ONE season, and don't believe anyone that tells you it is spring. Hybrids are composed of many parents, and the variuous species of Cattleyas span all seasons, not to mention the little bit of Brassavola and Laelia in their makeup. So, if you had a true species, and not a hybrid, you could look up some information about when they bloom, but this wouldn't help with when the new growth starts rooting, as the rooting and the blooming are not always at the same point in the maturation of the new growths. So, all you really need to do is to observe your particular plant. Watch the new growth as it developes for the beginning of roots coming out the bottom of the rhysome. You may want to tease away some of the bark or what ever mix you have so that you can see this area. I have a Cattleya amethystoglossa that completely matures its new growth, goes into a dormant period when nothing happens, then finally starts the root production from this new mature growth just barely before it also breaks out a brand new growth from that new mature growth. Others will start roots from the new growth when it is only a few inches long. So you really have to be observant and patient.

[ChrisFL]

Thanks Cynthia, some extremely helpful information there.

For a mounted catt, would a daily misting of RO/DI water and a weekly misting with and appropriate fertilizer sound reasonable?

I'll be keeping a close eye on the base of the pseudobulbs for new grow. The roots look full, tender and green, different than the robust cords that I'm used to seeing on my grandfather's cattleyas.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

That would be a very good frequency of fertilizing. If you haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere in the forum, you can use regular all purpose fertilizer at half to 1/4 strength of what is specified on the label, or use 'orchid' food, where it has already had this reduction included in the labeling. It would also be good to use hardwater once every week or two, or one of the rare fertilizer formulas that include calcium and a few of the other macro minerals, like the MSU fertilizer for RO water. Microminerals are nice, but are not enough if you use RO water.

[ChrisFL]

Thanks again Cynthia.

I guess using Florida tap water to mix fertilizer with would be a good idea then.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

That is what I do, but I use about 20 to 30% tap water. This is an especially good idea, as many fertilizers expect you to use tap water with a slight alkaline ph, and they therefore make the fertilizer acidic to compensate. If you use such a fertilizer in RO water, the solution can go very acidic, as RO water has no buffering ability. I also use the MSU fert with RO water a good part of the time when I have it, but still use hardwater every third or fourth watering, and just water directly from the hose.

[jerrymeola]

The orchids your grandfather grew were probably Lc or Blc since native Cattleya flowers did not lend themselves to corsages.

Lc Gold Digger is an excellent plant but is not the big showy corsage orchid.



Many crosses are smaller flowers now since they grow in a home better flower more often and with more flowers.

[ChrisFL]

Interesting, I was always under the impression that they were C. labiata.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

It may well have been labiata. When Mamie Eisenhower popularized wearing an orchid corsage, which she did every where she went, the orchid growing industry could not increase the number of plants fast enough (7 years from seed to flower), so the powers that be went to the jungles of South America and brought back tens of thousands of large flowered Cattleya species. I don't remember the particular species, but if you remember labiata, I am sure that was it.