My Cattleya are not flowering

[Ghana O]

I have 5 cattleya, only one has ever flowered and only 2 flowers for just over 2 weeks.

Think I may not have been giving them enough light, but am not sure. How much sun can they take.

Or could it be that they need repotting? (They are in charcoal) Would they do better if mounted?

They are watered 6 times a week as it can get very hot here in Ghana (but its the rainy season at the moment and the nights are much cooler than normal).

Thanks.

[Dendian]

Do you have their names? It depends on which species are in their backgrounds on how much light they can take. If you can tell us their names we can help a bit more. Most Catts do require very high light to bloom - but you don't want to sunburn them.

[dounoharm]

when catts dont bloom its frequently a light problem....try giving them a little bit more light and see if that helps....reg fert, adequate water are necessities....gl

[Ghana O]

Thanks guys. Sadly, I dont know the names of any of the Cattleyas. I have been checking books but without the flowers I cant identify them as most of the books only show the flowers.

When I bought them, I did not realize the importance of getting the full names.

Will take the suggestion and give them more light and see what happens. Will keep you posted.

Will attach pics of them tomorrow. Thanks again.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Ghana O

Thanks guys. Sadly, I dont know the names of any of the Cattleyas. I have been checking books but without the flowers I cant identify them as most of the books only show the flowers.

If they are hybrids it doesn't matter, even if you do find a picture in a book that's no guarentee that they're the same hybrid. It's impossible to ID hybrids that don't have tags.

Originally Posted by Ghana O

When I bought them, I did not realize the importance of getting the full names.

Actually its only important if you want to show or breed orchids. Most of us have tagless orchids which we grow for our own enjoyment. Besides, unless they come with a tag, even the people selling them often do not know the names.

[Dendian]

Good, the pictures of the leaves/plants will help us give you some recommendations on light levels. Most Catts have very distinctive leaf patterns for the high light ones, and there are other distinguishing characteristics in the rest of the plant that will tell us at least partial ancestry so we can guesstimate what levels and care they like.

[Bolero]

I agree with Kevin, there are no guarantees with Hybrids, mine flower at random.

Light is usually the issue as stated above.

[koshki]

I am new to growing catts, and have so many questions (that aren't covered in AOS culture sheets), I barely know where to start. I look forward to seeing photos of your plants and the ensuing discussion of them!

[Anton]

Willowbanks is your man.

What he doesn't know about Catts isn't worth knowing, from cultivating, flasking, growing and showing.

I'll see if I can get him on to give some advice.

[Ghana O]

Am having trouble uploading the Cattleya pictures. I will keep trying.

[Ghana O]

Here are a few pictures of the Cattleya. And an overview of where they usually hang, but they are often to the back and more shaded area as I was told they cannot take too much sunlight.

[Dendian]

Well, from the leaves I can see they are not the very very high light catts - but I think you can give them more light than they have been getting.

Some of the leaves are dark green - a response to lower than optimal light levels. The second picture looks like a better color. They probably do not want full sun - but you can acclimate them to higher light levels - move them to the front slowly - maybe a foot a week? - until the leaves lighten up a bit. If they turn red on the edges that is the upper limit of their light. Hopefully you won't burn any leaves while you are experimenting, if you keep the sun off the leaves during the hottest time of the day they should be ok.

They like to be in light that casts a definite shadow - put your hand over the plants - you should be able to see a well defined hand shadow on the leaves.

Mine get direct morning sun until about 11 am, then they get bright reflected light for the rest of the day. No noonday direct sun.

That's my two cents worth... let's see what the experts have to say too.

[willowbanks]

Hello GHANA, your Catts look fine and growing well, they are a nice healthy dark green colour and do not need more sun, don't change what you are doing now.

The photos show young plants, they do not look old enough to flower yet.

I wouldn't mind seeing a photo of the Catt that did flower.

Bill

[pikkumyy]

just asking, but i thought catts needing lots of light?
or is this only the case with some, and if so how do you tell which is which?

[willowbanks]

No Michaael, Catts like good light not bright light like hard cane Dens.

One level below Dens is good.

Bill

[pikkumyy]

wow, just then was my 1000th post :O... i need a life

and thankyou bill, ive been hearing that they like it higher from one person and lower from another.... i'll go with what you said, a picture/shadehouse-full-of-blooms says a thousand words

[Dendian]

Thank you Bill, I hadn't recognized that they were too young to bloom. So the dark green color is ok for Catts? I have a few that weren't blooming and I was told they were too dark green - they needed more light.. (these are full grown).

[11Orchid126]

Give your catts as much light as they can take without burning the leaves. If you do move the orchids closer to the light, keep feeling the leaves. If they get warm to the touch, move them back an inch or so. If they remain cool, move them a bit closer.

[Ghana O]

Originally Posted by Ghana O

Here are a few pictures of the Cattleya. And an overview of where they usually hang, but they are often to the back and more shaded area as I was told they cannot take too much sunlight.

The second picture is the one that has flowered. But the 2 blooms were very small and did not look too healthy. In fact I recall they were nestled within the leaves so they were not very noticeable when first looking at the plant. They were really struggling to make it. And they did not last very long.

[Ghana O]

Originally Posted by 11Orchid126

Give your catts as much light as they can take without burning the leaves. If you do move the orchids closer to the light, keep feeling the leaves. If they get warm to the touch, move them back an inch or so. If they remain cool, move them a bit closer.

Thanks, I will follow your advice and let the group know how things are going.

I appreciate all the feedback.

[Ghana O]

Thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it.

Can someone post a picture of a cattleya with the correct colour of green the leaves should be? Thanks in advance.

[willowbanks]

Ghana, there is really no one colour for the leaves, we all grow differently but here is a photo of flower and leaf of a Catt.