New cattleya!

[Nancy]

Hi everyone. I sent my husband to The Little Greenhouse to bring me home a cattleya. I thought he'd bring home SLC Hazel Boyd or SLC Jewel Box 'Dark Waters. Something impressive. I got home from work and went to look at my plant. At first I didn't see anything, and then he pointed to the plant stand. Sitting next to Sharry Baby was this little three inch pot of a tiny cattleya. The tag init reads cattleya aclandiae. I've grown some hybrid catts but never a species. I was hoping someone could tell me what to do with it. It is currently sitting on a windowsill that gets no sun. The window is cracked and the temperatures are in a good range at this time. I was just wondering if anyone has grown this little species and if there are any tips you all can give me for its survival. Thanks. Nancy Middle River, Maryland

[Tobi]

Hi Nancy,
Here is a link to help you. Click on 'back' at the bottom to see a pic.

http://www.orchidworks.com/orchids/c...a/dale017c.htm

[Nancy]

The plant is growing in a pot. It looks like a non-flowering division. Would you suggest that I unpot it and mount it? What do you think would be the best mount for it? My humidity is pretty good but it's not always the best. It seems complicated. I guess I'll just play it by ear. Thanks for the help.

[Tobi]

Nancy,
The link suggests mounting only because the roots don't like to remain wet.
I'm sure you could leave it in a pot as long as the medium would drain
relatively quickly. A med bark would be sufficient for its size. Check the
media with a wooden skewer and when it's close to being dry, then re-water.

[Nancy]

In consulting with other sources, which are few and far between, I found out that the little guy does not like to be repotted. I was thinking, if I leave it in the pot and when it starts growing I attach a pot to the one it's in, might it just walk on over to the other pot? It seems awfully temperamental for such a little plant.

[Vivienne]

Nancy - I agree with Tobi. From reading the information on that link, if it stays in the pot then be sure it has larger media to allow it to dry quickly. It sure is a cute little plant! Might be good for a starter mount (if you've never mounted orchids before... it's lots of fun). You mentioned that the window gets no sun... that will be a problem. Cattleya need lots of sun to flourish.

Can't wait to see a pic!

[Nancy]

I'm working on supplemental lighting for the window. The leaves on the plant are a light green, indicationg to me that it requires a lot of light. We;ll probably have the lights up after the 15th of this month, when I get my next paycheck. Right now I'm a little afraid to touch it. It appears to be dry but I don't know how well it will dry out after it's watered. I'd like to mount it, but I've never done it before. I need some real guidance with this little guy.

[Orchidflowerchild]

I would wait until it is pushing new roots to mount it. C. aclandiae does not enjoy root disturbance. It also hates pests. I've had them get devoured by scale.

ALso, lots and lots of light for this one.

-Cj

[Nancy]

Have you had success growing this plant? Do you think I should mist it instead of watering it for now?

[Orchidflowerchild]

It's not all that hard to grow, it just takes time to establish if you disturb it at the wrong time of year. I *did* grow it mounted and hung high in my GH, but you don't necessarily have to unpot it. I'd get a bamboo skewer and slide it into the media near the center of the pot. When you take it out and the skewer is dry, water it the next day. It's very important to let the pot dry out between waterings, because rot is a scourge to so small a plant. For a happy medium, you could put the little thing in a basket, when it's time to repot and fill in around the roots with medium bark mix.

My best advice though, is not to move it until you see that the newest lead has roots just breaking through.

-Cj

[Orchidflowerchild]

P.S. If you want to try mounting, I'd go for C. intermedia or C. bowringiana, as both of them are quick to establish and not too fussy.

Not that I'm giving you an excuse to get more plants, or anything. I'd never enable like that.

-Cj

[Nancy]

Thanks so much for the advice. I like the basket idea. I'll wait until I see new roots coming. I'm not all that anxious to do anything drastic to it. I just want to keep it alive. When does it begin new growth?

[Orchidflowerchild]

Roots come in spring, after the new growth flowers. If it is in a clay pot, rather than repot it into a basket, you can probably just put the whole thing in a small basket (just larger than the pot) and fill in with chunks of largish bark or cork, or even very large chunks of treefern. Once it is in the basket and growing happily, leave the bugger alone. Many people I know, including me, have killed C. aclandiae by disturbing it. Just put it in a container that it can wander around on and never get bothered. THey like to walk horizontally across a mount and they are not prone to root branching. This is why root disturbance can really hurt the plant. I really would recommend just teasing whatever media you can out fo the pot and slipping the pot into a basket and then letting it wander ont he basket from here on out.

-Cj

[Nancy]

Thank you for being such a big help. I understand a lot more about the plant now. It is growing a root now, so I'm going to get it a baskedt as you suggested. I'm sort of confused about its growing season. If it is supposed to have a dry rest in winter, how can it bloom in the spring? I guess I'll learn.