Cattleya and Paph potting

[samtr]

Hi, I have a couple questions that I hope someone can answer. My mom has a cattleya that she bought about 3 years ago, maybe even longer. It was one of those small baggie ones from either Walmart or Home Depot. It looks pretty healthy, but it still has not spiked once. Right now it's in a 4" basket and I was wondering if repotting it into something bigger will help it at all? I don't have pictures yet but I'll try to get them sometime. The name tag has been long lost so I don't know the specific name.

Second question, we also have a 4" paph that just lost its flower a week ago. The roots have grown along the inside of the pot and I was wondering should it be potted in something bigger? Also, should the spike be cut off or will it fall off naturallY? Thanks.

[FLaCo]

Samtr, where does your mom keep her Cattleya? Is it getting sufficient light? Could be that it has received a good amount of light to produce any spiking. Is the medium in good condition?

I have never grown any Paphs before except for one just now. If the roots are just dying to get out of the pot now is a good time to repot. Although you don't have to necessarily place it in a bigger pot. What I do is make sure any old, brittle, rotten roots are gone and leave only the fresh stuff. Doing so sometimes gets rid of bulk and will let you repot into the same pot. Make sure your old pot is disinfected of any lingering bacteria.

Hope that helps...hopefully some others will hop on and help you out with the Paph.

[jay]

I am going to agree with FlaCo on both questions.

Cattleya need high levels of light to bloom. They can grow and look great with lower levels, but will fail to bloom. Moving it to a brighter location or adding supplemental lighting will help.

As for the Paph, if the flower has fallen off you can cut the spike down. It should be preparing new growths for next season, so now would be a good time to repot.

[samtr]

The catt is outside on the porch facing southwest and it gets plenty of light from about 3 pm till the sun sets. I can also move it to the southeast side and it could get light from dawn until 1 or 2 pm. Which one would be better? The potting medium is less than a year old so it really isn't that bad. I might dig it up and look over the roots and stuff and repot it while I'm at it.

OK I will repot the paph, probably into a slightly larger pot. Thanks for the help.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by samtr

The catt is outside on the porch facing southwest and it gets plenty of light from about 3 pm till the sun sets. I can also move it to the southeast side and it could get light from dawn until 1 or 2 pm. Which one would be better?
i

If it were me, I'd move it to the southeast side. That way it's getting about
8 hrs. of bright light versus 3 pm till sun set. As long as the sun doesn't burn
the leaves, it should be O.K.

[jerrymeola]

You never want to go past a 4 inch pot for a Cattleya until after it has bloomed for the first time.

Those bagged plants are usually 2 years away from blooming at best so if it is healthy it may bloom for you this year. Now through the fall is the best blooming season for Cattleya in Florida.

[samtr]

OK thanks for the help. I'll just move the catt over and leave it in the basket.