I Tried Another One

[Nancy]

I was able to find some cork bark so I decided I'd like to mount a Cattleya on it. My local greenhouse owner suggested that I try Cattleya luteola. I've placed it on the mount with a little bit of spag because the limited information I've found on the species suggests that it likes to dry out quickly whenever it is watered. I was wondering if anyone had any cultural experience with Cattleya luteola. The most recent thing I've read seems to indicate that it thrives in warm temperatures. My plant seems to concur. I was wondering what its growth cycle is like. For instance, does it make roots after flowering? I'm of course asking this because I should have waited to mount it until after it had completed blooning and new roots were on the way. I just can't help my impatience sometimes. Anyway, please give me some help as to what I might expect from this plant. Thanks.

[Brooke]

Nancy I've only had my luteoa two months and mounted it too when I got it. It has since grown a new growth and now has new roots sprouting everywhere. The old roots continued to grow and now I'm getting branching off the roots. From what I've researched they love to ramble all over their mounts. I hope so because I mounted it on a large piece of bark and expect it to fill it up.

Brooke

[kmarch]

I successfully grew and flowered Cattleya luteola in a pot for a few years when I lived in the US. At the start I almost lost it because I watered it the same as all my other orchids but I cut way down on the water and it grew well and flowered usually twice a year. I think it is a good candidate for mounting because of how dry it like things. I grew and flowered it in an unobstructed south window in my bedroom (Michigan). It got a little bit of direct sun every day and received bright indirect light the rest of the day.

My luteola gave me signals when I was overwatering it. The leaves of the new shoots would start to turn black and would eventually drop off and the pseudobulb remained small and weak. When I reduced watering and grew it much drier, the new growths stopped getting the black spots and they grew large (though the plant is itself a small plant) and healthy and consistently flowered.

Also regarding temps, as I grew mine in my bedroom, the temps were in the range of 60-65 winter nights and higher during the days. Summer temps of course were a little warmer than that.

[Nancy]

Thank you for the replies. I noticed that the pbs. started to shrivel. I'd been only misting it since I mounted it so I decided to take a chance and actually water the whole thing. It's perked up and I have three buds turning yellow, so I could see flowers later today or tomorrow. So far, so good.

[Brooke]

Nancy do you grow inside underlights? in a sunny window? The roots want to dry out and not be soggy but if the sphag on the mount is dry each morning, it needs to be watered.

Mine in the g/h gets watered daily IF the sun is out - it hasn't been watered for three days right now because the sun in hiding and the sphag is damp from humidity.

Congrats on the buds, I won't see bloom for a long time :>(

Brooke

[Nancy]

I grow underlights in a north window. No sun at all. The light is pretty bright. for instance, I haven't had any trouble blooming Cattleytonias, which require more light than Cattleyas. I'm thinking it will need a good watering every other day if the weather is warm and clear because even with northern light coming through it is brighter than a rainy day. Is your plant very small? I read that this plant can bloom when it's only two inches tall. Good luck with it. I'll keep you posted on how mine is doing and please you all do the same.

[Brooke]

Nancy mine came from Oak Hill in a 4" pot. It has five pbulbs and a new sixth growth which I hope will get a spike. Three of the old pbulbs have blind sheaths but did not produce any spikes.

Under lights yours will probably dry out fairly regularly. In the g/h, it is all dependent on the amount of sun I get. And again today, I have NO sun. It feels like March 16 not May 16.

Brooke

[Nancy]

Hi Brooke. I'm sorry the weather is so dreary for the moment where you are. Things do dry out fairly quickly in my growing set-up. My plant came in a three inch pot with two growths both holding three buds each. I feel like I got really lucky when I got it. Would it be possible to install some lights in the greenhouse? I've seen this done in commercial greenhouses with good results. Just a thought. Thanks for the reply.

[Nancy]

Just one more question. My Cattleya luteola is now dropping her spent flowers and the other spike has opened all of its buds. Are the flowers very short lived or is it reacting to the change of being mounted in bud? Thanks in advance.

[Nancy]

I have another question about my Cattleya Luteola. The leaves on my plant have taken on a rough texture. No black spots or anything. It's like the cells on the top of the leaf are standing up somehow. Not a very good description, I know. If anyone has any idea what might have caused this please let me know.

[kmarch]

Nancy,

I suspect the blooms have dropped early because of the mounting change but I have noticed that luteola flowers dont' seem to last as long as Cattleya hybrids but they shold las for more than the week or so yours did. My luteola always had rough leaves. Even the new leaves would be somewhat textured looking and feeling. This is a characteristic of the plant I believe.

[Nancy]

Thank you, Kmarch. I guess at first I didn't notice the leaves were rough. The plant seems to be doing well. There are new roots growing from one of the new roots. I can't wait to make another mount. Thanks for the guidance.