Cattleya Orchid Care

 

The Cattleya is among the larger and showier of the species orchids—species meaning 'native' as opposed to 'hybrid.' Hybrid Cattleya can come from the combination between the origin cattleya with other orchid types (such as Laelia, Epidendrum) or with the hybrid cattleya, too.  Then you’ll find the wide Coloring ranges of cattleya flowers through all shades and tints of purple, from amethyst and violet to magenta and deep red.

Origin

Most of the wild Cattleya orchids grow in rain forests of South America, namely in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico. These orchids are truly epiphytes. (An epiphyte is a plant that lives above the ground on another plant, using the plant for support and deriving nutrition from the air.) They are used to being partly covered by the canopy of the rain forest and get considerable humidity and bright light. These are good conditions to grow Cattleya.   

 

Pot

The ideal pot of cattleya orchid is the clay pot as it can keep the humidity better than the plastic one. 

In Thailand, we add several pieces of coal or coconut shell as potting medium to support the plant and keep the moisture in the pot and keep the nutrition for the root well.  They have different strength & weakness:

• Piece of coal: cheap, common and easy to be found, durable (lasts about 3-4 years)
• coconut shell: cheap, common to be found, keep moisture better, less durable (about 2-3 years)
• Osmunda: light, better at air circulation and water drainage, more expensive

 

Lighting

Cattleya orchid care does not generally require direct mid day sunlight. It should be bright light (about 70%) which helps them to bloom and develop hard pseudobulbs. Pseudobulbs are the orchid’s main way to hold water which is so important for their growth and life.

 

Temperature & Humidity

The Cattleya orchid can live in the tempuratube between 50 - 90 degrees F.(10 - 30 C). The care of Cattleya orchids should have some temperature changes to help them grow and bloom. Temperature variations of at least 10 degrees between day and night are great. Since Cattleya’s origin is from tropical areas, most of them love humidity and do well set on humidity trays.

 

Watering

Twice a week does well during their growth andflowering period and once a week during their period of rest. Cattleyas are orchids that can and should get dry between watering after blooming. This aids in the growth of healthy pseudobulbs.  The ideal time to water is before 10 a.m. as the orchid can use that moisture right away.

 

Fertilizing

It should take place about every other week with a balanced formula like 20-20-20. The saying is "Weekly, weakly" which means it is good with orchids to dilute the fertilizer to half or one quarter strength and fertilize more often.

 

Repotting

Repotting Cattleya orchid should be done when it has outgrown its pot. This will usually happen every 2-3 year. Do not repot more frequently, unless the potting medium show clear signs of deteriorating. A potting medium that turns sour or becomes infested with mould should be exchanged at once. The same is true for a medium that does no longer drain well.