Cattleya Basics and Culture Notes

December 26, 2011 in Orchid Notes & Culture by Masood Raja

Provided below are excerpts with links to full length articles from the American Orchid Society website:

Cattleya Basics

Cattleyas for the Beginners Part 1

To many people the term Cattleya is synonymous with orchids. For a long period, a Cattleya corsage was a prerequisite for any special occasion and as a result the Cattleya has often been called the Queen of Orchids. While no longer the reigning queen of the orchid floral industry it is difficult not to be impressed by a well-flowered Cattleya. No longer limited to white and various shades of lavender and purple, high quality flowers are available in the entire color spectrum (except true blue) and in a wide range of plant sizes. Most Cattleyas and their relatives are easy to grow. With reasonable care, they can be grown anywhere in the world. Their requirements are few and are summarized below. [Link to full article].

Cattleyas for the Beginners Part 2

Since cattleyas are adaptable to greenhouse culture in almost all parts of the world, they are to be found in most orchid collections today. For the greater part, hybrids are the general rule, but some species are still quite popular among hobby growers.

The recent transfer of the former Brazilian laelias and Sophronitis into Cattleya and the transfer of most of the former Central American Cattleya species to the new genus Guarianthe has somewhat complicated what used to be a fairly simple distinction among Cattleya species between those with a single leaf per pseudobulb and those that generally produce two leaves per pseudobulb. These two groups remain, however, significant pieces of the genus; the labiate cattleyas which have large, broad-petaled flowers borne severally on plants possessing one-leaved pseudobulbs; and the bifoliate cattleyas which have smaller, usually narrow-petaled flowers borne (generally) in clusters on plants with spindly pseudobulbs bearing two or three leaves. Species of these two sections as well as those recently transferred hybridize quite readily. [Link to full article]

Cattleya Culture Notes, by Ned Nash

Cattleya Culture – Part I: Light

The following article first appeared in the American Orchid Society BULLETIN Vol. 52, No. 2, 1983 and is the first installment in a five-part series. It has been edited to conform to modern taxonomic nomenclature and availability of culture media and pesticides/insecticides. While now over 25 years old, the article still remains an excellent resource for the cattleya grower. [Link to full article].

Cattleya Culture – Part 2: Watering

THE SECOND most common problem that people experience with Cattleya culture, after insufficient light, is improper watering. An understanding of the most common habits of Cattleya and related species greatly helps in understanding their watering needs. As discussed earlier, most horticulturally important Cattleya-types live as epiphytes in the middle elevations (2000-5000-feet) of the sub-tropics. [Link to full article].

Cattleya Culture – Part 3: Potting and Repotting

POTTING CATTLEYAS can be the simplest aspect of growing or the most exasperating. It is certainly the most difficult about which to write! While we have already discussed much of the “why” we pot cattleyas as we do, here we will talk about the “how” and “when”. [Link to full article].

Cattleya Culture – Part 4: Pests and Diseases

ATTLEYAS in modern collections are fortunate in suffering from very few pests. Their tough, leathery foliage is not as attractive to sucking pests as a tender phalaenopsis or masdevallia, for instance. Sensible use, as needed, of today’s readily available insecticides will take care of any minor infestations. [Link to full article].

Cattleya Culture – Part 5: Housing

THE SUBJECT OF HOUSING for cattleyas, especially its historical development, really warrants an entire article. From the earliest “stoves” of England where the plants were smothered in sweltering heat and humidity, to today’s energy-efficient greenhouses that do everything for you except enjoy the flowers, cattleya accommodations have taken many and varied forms. [Link to full article].