Caring for Cattleya orchids
Cattley orchids are native to Latin American where they can be found as far north as Costa Rica. Cattleya orchids are stunning with their large flowers in bright colors. It is an epiphyte, e.g. it grows clinging to trees and similar, so don’t put this orchid in a soggy medium because this can easily lead to root rot. An essential part of proper Cattleya orchid care is to always choose a well draining planting medium such as orchid bark. It is important not to water your Cattleya orchid too much. Allow the planting medium time to dry out completely before you water the plant again.
Cattleya orchid light requirements?
The leaves of a cattleya is supposed to be light green and if the leaves are dark green it likely don’t get enough light. If your Cattleya gets to much light the leaves might turn yellow and in that case the orchid is best of if it moved to a position with less direct sunlight. Try to keep the leaves light green that’s the natural colour for these species. They usually don’t appriciate being subjected to direct mid-day sun, i.e. direct sunlight between 11 am and 3 pm. Full morning sun is greatly appreciated and being in the sun after 3 pm is also beneficial.
The perfect climate?
In the wild the Cattleya live in the tropics and will appriciate a temperature of 24.29C / 75 – 85F during the days. It is okay if the temperature drop tp 60 F or 15 C during the nights. Avoid rapid and sudden temperature changes, e.g. quickly lowering the temperature by opening windows during the winter time.
Do I need to fertilize my Cattleya orchid?
Cattleya orchids benefit from high-nitrogen fertilizer (25-9-9) year round and do not require any resting period. One teaspoon a month is a good rule of thumb.
Repotting your Cattleya orchid?
Cattleya orchids are normally repotted every second or third year and disturbing your Cattleya more frequently than this is not recommended. You should always replant your cattleya orchid of the medium stop draning properly or if it gets moldy.
Orchid overview
Orchids are flowering plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. There are almost 22,000 scientifically described species of orchid divided into 880 genera, and about 800 new orchid species are added each year. There is also more than a 100,000 hybrids and cultivars developed in captivity. It is not hard to understand that it is impossible to give care advice that will suit all those species. It is therefore of imperative importance to research your particular species or at least genus for care advice.
Orchids are found on all continents except Antarctica and are for instance present above the Arctic Circle and on the Macquarie Island close to Antarctica. Most orchids are found in the tropics but even here they inhabit very different areas with very different climates.
It is important to know what type of dirt your orchid prefers as different orchids to best in different planting mediums. A majority of the world’s orchids are epiphytes, which means that they grow on trees or shrubs instead of growing in soil on the ground. There area also lithophytic orchids, i.e. orchid flowers that grow on clifs, on other rocky surface or in very rocky soil. Nearly all orchids in temperate climate zoones are terrestrial.
Related Posts:
- Related posts on flower
- download Various Artists — Flower Power the Best of the Sixties …