I use sponge rock, charcoal, tree fern shards, coco chips and hydroton....even if it looks healthy spray with physan 20 when repotting to prevent any impending sickness....
this winter give it high light and in the summer give it Cattleya lighting.
You have good humidity in Texas....this wants 50% and up.
stop feeding fertilizer in winter (December 22)and water it once a week....but after Valentines day you resume liberal watering every other day and give it weekly weakly fertilizer....do not let the bulbs shrivel or wrinkle=this is where the energy for spikes come from.... nitrogen should be low to signal the plant to give out blooms.
*tip: wipe the leaves with soap and water once a month to rule out fungi ....even if the leaves turn discolored thru time do not cut it since it still manufactures food and does its job as a leaf....
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