when do Cattleys Bloom

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Hi All,
I have several Cattleya's that I've had for many years. My problem is getting them to bloom. I know they're blooming size. I've had one Catt. that I've had for over 10 years. It did bloom for several years than stopped. This year I've grown them outside in morning sun. They all have new grow so they should bloom.
My question is this: I overwinter my orchids under grow lights for 12 hours a day. Could this prevent them from blooming since they don't have the natural seasonal change. i.e. short days and weaker light? I am thinking it must be because I don't know what else it could be.
Any advise would be welcome

[estación seca]

Different species flower at different times of the year. Many hybrids inherit this from their ancestors, and have strong seasonal flowering habits. Some of the newer, smaller hybrids can flower soon after completing each growth. You can look up the flowering seasons of your plants.

Most problems with flowering Cattleyas are with insufficient light. Some seem to be sensitive to daylength, but a lot of ancestral species grow very close to the equator, where there isn't much variation. Try giving most of the larger hybrids enough light so the leaves are yellowish green but without sunburn spots.

I came back to add that Cattleyas tolerate much more sun when there is a breeze on their leaves. Sun striking leaves heats the leaves. Moving air carries off the heat, so leaves don't get hotter than the surrounding air. Catts can easily tolerate direct sun when it's 100 F / 38C out if there's a fan trained on them blowing away the heat forming in the leaves. The problem arises if the fan falls over, or the power goes out. In Michigan you could accustom them to all-day full summer sun if you could ensure there would be a breeze directly on them. You need to move plants gradually into more and more light, like a human going out into the sun after a long winter.

As far as absolute temperature tolerance - Most Catt species and hybrids easily tolerate shade temperatures to at least 115 F / 46C without leaf burn. I can't grow them outside because their roots can't keep up with the water requirement.

[JScott]

Cattleyas bloom when the new growth matures. For naturally occurring species, they will have a bloom season. Cattleya percivaliana, for example, tends to bloom in December or January.

Things get complicated with hybrids. They are sharing genes with multiple species that have a specific bloom time. Because of this, they can bloom at any time of year. Some hybrids have a specific bloom season. Cattleanthe Jewel Box 'Scheherazade' blooms in the spring, in March or so. Other hybrids may not have a bloom season and can bloom any time of year, and the bloom time can differ from year to year.

For those, it depends on when the new growth matures. Species have a specific season for growing, resting, and blooming. Hybrids may not have this. They may grow at any time of year, and mature new growths at any time of year. They may bloom immediately once the new growth is mature, or they may wait several weeks or even months after the growth is mature before they bloom.

So the short answer is any time. They flower after a new growth matures. For natural species, this tends to happen at the same time every year. For hybrids, this can happen at any time of the year, and can even happen at different times on the same plant.

I overwinter my plants under lights as well, and some of them stay inside under the lights all year. This can weird the bloom season sometimes. Plants grown under lights may bloom outside of their normal season, but they will still bloom every year. Like ES said, if your plants aren't blooming, they probably aren't getting enough light.

[Ray]

While an insufficient “winter” (short days) might be a cause of non-blooming catts, insufficient light levels or excessive nitrogen can also have that effect.

Tell us more about your feeding regimen: formula of fertilizer, amount used per gallon, and frequency of application.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Thanks to all who replied. I feed every week with Better Grow orchid fertilizer 20-14-13 During active grow March-October for those orchids in vegatitive growth. I supplement with Orchid Grow Better Bloom 11-35-15 for those orchids either in bloom or having spikes. I live in Michigan so I withhold fertalizer (for the most part) for the darkest months of the year.
Also, My Catt's have received the maxium light they can take this summer and I won't bring them inside until late September/ early October. So I am not sure its the amount of light they've had (at least this year)
I am thinking of seperating my orchids into two group this winter. Those that need a winter rest/ seasonal change and those that don't.
For those needing a winter rest I may use grow ligjts that mirror my natural day/night lengts.
For those that don't need a winter rest (tropical orchids/equatorial regions) I'll grow under lights as usual- 12 hours.
Any thoughts on that? I am new to growing under lights. I've done a lot of research but getting the light cycle just right is very tricky.
Actually, that's my #1 challange with growing orchids. I've read everything regarding light and it shounds so simple but adapting that advice to my specific growing area is so frustrating. Its either too dark or the orchids burn. GRRR

[JScott]

I've never had problems with my lights. Get some T5 light fixtures, get ones that are 4 feet long with 4 bulbs, get a rack the appropriate size to fit those fixtures, hang the fixtures above the shelves, leaving about 20 to 25 inches from the bottom of the shelves to the tops of the light fixtures, and put your plants under there. Set a timer for 14 hours a day, and all you have to do is water. It's super easy. I think you're over thinking it.

LED lights may be the way to go now. They've come a long way, and I'm about to set up another light rack, and I'm going to use LEDs this time.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

Thanks to all who replied. I feed every week with Better Grow orchid fertilizer 20-14-13 During active grow March-October for those orchids in vegatitive growth. I supplement with Orchid Grow Better Bloom 11-35-15 for those orchids either in bloom or having spikes. I live in Michigan so I withhold fertalizer (for the most part) for the darkest months of the year.

How much of those do you mix per-gallon?

FYI, there is no need to switch fertilizers.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

I've read everything regarding light and it sounds so simple but adapting that advice to my specific growing area is so frustrating. It's either too dark or the orchids burn. GRRR

Rhonda ----- consider that to be a nice challenge, and enjoy the challenge.

For orchids growing in particular regions or places that require devices such as artificial light to be put in place, and maybe heating systems and cooling systems etc, or orchids needing to be physically moved to different locations (indoors and then outdoors, and vice versa) at certain times of the year -------- it can certainly be a formidable challenge to grow orchids when faced with the challenges.

It sounds like your orchids are actually growing so that is great. You're doing something right (if that's the case).

Maybe you can show some high resolution pictures of your orchids.

Regarding lighting - there generally is a RANGE of lighting level (and lighting duration) - where if the amount (level and duration) is satisfied, then the orchid should be able to grow nicely, as well as be able to develop flowers.

Temperature and temperature range are considerations too. In the tropics over here ------ I pretty much don't have to do anything - (except water the orchids and provide my monthly weak-fertiliser and mag-cal treatments) ----- and the flowering size cattleya orchids have no issues with flowering. I don't need to touch the orchids or their pots. What I mean here is ------ in regions where the orchids just have certain growing conditions, there's less effort needed - less of a challenge that is.

But if I were to live in a cold climate (especially snow climate) place, I think I would love the challenge! I wouldn't get frustrated for sure - as my patience is high - I teach orchids to be patient.

My relatively new 'temperate climate, cold-climate-spiking' cymbidiums (not the warm-climate-spiking type) will probably not develop flowers in my tropical region, unfortunately - unless some artificial environmental tweaking is done (with machines, requiring some power and energy to be put in ----- at a cost).

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Thank you SouthPark for the encouragement! I loce a challenge and I never give up so I'll solve this problem.
Thanks Also to Ray. BTY..regarding your last question, I mix my fertilizer per package directions.
JScott: I'll look into T5 lights and see if they will fit into my budget this year.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

Thank you SouthPark for the encouragement! I loce a challenge and I never give up so I'll solve this problem.
Thanks Also to Ray. BTY..regarding your last question, I mix my fertilizer per package directions.
JScott: I'll look into T5 lights and see if they will fit into my budget this year.

My fixtures were AgroGro, and they cost just a little over a hundred each, bulbs included.