Care of Laelias?

[birdwomn]

I recently acquired some Laelias, one of which is a baby. I also got two regular cattleya babies from the same vendor.

I noticed that the Laelia baby has some sphagnum moss on top of the growing medium, but the regular cattleya babies did not.

I know they are part of the cattleya family, but do Laelias typically have a higher water requirement than regular cattleyas that need to dry completely out?

Any advice on the differences in growing the two is appreciated.

I am in west central Florida on the coast and the orchids are outdoors on a screened lanai/porch. So they can get moreor less sun as needed.

[rbarata]

There are many different Laelias with different requirements. I think the most common one is light intensity, which is on the high end of the range.
But let us know which Laelia you have.

[Lil Duck]

Cattleyas do not need to completely dry out, that is information given by growers who use subpar potting media that does not allow for enough air to reach the roots. Cattleyas quite enjoy frequent water but they also like air even more, if potted in very large bark or even rocks or if they are mounted they could be watered every day without risk of root rot.

If your plant is one of the former rupiculous laelias then it is practically drenched in water during the rainy season, despite this, the roots don't rot as the water is constantly moving and are exposed to air. I hope this helps.

[Roberta]

It would really help to know which species you have. Laelia anceps does like to dry out. But some of the Brazilian Laelias (that are now classified as Cattleya) come from different environments and have different needs. Also, how small are the "babies"? Small seedlings need to be kept more moist (humid, not sopping wet) than more mature plants. Photos would help.

[birdwomn]

My apologies for not providing the exact species information and photos.

As you can see, I have not yet watered them today. It has been VERY dry here. My other cattleyas are in similar wooden baskets with very little media and get watered when they are completely dry or when it rains.

The babies are:
1) Lc. Miranda's Blue Berry 'Miranda Orchids' AM/AOS
This is a cross between Cattleya DiPozzi Tizziano x Laelioclattleya Marcello Miranda

2) Cattleya labiata coerulea x sib select

3) Lc. Wrigleyi 'Orchid Library' x Marcello Miranda
This is a new cross, from what I understand

The larger Laelias are:

a) Laelia purpurata uba tuba

b) Laelia purpurata Flamea Cheri x alba Campanea 4N

[Roberta]

I think you need to increase the watering frequency on all of them. Several look somewhat desiccated. Especially when humidity is low, they dry out fast, and in baskets like that they're dry within a few hours of watering so you really can't overwater them. They all love those wooden baskets.

L purpurata var. ubatuba (it's a nice semi-alba) especially looks dehydrated. It looks like the flamea x alba may even give you flowers this spring/summer. (By the way, they're now classified as Cattleyas. Which makes absolutely no difference in their care, orchids can't read ) But rather than using sphagnum (which dries out anyway, and is hard to re-wet) just increase the frequency of watering. You could water them every day or every other day when it's dry, and it would be fine. But these Brazilian Laelies (now Cattleyas) do like to be somewhat wetter than the Mexican Laelias (still Laelia) like L. anceps.

[birdwomn]

Thanks, Roberta. Should I add more media to the bigger ones? Charcoal? Perlite?

[Roberta]

Maybe just some more bark. Once they root (that should be starting about now or very soon) they'll grab those bark chunks. I use only large bark for my purpuratas, anything else just falls out and serves no purpuse except to make a mess.

[birdwomn]

That is why they have so little now. It all fell out and I wanted to be sure I was putting in the right media before I added anything.

I will water them with the vandas for awhile - which is 2x/day when it is dry.

[Roberta]

Sounds good. Go for the largest bark that you can find. I use Orchiata "Super". I have also seen people use the "pathway" bark that comes from nurseries and big box stores. (Quality isn't as good as Orchiata, but it does the same thing - some pieces are too big, but much of it is right size)