Large Cattleya Potting/Mounting/Placement Suggestions

[walkerdee]

Hi Everyone,
Recently I was gifted a large cattleya. Absolutely love the plant but I have deliberately avoided buying one on the past because I'm limited on quality space and can't come up with a good idea for potting/mounting/placement. I only have a couple requirements:

1. Don't kill it.
2. It will remain outside.
3. I have to be able to move it (hurricanes and cold weather)
4. I don't want to repot for at least a few years

I live in East Central FL and the summer can be pretty rough on some of my orchids as they get 2 or so hours of direct sunlight in the morning in one place that I keep them. Other location is hanging under a pergola covered in a sail shade. This is where I keep a couple vandas and mounted catts. This is also where we hang out when we have get-togethers so I don't want to overwhelm this area with tons of orchids.

I have an idea of a spot in a flower bed that has really good indirect sunlight all year. I would love to find a large terracota bulb pan (18 to 24 inches) but I can't seem to find one anywhere.

Any suggestions on baskets/bulb pans or even a way to mount would be greatly appreciated.

[Roberta]

My Catts all seem to be happier in baskets than pots - in your climate plastic basket will probably last better than wood, thought they sure do love wood. Hang it up, let the roots do whatever the roots want to do. (They may wrap around the basket or may hang straight down) But I have found that in pots, they do only "OK" until they hit the side of the pot, and then escape like yours. It is likely telling you that it didn't want to be in a pot. You won't need to repot it until it gets too heavy to manage, when you can divide with a sawzall through the basket.

[walkerdee]

Thanks Roberta! Much appreciated!

Taking into consideration that we live in very different climates (humid vs arid), what type of media do you use in your baskets? Definitely waaaay more humid here than southern Cal.

Also, do you happen to know of a website that sells large (18in+) orchid baskets?

[DirtyCoconuts]

hi- we are close to neighbors

i would do one of three things. exactly as roberta suggested. mount it oriented along that new growth to any tree in your hangout area. OR go and get a shallow pot like this
LOWES BOWL

and then it is moveable

[Roberta]

I just use some large bark. After awhile, the medium is irrelevant. I do water a lot. ("Rain" where I live comes out of a hose or sprinkler most of the time) With higher humidity you could probably even just skip the medium, or use some hunks of lava rock mostly to hold the plant in place. Big plants like that don't really lend themselves to mounting (and besides, likely go in multiple directions) I think of a basket as a 3-dimensional mount,

If you are up to baskets that big, you may be better off with wire baskets lined with coir (like you'd use for Stanhopeas) In any case, at that size the plant is pretty much self-sustaining, the basket is just something to hold it up.

[walkerdee]

Thank you for the insight and suggestions. Now I just need to find a cedar basket large enough for this thing.

[Roberta]

Check out Green Barn Orchid Suppies - they have some very large baskets. I'd go for the octagonal, they're stronger.
Orchid Baskets & Vanda Baskets | Green Barn Orchid Supplies

[walkerdee]

Awesome! That is exactly what I have been keeping an eye out for!

Thank you!