Could I report this Cattleya I just got?

[Alvaro78]

Hello friends,

My Schwerter order came today and one of the orchids came with a bloom. The thing is it came in sphagnum moss which I don't like and I was wondering if I could repot it. I know Cattleyas are fussy about repotting but I also noticed that on the cane with the flower there are some roots coming out. I expect the bloom to fall if I repot or because of transit so I am not that worries. I attach some pictures below for you to judge.

Thanks a lot!!

[orchidman77]

It's good to be wary of when you repot - but this looks like a hybrid made from a very robust-growing parent that I am sure will re-establish quickly after repotting. I'd let the bloom finish then repot!

[Alvaro78]

I see, thanks a lot for the reply.

Now that we are at it, I also received some Cattleya species (unifoliate and bifoliate) in sphagnum and as I want to be able to control my media correctly I decided to do something so they don't stay as wet since I don't have that much experience with sphagnum. What I thought of doing was to just up pot it into a clay pot and removing the plastic pot keeping the root ball instact so I just added some bark for it to stay in place and just wait for new growth to appear to then do a real repot removing the sphagnum. Do you think that would be a good idea just to be on the side of caution since they are species?
Thanks a lot once again!

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by Alvaro78

...I also received some Cattleya species (unifoliate and bifoliate)...

Which species?
I have posted several times a pdf with the rooting cycle for several species but I always have difficulties finding it on the web.

[Alvaro78]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Which species?
I have posted several times a pdf with the rooting cycle for several species but I always have difficulties finding it on the web.

I bought an Intermedia, Loddigesii and Purpurata

[estación seca]

You have warm weather now. Those species, and the Brassavola hybrid, use a lot of water during the warm season. As an experiment, get the moss wet, and observe how long it takes to dry out. I think it will be only a few days. Moss is an excellent medium for Catts. in warm weather, but it only lasts a year or two before it degrades.

Most plants have old medium when they are sold, and it is fine to repot at the next appropriate time, when new roots are 1-2 mm long. I don't think you need to worry about repotting right now.

[Alvaro78]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion Estación Seca. I'll do that experiment and just wait then for new roots to come out just to be on the safe side (especially with the biofoliates).

[rbarata]

Try to find the rooting time for those species as you might have to wait one year.