Watering Catelleyas ?

[TRANCEBOY]

Thanks for all the great advise everyone. I have started to water 3 times this week and today they where dry and i added fertilizer.

One question i have is why have media if i am watering this much ? I am currently putting them in baskets once the blooms fall when i get them. Then the only reason i add bark is to keep the plant in place .

Is the treatment the same if i dont add any thing to the basket ?

[tucker85]

If you don't want medium, you may as well grow them mounted. It is fun to grow mounted orchids. Some orchids do better in a basket with some medium because it retains moisture a little longer and allows the plant to absorb more of the water. When I water on a dry windy day, the water can evaporate so quickly that the plant doesn't get much of it. The medium will hold it longer. I water my mounted orchids every day and sometimes twice a day. My orchids in baskets do well with watering two or three times a week.

[TRANCEBOY]

Awesome tucker. I have recieved alot of interesting tips on here. I was on the right track except for the watering .. I still think that i might eventually remove some of the bark and expose the roots a little more. All in time . : )

[TRANCEBOY]

OHH your in ft lauderdale .. are you going to the show ??

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by TRANCEBOY

OHH your in ft lauderdale .. are you going to the show ??

Absolutely! I'm a member of the Ft. Lauderdale Orchid Society that puts on the show. I never miss it. There's another big show called the Tamiami Orchid Show on the following week.

[TRANCEBOY]

I am way south so I will try to go... I have only been to one show so its a treat to see the beautiful arrangelements.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by TRANCEBOY

I am way south so I will try to go... I have only been to one show so its a treat to see the beautiful arrangelements.

Ft. Lauderdale is great show but the Tamiami show is near the FIU campus and that might be more convenient for you. Tamiami is Jan 26-27. I also highly recommend the Redlands Orchid Festival at the Homestead Fruit & Spice Park on May 17-19. That's the biggest show of all.

[james mickelso]

Tucker, what did you decide to do with the mounted orchid that had grown completely around the mount? Have you done anything yet?

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by tucker85

...large cattleyas get a lot of their strength from the fact that they're so big with lots of leaves for photosynthesis and lots of pseudobulbs to store water and nutrients. ... Some growers here in South Florida have old cattleyas that have completely grown around the outside and the basket isn't even visible anymore.

According to some people posting in the "Early K-lite Results" thread on SlipperTalk; having all these old pseudobulbs with leaves is highly abnormal. Those South Florida growers need to switch to K-lite so that the leaves will fall off these old pseudobulbs as new leaves form.