Cattleya skinneri

[pjoeverett]

My plant is older and was quite shabby at one point. Now there are several new growths coming out of spaghum moss in an open wire basket and in order to pull out plant I wound need to cut all wires and hope for the best. I would like to transplant and try to give a bloom booster. Last year I had the dry sheaths but no buds Should I wait and hope it blooms in spring and then transplant to bark chips?

[Fairorchids]

You can grow it in either material, as long as you adjust watering accordingly. In wire basket, moss should dry fairly quickly, so there should be no pressing need to transplant?

[jmmehler]

There are those who state that when you repot cattleyas, you cut all the roots down to no more than 2 inches in length. This encourages new root growth. I've always had trouble with this notion, because I cherish roots. I still may be wrong.

On another note, One should repot cattleyas when they are putting out new root growth. This notion does make sense to me. Now that we are approaching the end of summer, ask yourself, what phase is your cattleya in? Is it putting out new roots right now? If not, maybe a combination of these two notions would be better entertained next spring.

[pjoeverett]

Bloom booster later ?

[silken]

Some say bloom booster is not necessary. Just reduce the nitrogen ratio. But if using it, apply it before the new growths are fully mature as they are usually beginning to form sheaths as they mature. Different Catts develop their roots at different times, and I wait until new roots are just starting to grow when I re-pot. That way they can adapt to the new media better than the old ones can.

[pjoeverett]

I have a 10-52-10 fertilizer....could I use that at 1/4 the strength? Growths are not fully mature yet.

[silken]

I use a similar ratio before growths are mature so give it a try. Especially if it is a stubborn bloomer, a bloom booster is worth trying. But 1/4 strength for sure, rather than full strength.

[pjoeverett]

The directions for indoor plants is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon every two wks .maybe less than 1/4 to start?

[silken]

I don't think 1/4 dose will do any harm.

[pjoeverett]

Thank-you all so very much for your input....so far I've been able to get blooms on plants and in general be more successful with my orchids due to all your responses. I had the chance to read several websites regarding skinneri and I thought what am I doing so wrong if this is such an easy plant to bloom.