Unifoliate vs Bifoliate cattleya? any difference?

[rbarata]

My first catt was (and is) a bifoliate hybrid.
Due to circunstances I had to repot it twice in less than a month out of the root growing season.
It didn't mind and kept growing until I put it in a basket. That's when it started to grow even more.

I don't think they don't pose any difficulties different from unifoliate catts, except the specific repotting time (which, in general, applies to all orchids) . Note that I'm talking about hybrids...species are more delicate and sensible.
Anyway, I advise you to investigate catts suitable to grow in your climate...it it's a bifoliate, even better.

[Roberta]

For most Catts, active rooting is only once (or for some hybrids twice) per year. The ideal time to pot, mount, otherwise molest, is just before the new roots emerge. That, of course, suggests clairvoyance... but actually, you can come close if you can catch them just as you see a few little green tips emerging... if those get damaged (and just a touch can do it) there will be more coming very soon. If the new roots are a little longer, just be very careful, try not to touch them - and when packing the mix around the plant, avoid that front area where it's rooting. A trick for future repotting, that I learned from Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids - instead of writing the actual repot date on the tag, write a date a few weeks earlier - in the future, then, you can know when it's going to be rooting and be clairvoyant, get the potting done ahead of the roots.

[estación seca]

When you get species Cattleyas in the future, be sure to go online to Chadwick's Orchids and read the wonderful, detailed descriptions on how to grow them. There are a few species that are very badly damaged by watering or repotting at the wrong time. Most species and hybrids make new roots around the time they make new shoots, but not all!

For example, Cattleya warscewiczii (formerly called C. gigas):
Cattleya warscewiczii - Chadwick Orchids
This is a unifoliate species. It does not make roots with the new growth. It only makes roots after the new growth has finished growing and has flowered! The new growth in spring must depend on the old roots formed the previous year. If the grower makes the mistake of repotting the plant when the new growth starts, the roots will be damaged. The plant will not make new roots for some months at this point. Hoped-for flowers will probably not develop, the new growth may not even survive.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by estación seca

For example, Cattleya warscewiczii (formerly called C. gigas):
Cattleya warscewiczii - Chadwick Orchids
This is a unifoliate species. It does not make roots with the new growth. It only makes roots after the new growth has finished growing and has flowered! The new growth in spring must depend on the old roots formed the previous year. If the grower makes the mistake of repotting the plant when the new growth starts, the roots will be damaged. The plant will not make new roots for some months at this point. Hoped-for flowers will probably not develop, the new growth may not even survive.

Cattleya dowiana - and some its hybrids where it's dominant, behave that way too. It's why many people find Blc. Toshi Aoki hard to grow and easy to kill - it's a complex hybrid, but over half C. dowiana... and the time for rooting (and potting) is fall, after blooming, not intuitive because it's getting darker and cooler... and it does the new growth in the spring. It does also need to dry out somewhat in winter.