Laelia (Cattleya?) purpata watering

[Jeff214]

Thanks for the advice, I've put them out and they seem to be hanging on. Many of the new roots turned black at the tips once I put them out. I'm not sure if that was shock from the new environment or due to some other cultural factors. Hopefully it will rebound.

I agree that orchids do much better outside. Overwintering orchids (and citrus) indoors has always been frustrating for me.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Jeff214

Many of the new roots turned black at the tips once I put them out. I'm not sure if that was shock from the new environment or due to some other cultural factors. Hopefully it will rebound.

How many of the new roots Jeff? What proportion of the total amount of new roots?

Definitely hard or impossible to say right now what had happened - just due to uncertainty about the growing environment (temperature, lighting level, etc.) and the state of roots within the media.

[Fairorchids]

A friend of mine suffered a freeze in a greenhouse shared with 2 other growers. Temps dropped into high twenties.
Most of the L. anceps died.
Most of the L. purpurata lived.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

A friend of mine suffered a freeze in a greenhouse shared with 2 other growers. Temps dropped into high twenties.
Most of the L. anceps died.
Most of the L. purpurata lived.

That the L. purpuratas lived at those temperatures doesn't surprise me. That the L. anceps didn't survive does surprise me... I wonder what other factors were at play, such as whether some were wet and some were dry (and if the L. anceps were in pots or in open baskets where they could dry quickly.) My L. anceps haven't gone much below 32 deg. F, but those of people who live in inland areas of southern California do experience temperatures into the high 20's F at least once per winter, sometimes more, and I have not heard of anybody having a problem with them.

[Jeff214]

There were 4 roots on L. purpurata, the 3 that just emerged all turned black. The 1 older root that was already into the media survived.

Same with the L. pulcherrima. It had 3 new roots, the 2 newer ones turned black. The one older root that was growing into the media survived.

New growths on both are steadily growing...

It's sitting next to a L. Finckeniana (doing fine, very hardy too...) alongside other Rl., Blc., Epc., and the temps have been in the 50s at night, one or two nights in the 40s.

My other Catts (luddemaniana, some labiatas, dowiana, a couple of hybrids) are still inside and doing well. I haven't had any issues with them.

Though... I'm about to kill my first Cattleya... Cattleya warscewiczii seedling... doing well for 6 months until I brought it inside. went downhill pretty quickly...

[SouthPark]

If consistently the roots that are growing into the media survive, while the other ones didn't survive (turned black) ------ then that would be something to look into -- such as the degree of growth of the surviving root into the media, and how well connected to the media those particular roots are ----- things like that.

Also considering humidity and rate of change of temperatures between two significantly different temperature levels.

And even considering that different kinds of orchids, and even different individuals (depending on conditioning etc) will have their own response to significant change in conditions that they're not adapted or accustomed to.

[Fran20]

"For cattleya - I grow in very good drainage pots and scoria media, with good air-movement in the growing area. I water every day - using a weed-spray nozzle."
Hi Southpark,
When you water each cattleya daily, for how many minutes (seconds?) do you water each plant?

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Fran20

Hi Southpark, When you water each cattleya daily, for how many minutes (seconds?) do you water each plant?

Hi Fran! Thanks for asking.

As I grow the orchids in plastic pots with the drainage grates, I have to limit the amount of water being sprayed into the media - so as not to have the dishes build up too much water. Some water will emerge out the bottom of the pots eventually as the water makes its way down through the media.

I don't necessarily wait for water to come out from the bottom of the pot though.

Based on the size of the pot and the amount of scoria it contains ----- you'll develop a general understanding or feel about how much water penetrates into the depths of the media. This also depends on how much water is coming out of the spray nozzle. I set the adjustable nozzle coverage (spray width) to somewhere in-between a very directional setting and a medium setting. Somewhere in-between ----- ie. not too direct and not too sparse.

With this setting, I can easily just focus the water where I like - such as spraying the water more onto the media toward the sides of the pots. Here, I've seen no problems with dumping as much water as I like.

When the media towards the sides are sufficiently wet, there is expected to be enough moisture in the air within the pot for other roots (towards the centre of the pot) to absorb. It's ok to spray some water toward the centre of the pot too ----- but I put limit on it.

We know that catts generally can certainly handle root dry-out for some amount of time. And occasionally allowing for dry-out in the pot can (or will) cut down on (or even eliminate) chances of nasties or issues from occurring within the pot (eg. bacterial/fungal/pest activity). That is, may keep certain things under control (or at bay).

Fran --- the amount of water to be applied (which depends on duration of application and rate or water flow) certainly depends on pot size, and amount of media in the pot. For small pots with juvenile orchids, it may be just a few seconds around a pot. For large pots with lots of media - it may take much longer. The longer an orchid grows in a pot, the more roots are going to be in the pot (in general).

Also - having some idea about where the roots are occupying for a particular pot can be helpful too (eg. occupying entire pot, or occupying middle regions mostly, or upper part of a deep pot etc).

A good way to understand how much to apply is to have a particular size pot (eg. a relatively large one) with say 10 to 15 mm size scoria pieces. And then use the watering device (eg. water wand, or even regular watering container) to water the media. And after watering is done, carefully dig into the media to get an idea of the amount of water penetration into the media. Here, it will be possible to see roughly where the water has reached. From that information, you'll eventually develop a nice feel for how much water to be applied - to avoid any long-term wet dripping roots condition.

Each grower (including you) will have your method of watering and controlling the conditions within the pot. Every grower eventually comes up with their own way of keeping things under control.

[Jeff214]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Also considering humidity and rate of change of temperatures between two significantly different temperature levels.

And even considering that different kinds of orchids, and even different individuals (depending on conditioning etc) will have their own response to significant change in conditions that they're not adapted or accustomed to.

Thanks. Yes, it's something I'll keep an eye out for. I've noticed how different plants of the same species can grow slightly differently. Interesting and a little frustrating.

My main question through all of this was if L. purpurata required a significantly different culture than so-called "standard" Cattleya conditions. At the time, the roots were still healthy and the media wasn't wet. I thought I may had been under-watering as some culture notes mentioned it required heavy watering. Afterwards, I likely went too far to the opposite end.

If standard cattleya conditions are fine, then repotting to a coarse media and lowering water frequency should hopefully help (and a breath of fresh, outdoor air!). The change in environment may have shocked it a bit, but it should be better in the long run.

Hopefully, I can share the plant in bloom in the near future...

[Roberta]

I think standard Cattleya conditions. Mine live with the Catts, everybody gets the same treatment.