Cattleya Rex Ayacucho vs. Moyobamba

[My Green Pets]

Absolutely, and I have to say that my video is very much incomplete and needing an update. I was reading a publication on Peruvian orchids put out by a Peruvian governmental organization that has got different information about the origins of the Ayacucho strain; they describe these populations as being found in the province of Puno, not Ayacucho as the name would suggest.
I have also been rethinking Chadwick's information as I compare it to my experience. This year I have kept daytime temperatures higher during dry season than I ever have in the past, and humidity has been lower. Bulbs are looking more shriveled than ever before, so I am watering more often, but guess what? Almost ALL my rexes have started to push new growth in the past week. Buds breaking everywhere. So now I have to ask myself - was the rest period immediately after flowering in August until now? Because that would certainly fit the four-month dry season we see in Peruvian climate data. I had always assumed that peak blooming season was followed by two more months of rain before dry season kicked in, but I need to investigate this further. And I realize that Chadwick's advice is based on the assumption that in the northern hemisphere, days will be shorter, light will be weaker, and temperatures will be lower. Of course that would delay the plants from starting growth until more conducive conditions arrive in late winter. However in a tent, where temps are very similar to summer, and where light is largely unchanged in intensity (although reduced in duration)...the plants don't have to wait for warmer temps.
So basically I am wondering now if I am observing more typical growth habits of plants found in situ versus plants that have to endure a cooler, darker winter.
Eight years with these things and still learning every day!

[Kosmo83]

Originally Posted by My Green Pets

.... I had always assumed that peak blooming season was followed by two more months of rain before dry season kicked in, but I need to investigate this further. And I realize that Chadwick's advice is based on the assumption that in the northern hemisphere, days will be shorter, light will be weaker, and temperatures will be lower. Of course that would delay the plants from starting growth until more conducive conditions arrive in late winter. However in a tent, where temps are very similar to summer, and where light is largely unchanged in intensity (although reduced in duration)...the plants don't have to wait for warmer temps.
So basically I am wondering now if I am observing more typical growth habits of plants found in situ versus plants that have to endure a cooler, darker winter.
Eight years with these things and still learning every day!

Than there is a question, do they need a dry season or do they can only handle a dry season in situ ?

Some plants need a dry season to bloom, but when I see your video, C. rex booms when the new leaf is finished.

So they don't need a dry season for blooming, maybe they only rest a bit, after finish blooming to produce seeds and don't wast energy in a new growth... and if you water her normal, they won't loose too much substance ?

[My Green Pets]

I have just pulled that video as it is now, in my opinion, incomplete and inaccurate.

Climate data suggest that C. rex gets less water during the 4 months that follow flowering, but it still rains fairly regularly. Just not every day, as it might during the wet season.

My current rule of thumb is to water more when the plant is actively growing; less when it is not. This corresponds to more water from February to August, and less water from September though January.

At this point, I believe the most important thing for this species is regular air blowing on it, and, as it is an equatorial species, keeping the temperature as close to a consistent 28°C day and 18°C night and the light at 12 hours per day.

I still do not understand how some growers, such as Chadwick, are keeping them in densely packed sphagnum in a clay pot. Would like to learn how this works.

[estación seca]

A general observation: Growing in tightly packed sphagnum, healthy Cattleyas in a warm environment suck the medium dry faster than any other kind of orchid I've tried this way. I do not need to worry about drowning Catt roots in sphagnum in summer, and I water by thoroughly soaking them. Years ago OB member 'orchids amore' described growing Rhyncholaelia digbyana this way, and said it is the only way he can give them enough water - in hot, humid Florida.

Windowsill growers probably cannot do this. Home temperatures are not very high, and Catts grown in those temperatures don't use as much water.