Repotting Catt seedlings

[estación seca]

I just got my SVO order. As always plant quality is superb. Many people recommend repotting new plants on arrival. I want to point out to beginners you do not need to do this with SVO seedlings. Fred uses high-quality Kiwi Bark that arrives in great shape. I always wait to repot his plants until they grow out of the pots, 1-3 years, and the bark is always still in good shape. Most of them flower for the first time in those pots.

You also need to take into consideration the root growth strategies of your plants. I received an 8025t Lc. (or C.) Isfield, which is Lc. (or C.) Pacavia x C. warscewiczii. It has a just-completed new growth, and it is just forming new root nubs. The best time to repot Catts is as they just begin new roots. Some people think the time to repot is when new growth is forming; with this plant, had that been done, it would have struggled to complete this growth on old, damaged roots. So wait until you see new root growth, especially for seedlings.

[thefish1337]

I have found a few plants over the years that do not do well in the seedling bark (in my conditions). C. shilleriana coerulea, C. aclandiae and C. mini purple coerulea needed re-pots asap. Overall, I agree with your statement here is a C. warscewiczii in its seedling pot before transplant:

[RoseSD]

Originally Posted by thefish1337

I have found a few plants over the years that do not do well in the seedling bark (in my conditions). C. shilleriana coerulea, C. aclandiae and C. mini purple coerulea needed re-pots asap. Overall, I agree with your statement here is a C. warscewiczii in its seedling pot before transplant:

Are most of those tightly packed roots old and bad, or are they just colored from the barks?

---------- Post added at 11:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:14 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

I just got my SVO order. As always plant quality is superb. Many people recommend repotting new plants on arrival. I want to point out to beginners you do not need to do this with SVO seedlings. Fred uses high-quality Kiwi Bark that arrives in great shape. I always wait to repot his plants until they grow out of the pots, 1-3 years, and the bark is always still in good shape. Most of them flower for the first time in those pots.

You also need to take into consideration the root growth strategies of your plants. I received an 8025t Lc. (or C.) Isfield, which is Lc. (or C.) Pacavia x C. warscewiczii. It has a just-completed new growth, and it is just forming new root nubs. The best time to repot Catts is as they just begin new roots. Some people think the time to repot is when new growth is forming; with this plant, had that been done, it would have struggled to complete this growth on old, damaged roots. So wait until you see new root growth, especially for seedlings.

Would Love to see photos of your new haul!

[Shadeflower]

good post ES, it really depends on the nursery. In my experience all of them try to give you the bare minimum when it comes to media.

The one I can highly praise here in the UK is orchid alchemy.

Top notch seedlings and substrate even if I did just manage to kill one of them.

Wasn't an important one. Not like a schilleriana coerulea. Now losing that would be a disaster (not that I have one yet, still on the list)

I heard the schilleriana takes 10 years to mature from seed.

EDIT: thefish, I found an interesting article on some coerulea forms: Fundamentals in Breeding Blue Cattleya and Laelia Hybrids

I found it interesting to discover a new hybrid I hadn't noticed before: https://www.orchids.org/grexes/laeli...a-schilleriana

Not to be confused with https://www.orchids.org/grexes/cattl...illeriana-1857

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by RoseSD

Are most of those tightly packed roots old and bad, or are they just colored from the barks?

Those are healthy roots.

[Roberta]

C. Schilleriana (grex, 1898) is a result of the naming wars. It was originally Lc. Schilleriana (C intermedia x L. purpurata) but when L. purpurata got reclassified as Cattleya, it became C Schilleriana which got tangled up with C. schilleriana (the species, sometimes labeled "1857" for when it was described) Dates of registration are used to resolve the ambiguities. Super-confusing, especially this one.

[estación seca]

I haven't had a chance to take photos. I unpacked them last night, watered and put them in my sunroom. They arrive dry. Today there was heavy rain in the morning and early afternoon, then partly sunny. Towards evening the weather service revised the forecast. Frost is possible in my neighborhood tonight and tomorrow night (see the link in my address block.) I have put about 100 orchids, bromeliads and other tender plants outside on my patio, so I needed to bring those all in.

Our last frost date is March 15, but that was many decades ago, before the city heat island developed. This would be a very late frost for us, perhaps the latest in the 36 years I've lived here. It will be nice driving to work tomorrow since I'll be heading east, and the Superstition Mountains and Four Peaks are now covered with snow.

I just remembered a few Brazilian cacti in the back yard outside my bedroom. Talk to you later.

[RoseSD]

Also don't wait too long after new root came out. I waited too long as it grew horizontally out of the pot faster than I anticipated. It is now too long and stiff to be repotted safely. Truly a pain to handle when watering.