Transferring C. aclandiae Seedling to Basket

[galguibra]

Originally Posted by MateoinLosAngeles

Cattleya aclandiae has kind of an unpredictable root production pattern, so if you can wait, I would just watch until you see new roots. Kelpak might help.

I have repotted bifoliate Cattleyas at the wrong time and it's not necessarily a death sentence, but they might go into a sort of shock for as long as a year. In my experience, bifoliate Cattleyas can be as robust as unifoliate, the problem is that bifoliate are less expressive, they seem to do nothing for months on end and suddenly shoot some impressive growth to then go back to doing nothing. So you gotta kind of trust the cycle. Unifoliates are the "dogs" of Cattleyas, always telling you they love you, bifoliates are the "cats" looking at you, from the corner, mysterious, knowing they're in control and that you can't do anything about it, however, some may say their love is even more rewarding as it is scarce.

I think potting a Zygopetalum in LECA is a death sentence. I would like to meet someone who's had a Zygopetalum in LECA for at least 5 years to change my mind. They thrive in acidic media (bark, kanuma, sphagnum moss, etc.), the risk of LECA being excessively alkaline is too high imo.

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At least for Phalaenopsis, it seems to be the case: Coerulea Compatibility Across Hybrids | Sapphire Dragon Orchids

If Rob's research on coerulea Phalaenopsis hybridizing is right, and if the same pathway applies to Cattleyas, there might be three types of Anthocyanin: A, B, and C. If A and B are absent you get the violet, coerulea, color. If C and either A or B are present, you get a more "indigo" coerulea, which might justify the presence of spotting on the leaves. I have seen completely coerulea C. schilleriana but all the "coerulea" C. aclandiae I've seen looked more "indigo" to me.

Your point about the pH is well-taken, but I actually got the idea from some other growers who've been growing Zygopetala and some other related genera in LECA long-term! I did a really obnoxiously long cleaning processing on the LECA including a lot of boils and soaks in distilled water, and the last time I soaked it, the TDS came out to ~10ppm after several days. Could've gone further, but at that point it seemed like diminishing returns. The LECA definitely still raises the pH of the nutrient solution as it wicks, but I did a series of initial tests before potting up the seedling and I've been pHing it down extra low at ~5.5 to start, like in DWC, so that it'll stabilize in the range of 6-6.5.