Training Cattleyas

[peeweelovesbooks]

My catts have grown considerably this past year (Yeah!) and they're at the point where the growths are growing every which way.

I've seen cattleyas tied in order to help them grow a certain direction, and I was wondering if anyone can point me to a tutorial or have a few tips on how to go about doing this. I don't want to use that ring thingie that you place around the pots (it's so ugly) but wanted to try out this technique. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!!

[greenbean]

I had a spare bit of red florist's ribbon that had wires running through it. I used it to tie up a growth on my Slc. Jewel Box 'Dark Waters'. It worked really well and looks rather nice if I do say so.

I tied mine to a chopstick that I stuck into the medium. You can also tie it to the older growths for added support. I mainly wanted to give you an idea of materials that looked nice. Someone with more practice at this will be able to walk you through the best way to tie and secure things better.

[tuvoc]

I've found the best way to train my large catts is with a whip and a chair. Seriously, some staking when the growths are about half mature, and turning them from time to time, I'm a window grower, so there is always one bright light source, helps them straighten up by growing toward the light.

Kim

[quiltergal]

I have found that bamboo skewers work pretty well as a stake. I use twist ties but you could tie them up with raffia if you wanted it to look nicer. The bamboo skewers come in 2 sizes. I use the smaller ones for my more compact plants and the large ones for my standard sized. I also rotate the pots, but if you have 2 new growths started on opposite sides of the pot that doesn't always work very well.

[Cookiemonster]

I get somewhat frustrated when the cattleya does what it wants, not what I want. But they remind me of cats who always let you know who is in charge.
Anyways- I dont mind the round wire pot clips if it can be tamed into that if not some twist ties or that green tape stuff, the plant is doing what it needs, capture as much light as possible to make food

[Royal]

I use stakes, and tie to old growths.

[jkofferdahl]

Untrained cattleyas can be a real problem, especially when they get big. Jumping up on people, the endless barking, etc., gets very annoying, especially to guests.

Oh, sorry. I've used two methods. I either tie the new growths to stakes, somewhat like tieing a Phalaenopsis spike, or I use heavy-gauge wire with a large loop to hold the growths together.

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Good ideas. This is a popular topic. Here is another previous post

"Training" Catteya's to improve form and save space

[greenbean]

Oh John!

But would a cattleya bark? Shouldn't they hiss or yowl?

Thanks for posting that older thread, Maria. I thought I remembered this being discussed before, but I was too lazy to search for it.

[Don Perusse]

I do have a method that works well using a metal stake in the middle and using green crochet thread to tie pseudobulbs to stake. Give me a couple of days and I will take some pics. which will make better sense.