Cattleya walkeriana var. caerulea

[Brenda Aarts]

Amazing!!! I'm hoping my baby looks like that in about 10 years!!!

[catwalker808]

Oops. Sorry Rosim. I meant how many times a year does yours bloom? I know the number of flower spikes depends on the size of the plant. Does your plant have one blooming season or more than one?
Thanks.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

Oops. Sorry Rosim. I meant how many times a year does yours bloom? I know the number of flower spikes depends on the size of the plant. Does your plant have one blooming season or more than one?
Thanks.

Almost all my walkerianas and, especially, nobiliors bloom only one time a year. It is the same with the collectors know. Walkerianas start blooming in May (mid-fall) and go on blooming until September (beginning of the spring). Sometimes it happens that a particular clone blooms out two times between these two months, but it is not common (at least here in the southeastern Brazil)

[catwalker808]

Thank you Rosim. I was just wondering, because a few people from other places say theirs bloom twice a year. I guess because we don't get as cold as you, I almost always bloom mine in mid to late fall, then again in early to late spring. The same plants.

[Leisurely]

Beautiful pictures Mauro. I am trying to add a few walkerianas to my collection and I am finding that, not only are they a little difficult to find but they can also be very pricy. I haven't quite figured out how these plants like to be grown. Most say mounted on cork with no moss while the oriental growers grow in pots of sphagnum with obvious success from all of the great pictures.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Leisurely

Beautiful pictures Mauro. I am trying to add a few walkerianas to my collection and I am finding that, not only are they a little difficult to find but they can also be very pricy. I haven't quite figured out how these plants like to be grown. Most say mounted on cork with no moss while the oriental growers grow in pots of sphagnum with obvious success from all of the great pictures.

They grow well both ways, Leisurely, it all depends on the water frequency. Mine are all planted in clay pots and sphagnum.

[Leisurely]

Thanks Mario. My plants are all growing on cork so I think I will add some sphagnum to the mount and see how they respond.