cultural help for C. nobilior

[smweaver]

I'm getting ready to try my hand with a couple of seedlings of Cattleya nobilior and would like to request some cultural advice from those of you who have success with this species. Can I grow it like C. walkeriana, or does it require different temperatures, light and watering needs? I basically allow give my walkerianas warm/hot summers where they get lots of water and good amounts of light (same light levels as C. leopoldii and C. amethystoglossa), along with high humidity. In the winter they get intermediate day temperatures, cool nights and limited amounts of water (in other words, they are allowed to dry out, and remain dry for a week or ten days, between waterings); light levels are also increased during the winter (when nature cooperates). Any advice I can get for C. nobilior (especially if its care differs significantly from walkeriana's needs) will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Steve

[Anglo]

I'm not qualified as a nobilior grower, but while we're waiting for one to respond, my input might be better than nothing. I have a lot of experience with walkerianas and just a very little with nobiliors. I have only one nobilior, which I have been growing only since June of this year.

So far, it's done very well with the same culture as the walkerianas, except that now it's getting a little less water. It and the walkerianas are in wooden baskets with an airy medium. They get lots of direct sunlight.

Outdoors, especially in hot weather, they are watered thoroughly every morning and lightly in the evening because the medium dries out so quickly. When they are inside during cold weather in the winter, they get less water, but the roots never go for long without moisture.

Surface drying of the roots between waterings suits walkerianas and nobiliors, but if the roots dehydrate completely, they can die. Their roots don't dehydrate to that point in the wild during the annual dry period because, according to what I have read, they receive a little nightly moisture when dew forms on them. Nevertheless, nobiliors in the wild evidently suffer somewhat during the winter. One reference states that plants in the wild rarely consist of more than three or four pseudobulbs because the younger growths must entirely consume the energy of the older ones in order to survive.

But another thing I have read is that if a mature nobilior experiences a wetter winter than usual, it might form a new pseudobulb in the spring instead of a flowering growth. So nobilior needs a dry winter to bloom, but not so dry that its roots die. In cultivation, I don't think it needs to be so dry that it loses backbulbs either because I have seen pictures of large specimen plants blooming.

I'll be guessing at just how dry to keep my nobilior, at least during the first winter. Like you, I hope to see some responses from others who know more about this from practical experience. Meanwhile, I would guess that if your nobiliors are young seedlings, they might do well with a little more water during the winter than you would give a mature plant or division.

[smweaver]

Thanks very much for your response. The nobilior arrived well-rooted in a pot. So I might just plant the entire thing (plant and pot) into a small basket next spring when it breaks out of its winter dormancy. I'll continue to give it a little water, however, over the course of the winter so that it doesn't get dehydrated. Again, I appreciate your feedback--and good luck with your plant also.

[catwalker808]

Steve & Anglo. I think you both have a good general approach for growing C nobilior. Maybe just a couple of points I would comment on.

Like walkeriana, nobiliors need good drainage & lots of air around the roots. This means mounting, basketing or potting in a very well -drained mix that retains some moisture but not too much water.

Steve, if you are growing on a mount or in a basket, I think 7-10 days between waterings is overly long. As Anglo points out, there is probably nocturnal fog that provides moisture to the plants ... even if there is no measurable rainfall for months. You can experiment for yourself or you can believe me that if a nobilior is in full sunlight for 4-5 months and receives absolutely no water, it will be dead, dead, dead ... not dormant. Even into the low 40's (5C), your roots, at least, need moisture every few days.

We do not have cold winter periods here. We do have intermediate periods, but usually with good sunlight. However, our winter is also our rainy season. Therefore, we will have a mixture of:
78-82 F sunny days & 72 F nights, ; 75 F rainy days & 62 nights; 65-68 F clear days & 53 nights ... all intermixed, between December and late March.

I think it is important to know about the habitat and climate of the species. However, it is even more important to know the most critical requirements for the plants' successful growth and flowering. In nature, plants have adapted survival mechanisms, to assure at least a minimal existence in the worst of times (such as drouth periods). In cultivation, however, we can try to provide the "best of times" for our plants.

My point is, rather than starve and dehydrate plants (just because they can survive these events in nature), we should try to have our plants thrive instead.

I have attached a photo below that shows two plants of the same batch (same cross, same age) of C nobilior coerulea. Most of the plants were potted up, fed heavily, watered frequently. The representative plant has bloomed 3 times. A few plants were left behind, ignored, not fertilized, watered only occasionally. They have not bloomed yet. Guess which plant is in which group.

[catwalker808]

Here are a few more photos. I think baskets and mounts are good. However, they are a little impractical for us. The photos show how I pot them up. Clay pots with lots of drainage are good, but I use plastic pots that are almost entirely drainage holes on the bottom. They don't hold any standing water, just moisture.

The plant is C nobilior amaliae. The pot is 5" (13 cm) with styrofoam chips for drainage. And the mix is half bark and half large perlite. The plants are watered every day or every other day in warm periods and watered as necessary under intermediate conditions. However, they also receive rainwater whenever it rains, even under intermediate conditions.

There is no drying out period to initiate blooming. However, our day length increases by at least 2 hours from winter to late spring/early summer, when our nobiliors bloom.

[smweaver]

Thank you very much for pictures and the information. All of that helps tremendously. The pictures showing the comparison between the two nobiliors from the same batch, but given different cultural conditions, was especially illuminating. My walkerianas are in plastic pots; however, as you indicated, the pots have been modified so that there's only enough plastic "mesh" on the bottom to hold what the plants are growing in. At least half the pot is filled with styrofoam peanuts, and the other half is coarse-grade coconut husk (which they seem to like, considering that a large percentage of their energy appears to be going into producing massive root systems). So the medium probably holds a bit more moisture between waterings than I let on to in my initial posting. When the nobiliors arrive, I'll make sure that they aren't tortured. Thank you again for your great responses.

Steve

[Anglo]

Thanks, Catwalker! I agree with Steve about that picture showing the difference between the two plants that had different levels of care. It's an interesting shot that illustrates your point beautifully.