Cattleya nobilior

[Anglo]

In the two years I’ve had this Brazilian import, it has shown no interest in the “dry winter rest” associated with C. nobilior, and has not needed a period of dormancy to bloom. It loves the long, hot summers of San Antonio and has enjoyed the benefits of favorable conditions year-round, which this species does not have in its natural habitat.

The true color of these flowers is pinker than it appears in this low-light shot, which was taken at dusk on 26 December.

[isurus79]

Nice shape and color on that one. Very interesting that it does not need a winter rest. How do you grow it in winter and what is it potted in?

[Merlyn]

GORGEOUS !!!

[Zoi2]

Beautiful, way to grow!
Joann

[Tindomul]

Very nice. Love the colour it shows on the pic. I bet the pinker hues are good too.

[Anglo]

Thanks for the comments. And Steve, it’s in an 8-inch wooden basket with a medium of about 90 percent coarse fir bark. To ensure even better aeration, some pieces of EpiWeb (aka EcoWeb) are also mixed in under the surface.

As you know from living in Austin, there isn’t all that much winter in our winters, but I do water it less heavily when it’s indoors during cold weather. During a period of days indoors, for example, I might water it normally one day, completely wetting the medium, and then use a hand sprayer for two or three days, beginning when the medium starts to dry out. The objective is to ensure that the roots have at least enough moisture every day so that they don’t dehydrate, but not enough to sit for long in a soggy condition.

Whenever it’s warm enough, which is most of the year, even on warm winter days, all my Cattleyas are outside. With adjustments as needed to suit the light preferences of individual plants, they are in full sun for about 6 to 8 hours per day, except maybe in early spring and late summer/fall. They want fewer hours of direct sunlight during those periods for some reason. The nobilior has shown just a little yellow in its leaves when it has had all the sun it wants in the fall, or maybe in really hot summer weather (100-102 degrees); otherwise, it’s done well with 8 hours or even more per day.

Unless it rains, all those in wooden baskets get watered thoroughly every morning when outside and usually a spraying in the evening. It was so hot and dry this past summer that they got a second thorough watering in the evening during the worst of it.

The nobilior, which started out as an old backbulb division in not-so-great condition, grew at twice the normal rate of those in the wild, putting out two new pseudobulbs each year. I think that’s due to the long growing season provided by the climate here. I also suspect that this is one reason why it didn’t need a winter rest before flowering. It had plenty of time with warm, sunny weather to build up a lot of stored energy. It might also be that it did not anticipate a long dry season like wild nobiliors suffer through, as a result of having such long growing seasons here and/or because it doesn’t recall having to sit through any hard times last year. Maybe that’s all a stretch -- maybe it’s just confused by our summers and winters being the reverse of those in Brazil. But I personally suspect it has something to do with plants being adaptable enough to make the most of the environment they grow in.

It will be interesting to see if this plant will adjust further in its growing and blooming habits in future years.

[GardenTheater]

Beautiful! Like the lip on this one too.

[tucker85]

Very pretty! Is it fragrant?

[Anglo]

Yes, the flowers have a light, sweet scent during the day.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Merlyn

GORGEOUS !!!

Good growing!