Cattleyas light cycles and blooming

[estación seca]

I would definitely let it get dry between waterings and not water by the calendar. If it's dry for a few days too long, that is much better than too wet.

[wintergirl]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I would definitely let it get dry between waterings and not water by the calendar. If it's dry for a few days too long, that is much better than too wet.

Using a calendar can be a good guideline if you have a lot of plants and tend to forget when you last watered which plant. As example I water all my catts on the same day then I write it down. Then in about 10- 12 days later I re-water. Vandas in pots about once a week. Times can change depending on conditions but at least it gives me an idea of when the plants might need water.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by rbarata

That's a good point of view.
I'm sure, back in the 19th century, they didn't have growing lights....

I read a wonderful book, The Flower of Empire: An Amazonian Water Lily, The Quest to Make it Bloom, and the World it Created by Tatiana Holway. Many people famous in the orchid world appear between the covers, like Lindley, Hooker, Banks and Schomburgk.

In the 1840s the Duke of Devonshire was an avid orchidist, commemorated in, among others, Cymbidium devonianum Paxton; Dendrobium devonianum Paxton; Galeandra devoniana R.H. Schomburgk ex Lindley; and Stanhopea devoniana Hort. ex Henshal. The Duke spent the equivalent of tens of millions of today's dollars - over a million dollars just for glass - building a single greenhouse larger than Grand Central Station in NYC. His multiple greenhouses were designed by his chief gardener, Joseph Paxton. The ultimate aquatic plant greenhouse had an enormous heated pond, with underwater paddlewheels to keep the water circulating, duplicating Victoria's river environment. This was all aimed at winning the race to grow and bloom the Victoria water lily in captivity, and present the flower to HRH Victoria Regina, in which effort Devonshire and Paxton succeeded.

The first winter the Victoria greenhouse was in operation, Devonshire considered installing one of the newly-invented electric lamps, in order to give the plant more light. He decided not to do so, because it would have been too expensive.

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by silken

I would try 12 hours under lights. That way you have control of the light. I use T5 lights also but only 2 per run. So long as it isn't too close and burning it should be good. How are you feeding it? I suggest a balanced fertilizer weakly weekly with a clear flush of water every month.
Let it dry between watering. When new growths start, you could try a fertilizer that reduces the nitrogen. A temperature difference between night and day is also good for most of them. 10 to 15 degrees cooler if you can, without letting it be too cold in winter.

Thank you for the advice. I will move it to the other light set which is set for 10 hours. I feed with a balanced fert. every other week, Quantum or Incocur on one of the in between weeks and plain rain water the 4th week. I do have a nice temp differential between day and night 55F nights and 65 to 70F days, and humidity runs about 55% days and up to 75 or 80% at night.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I would definitely let it get dry between waterings and not water by the calendar. If it's dry for a few days too long, that is much better than too wet.

My conditions are stable from day to day, except sun intensity so I already know the time I should water. But I always inspect the pot to be sure. Thanks for the advise.

[Becky15349]

I agree with Silken- I am a big cattleya grower and I always err on the side of providing high light all year round, if possible. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and it is not very sunny here this time of year, but for the most part, my catts live in a south window and they do the best there. You live in a beautiful place, Portugal has excellent sun, I think you will do fine. one quick note: If you are concerned about a particular cattleya, share its name with us and a photo - that helps us to determine its parentage and then we can tell you when its blooming time "should" be - because cattleyas can vary greatly. Some bloom in the summer, some in the fall, and some all year round - it depends what type it is.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I read a wonderful book, The Flower of Empire: An Amazonian Water Lily, The Quest to Make it Bloom, and the World it Created by Tatiana Holway. Many people famous in the orchid world appear between the covers, like Lindley, Hooker, Banks and Schomburgk.

I will try to find it. It must be a nice reading.

Originally Posted by estación seca

In the 1840s the Duke of Devonshire was an avid orchidist, commemorated in, among others, Cymbidium devonianum Paxton; Dendrobium devonianum Paxton; Galeandra devoniana R.H. Schomburgk ex Lindley; and Stanhopea devoniana Hort. ex Henshal. The Duke spent the equivalent of tens of millions of today's dollars - over a million dollars just for glass - building a single greenhouse larger than Grand Central Station in NYC. His multiple greenhouses were designed by his chief gardener, Joseph Paxton. The ultimate aquatic plant greenhouse had an enormous heated pond, with underwater paddlewheels to keep the water circulating, duplicating Victoria's river environment. This was all aimed at winning the race to grow and bloom the Victoria water lily in captivity, and present the flower to HRH Victoria Regina, in which effort Devonshire and Paxton succeeded.

The first winter the Victoria greenhouse was in operation, Devonshire considered installing one of the newly-invented electric lamps, in order to give the plant more light. He decided not to do so, because it would have been too expensive.

I always find amazing the perseverance and determination of people in those days, back in 19th century. Without any technologies, they always found a way to achieve their goals, no matter the difficulties.
In this case, it seems money was important, like today.

Originally Posted by Becky15349

You live in a beautiful place, Portugal has excellent sun, I think you will do fine. one quick note: If you are concerned about a particular cattleya, share its name with us and a photo - that helps us to determine its parentage and then we can tell you when its blooming time "should" be - because cattleyas can vary greatly. Some bloom in the summer, some in the fall, and some all year round - it depends what type it is.

Thank you. Portugal is a wonderful place. We complain a lot but we have what most europe would love to have: nice weather, nice beaches, nice food...well, just visiting .

I don't know which Catt it is, I never saw its flowers. There's some photos in this thread, when I got it.

[lusenok]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I live in the same latitude of NY but I have the climate of South California. Do you think this is enough for blooming?

Hard to say. I grow my plants indoors by the window so use only natural lights. Maybe the latitude would be OK but cloud cover matters a lot. It doesn't rain much at your place in winter, does it?
As for New York, I don't remember a single sunny day this year! Occasionally the sun peeks through the clouds but we are yet to have a sunny day in 2016. Sounds almost like a joke about Siberia
-Do you have summers in Siberia?
-Of course! But that day I was at work

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by lusenok

It doesn't rain much at your place in winter, does it?
As for New York, I don't remember a single sunny day this year! Occasionally the sun peeks through the clouds but we are yet to have a sunny day in 2016. Sounds almost like a joke about Siberia
-Do you have summers in Siberia?
-Of course! But that day I was at work

Here usually rains from Nov to Jan. The rest of the year I think I can say it's sunny, maybe not always, but in general.
In my first post there's this info:

There is an average of 3023 hours of sunlight per year (of a possible 4383) with an average of 8:16 of sunlight per day.
It is sunny 69% of daylight hours. The remaining 31% of daylight hours are likely cloudy or with shade, haze or low sun intensity.

[rbarata]

Today I've found some developments...Is this a new root?