Getting my first cattleyas!

[Dollythehun]

I'm two hours and lots of traffic away but I'll be there somehow.

[SundayGardener]

Doesn't Hausermann's have 10% off for their open house? I'm not going because too much temptation. They had blooming catts in 6" pots last September and not pricey.

Similar winter to yours, I have had to make efforts to boost humidity and moisture for the catts, especially the smaller ones which have needed more moisture than I expected.

[Optimist]

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Hey, thanks for coming by!
I know when I got them that that it will take a bit for them to bloom, I don't mind waiting. I think it will be fun to watch them grow [/QUOTE]

Like other orchids, they are very slow growers. You will (usually) get one leaf per year, but at some point, you will start getting more, like 2. I have one, that puts out about 5-6 new leaves per year. It is my Myrmecatavola "Honky Tonk Woman." It has not given me any flowers yet, but I spy a little sheath this February, so in Spring, it may give me some flowers.

Cattleyas can get huge. There are some small ones out there. The entire cattleya family is worth exploring.

[Heassa]

Here's some pics of the seedlings, just came in

[IMG]20180215_144836 by
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20180215_145050 , on Flickr

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[estación seca]

Both of those plants are quite dry. I would give both of them a good 1-2 hour long soak sitting in water tomorrow during the warmest part of the day.

We were asking about the temperatures where you will grow them. What are your winter indoor temperatures like?

Those plants have lots of aerial roots. There is a good chance they won't survive in your lower indoor humidity, so don't be upset if that happens. This is just a factor of growing indoors. The rest of the roots will supply enough water if you take proper care of them. One way to try to keep the aerial roots alive is to spray just those aerial roots with water from a spray bottle every day.

I am concerned about one plant, the Cattleya Horace 'Maxima' hybrid. (I also have doubts the name tag correctly shows what this plant is, because I don't think it's written properly. I haven't looked it up. Sophie's Web site also does not show a properly written name for this plant.)

In the central crease of the largest leaf I see white spotting. There is also some white spotting or mottling lower on this leaf. What is that? I can't see it well enough to tell, but I am concerned it might be scale insects or mealybugs. Can you take a better picture of the leaf with white spots in the crease?

Edit: I just went to the Sophie's Orchid Web site. It does have a lot of big, pretty photos of the flowers. The seedlings you got are alive, and should grow with proper care. But... they are very small, and they are not in great shape. The hybrid I mentioned before has more damage to leaves than just the white spots. After seeing your plants, I personally would not buy plants from Sophie's unless they had something I really wanted, and I could not find anywhere else.

I have bought less expensive Cattleya seedlings, in far better shape, from Carmelas Orchids, Carter & Holmes Orchids, Gold Country Orchids, H&R Orchids, Olympic Orchids, Orchids by Hausermann's and Sunset Valley Orchids. Carmela's and Sunset Valley Orchids always send very much larger and healthier plants than the ones you got from Sophie's. Hausermann's sometimes sends small seedlings, and sometimes very large ones.

[Optimist]

Those are some complex genetics! They look a bit worse for the wear (winter generally does this), but this is the first round. They need a bit of building up.

[Heassa]

Here's a closer look of the leaves
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[estación seca]

I can't be sure, but the white spotting at the base of the leaf looks like it could be previous scale or mealy bug damage. Farther out on the leaf blade it looks like mineral deposits, which are nothing to worry about.

I would watch both plants carefully for insects.

[Cheddarbob14]

Frank at Sunset Valley Orchids is also known for throwing in an additional plant for free. Good luck with your new seedlings, you are in the right place for help and coaching. About a year ago, I had 1 cattleya seedling, now have around 10 of various sizes/ages. All are growing very well, plump pbulbs, lots of new root growth, every single one of them is spitting out sap like crazy right now, all because of knowledge I found here. Let's hope I'm giving them enough light, and we are good!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Bob it's Fred not Frank hehehe. I'm with the others if given proper care they should survive. I got my first mail order from Hausermann's and you can get some bigger Catt's for not that much money and then you can have some blooms sooner. I so wish I could be at there open house.