When to move this Catt into a pot?

[bedtimestorm]

Hello everyone. This Catt is the one I purchased from Lowes Foods, reduced, and had no viable roots. It has been a while but now as you can see I have root growth! Two roots to be exact. I'm rather excited, as this is my first Catt, and a named Catt to be exact.

Ok! Now to the question. How long should the roots be before I move the Catt to a pot? Right now it's sitting in top of moss that I keep lightly moist. Also once I move it to the pot, what should the watering schedule be as I don't want these roots to die but continue to grow and hopefully more will follow.

[tucker85]

Since you're getting results, I wouldn't change anything until you get a little more root growth. If you're lucky, you may get a couple more roots. All the roots will probably come from that same lead pseudo-bulb. Then carefully pot in a small pot.

[bedtimestorm]

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think any of the other bulbs will help with root growth or are they just there for 'moral support?' Also, when it comes time to repot, what should the water schedule be?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by bedtimestorm

Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think any of the other bulbs will help with root growth or are they just there for 'moral support?' Also, when it comes time to repot, what should the water schedule be?

Don't remove any of the other pseudo-bulbs because they add to the overall strength of the plant. The more pseudo-bulbs, the stronger it will be. Cattleyas generally only grow new roots from the lead pseudo-bulb. By that I mean the newest one at the end of the rhizome. Occasionally I've seen a root grow from an old pseudo-bulb but very seldom. Cattleyas like to be watered very well and then allowed to get completely dry before watering again. That's why it's a good idea to plant it in a small pot that dries very quickly. How often you water will depend on your growing environment.

[bedtimestorm]

Perfect! Yes the bulb that is producing roots also has a small growth coming out of the side as well? Is that a new plant? One more thing to add is that lead bulb is the only one to have bloomed it seems because when I purchased it, it has a dried bloom stem. Again, I appreciate all your help.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by bedtimestorm

Perfect! Yes the bulb that is producing roots also has a small growth coming out of the side as well? Is that a new plant? One more thing to add is that lead bulb is the only one to have bloomed it seems because when I purchased it, it has a dried bloom stem. Again, I appreciate all your help.

The new growth is not a new plant, it's a new pseudo-bulb on that plant. Cattleyas are lot like a vine. There's a rhizome like the stem of a vine and new pseudo-bulbs grow from the end of the rhizome like leaves on a vine. Generally cattleyas will produce one or two new pseudo-bulbs at the end of the rhizome each season. Only new pseudo-bulbs can bloom. Often only the very last pseudo-bulb will bloom but some cattleyas will bloom from all new pseudo-bulbs. Naturally those one's will have more flowers. Also the the rhizome can produce a "y" which means you'll have two leads, each producing new pseudo-bulbs. That's how you wind up with orchids that produce lots of flowers. I have some big cattleyas with up to 6 leads. Each lead grows new pseudo-bulbs and possibly flowers.

[bedtimestorm]

Wonderful! Thank you so much for all of your help. I greatly appreciate it.

[peeweelovesbooks]

I sometimes buy essentially rootless divisions as a sort of "how good of an orchid grower can you be," challenge to myself.

I've done either potting or mounting with less roots than that. I once divided a plant into 6 pieces; I thought I was going to lose all of them, and now I find that I have six happily growing orchids of the same kind.
I put them in 2 inch clay pots with river rock, watered the hell out of them, and just stood back.

Alternatively, I mount them. I use: a cedar mount, moss and coconut cloth. I put a small lump of moss, place the bottom of the cattleya on top of the lump of moss, cover it with more moss. Then, cover that with the coconut cloth and tie it. I have brought back a bunch of orchids that were not doing well using this method. Good luck!

[bedtimestorm]

Thank you!