Repotting Compact Catt., Sizing Up Question

[Dollythehun]

I was hoping you would chime in Leafmite!

[estación seca]

Scheherezade would not have survived in cultivation in so many collections for so many decades except by being very easy to grow. Don't worry about it.

It will do fine if you stick it in a pot slightly larger than it is now, and use almost any chunky medium: bark, clay balls, broken up lava cinders, chopped up wine corks, larger particle pumice, EcoWeb.... It will probably do fine if you mess up absolutely everything, too.

The flowers probably started fading because you didn't water it enough and your environment is less humid than where it previously grew. Cattleyas in flower need more water. Their succulent plant bodies are designed to conserve water, but a flower is like a biological misting system. Flowers might evapotranspire more water in a day than the plant does in a month.

The pots you mentioned would be fine. Really, don't worry that much. If you tend to underwater, use somewhat larger chunks of medium. If you tend to overwater, use somewhat smaller chunks of medium.

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[Mountaineer370]

Many thanks to all of you who replied. Your advice and encouragement is very much appreciated!

This was my first Cattleya. It needed to be compact, and I wanted a red one. My excitement about finding the Scheherazade turned to dismay pretty quickly, but I'm feeling better about it now, believing it will bloom again for me in a year or so.

Patience, I know! But then again, another pretty compact Catt. could join the family soon. The Ann Arbor Orchid Society show is this coming weekend.

[estación seca]

If you find out who the vendors will be, you can go to their Web sites and look at what they might be offering. Read about the plants and decide what interests you. Make a list and be checking it twice. It's kind of late for the upcoming weekend, but you could even call the vendors and ask them to bring you something, or set something aside for you.

There have been plenty of orchid name changes. It gets confusing. The formerly Sophrolaeliocattleya (Slc.) Jewel Box is now correctly Cattlianthe Jewel Box. It is Guarianthe (was Cattleya) aurantiaca x Cattleya (was Sophrolaeliocattleya) Anzac. Most people will sell it as Slc.

You can also find for sale the Jewel Box clones 'Dark Waters' AM/AOS and 'Orange' HCC/AOS. People have posted photos of both on Orchid Board.

There are a lot of seedling compact Catts in the yellow-orange-red range, but seedlings are always a surprise. Most plants with Guarianthe / Cattleya aurantiaca in the background are easy to grow and flower, and orange to red.

[Mountaineer370]

Appreciate the suggestions, estacion seca. I do know who the vendors are and have visited their websites if they have one. Most of them are the same ones who have been to the other Michigan shows recently, so I have a good idea of what to expect. Bill and his wife, from Porter's, have been especially helpful in the past and I have actually visited their greenhouse. Just like you said, they have offered to bring something special to a show if I ask ahead and if they have it.

Yes, the reclassifications and name changes can really be frustrating -- to all, I'm sure, but especially a newbie like me! In addition to the Scheherazade, I have another one which I believe has been reclassified, a Colmanara Masai Red. (I don' t have the new names memorized yet.)

I think you hit it on the head in your post upthread that the flowers probably died due to not enough water and/or humidity. The humidity in my house in the wintertime is in the 30s most of the time. I was watering it less than I wanted to. It always seemed dry two days after I watered it, but I was afraid that was too much, so I was stretching it out to four or five days. The little pot it was in seemed to already have lost some media, so there probably just wasn't enough to hold any moisture. So I've learned an important lesson, to trust my gut on watering and not worry about counting days.

I'm going to be helping out at the Ann Arbor show. I joined the AAOS last fall. I'll let you guys know if I do come home with anything this weekend. I'm trying to be very self-disciplined and not make any impulse purchases! I have to be, as I have very little growing space, so I need to carefully think about what will fit my space and conditions here.

[No-Pro-mwa]

So I guess I'll give my 2 cents. You are going to have to fine out what works for you. I am still trying to find out. I have a Jewel Box the orange one. I have had it a few years now. It is now in a 7 inch clay pot. I can't remember, but it was probably in about a 4 1/2 inch pot when I got it so bigger than yours. They are as es said a fairly tough one so I think it will make it. You might if you said there are not many roots good on it be able to put it back into the pot it was in until it gets more roots growing. I like mine in clay pots so most of them that's what I pot them in when I re-pot. I have lately been getting my Catt's from SVO and there either in 3 or 4 inch pots and when I re-pot I put then into a 4 inch clay either standard or azalea pot with medium bark. I also put a couple of peanuts into the middle of the roots. If you use them make sure there not the ones that disintegrate in water.

In my dry climate mine still dry out very fast. I have had trouble keeping up with them so I am now setting them all in saucers and leaving water in the saucer to let them soak up the water so I don't have to water them every day. I do realize I am the exception on this as most others seem to have the opposite problem.

But they seem to be doing better now and I can go a couple of days in between now.

Edit: to clarify.

I didn't think I explained that very well. Not sure you will have the same problem that I have about them drying out to quickly. I need to explain that I take all my orchids to the kitchen sink to water. If I have the orchids in a 4 inch pot I put my finger under the hole in the bottom of the pot fill it up with water and let it soak there for awhile so the roots can soak up good the I put it back into the saucer and leave water in the saucer. I don't think any one else has to do this. but I think it's working for me.

[Dollythehun]

I've done something similar, Shannon. But they are not "sitting" in water...

[Mountaineer370]

Up to now, I have been repotting all my orchids in clear plastic pots. I'm reading about more and more people who prefer clay or terra cotta pots. So now I've got something I will have to think about. Clay pots have always been my favorite for any other type of houseplant. When I started keeping orchids, the clear plastic pots took some getting used to, but I have come to really enjoy being able to see the roots. Still, I have had my share of having to repot something because it got knocked over, so I'm liking the idea of the weight of clay pots. I've also wondered about putting the clear plastic inside the decorative ceramic pots for weight and aesthetics. Decisions, decisions........

I'm a kitchen sink waterer, but I don't soak them. I put my water into my watering can the night before and let it it set to come to room temp and evaporate the chlorine. (Our tap water is good, and that's what I use.) I pour the entire two-quart can of water slowly over the media, which probably takes a minute or two. (I use less for a couple of them that are in really small pots right now.) I'm also fertilizing at about half-strength every other week or so.

[Dollythehun]

The pot in pot is a good idea. I prefer the uniform look of clay. My plants are never overwatered and, I think they stay cooler. Like much in life, it's a personal preference.

[No-Pro-mwa]

I use plastic for some orchids but I prefer the clay for my Catt's. One reason is because they are more stable. I have a few in plastic and I can knock them over much easier. I also will put the plastic into a ceramic pot for looks and for stability.

I am also looking into other things to plant my mini Catt's in as I am not finding azalea pots and I need pots shallower but bigger around. The mini's put out allot of growths.