Cattleya jungle beau in very tight sphagnum moss

[Fairorchids]

When you encounter an orchid in a clear plastic/rubber pot, with only spaghnum moss in the pot, it is a recent import from Taiwan.

However, it is perfectly OK to grow smaller Cattleyas in pure spaghnum - as long as you water accordingly.

I grow small Cattleyas (plugs, seedlings in 2" pots) in plastic pots, in a mix of 85% spaghnum and 15% seedling bark. I drench them twice a week, as small plants do not do well if allowed to dry out.

As they grow larger, they graduate into 4" clay pots, with a spaghnum/bark mix. In this size, I do allow them to dry out, but only just.

Next step is a clay pot (4.1/2" or larger) with a bark/charcoal/perlite mix.

With this this graduated approach, I can water all my Cattleyas at the same schedule (twice weekly in summer, weekly in winter).

By the way, my experience is that Cattleyas do not really need to dry out. When I grow mature Catts in clay pots with granular mix (66% charcoal, 17% charcoal & 17% perlite), I find that I get far better growth when 'overwatering', typically 2 new growths from each lead + 1 new growth from last years pseudobulb. I see up to 5 new growths from plants with 7-8 old pseudobulbs.