thinking of getting catt. skinneri
 

Dear Friends

I am thinking of getting a 4N seedling of pink catt. skinneri, but still on the fence if it fits (1) my skills, and (2) will be okay with my windowsill conditions. I am successful with large cattleyas (Irene Finney, dinard, C. G. Roebling, perciavaliana to name a few), with preference for late fall and winder bloom habits. I do not have special care arrangements beyond very sunny Eastern window during cold months and bringing the plants outside during warm months, which works well for me, all grace me with blooms consistently. Cattleya skinneri looks lovely on pictures, but I might be disappointed with flower size, as I am accustomed to large showy blooms. Another concern is if seedling will even survive my somewhat harsh winter conditions, although I have four 4n dowiana v. aurea seedlings now for which I would have to get creative during winter months, so one more plant won't be a burden. I am limited in space so I have to be selective what I add to my collection.
Please share your thoughts on skinneri, and if it's worse the trouble. Also, is 4N a big plus or just a trend? I have couple 4N plants, but since I do not have them in 2N, it's hard to assess benefits without a compare.

skinneri is actually one of my favs and believe it or not, I don't have a plant of the standard color. I have an alba and an occulata.

Can't help you with windowsill growing as I grow outdoors.

The flowers are not large by Catt. standards. Maybe 3" across and quite thin and dainty compared to many of the Cattleya flowers.

The other "heads up" I would offer is they are late spring (late April-May) bloomers for me and don't be fooled by what look like dead, dried and shriveled bud sheaths. All of a sudden you'll realize they are full and they split open to reveal as many as a dozen or more buds on each inflorescence. They also are not terribly long lasting flowers (3-4 weeks in total but only because the buds typically open over a period of several days)

Thank you for this assessment, that's helpful, glad to hear it is a favorite. Any thoughts on 4N variety?

I don't really have a lot to add here, except that I have Guarianthe skinneri 'Carpenteria', and it has been an easy growing, carefree plant. Yes, the flowers are smaller, but it makes up for it with quantity. A single spike can have tons of flowers, and the plants branch out profusely, so even a plant in a small-ish pot can have multiple leads, which means multiple growths in bloom in the spring. I think it is definitely worth growing.

I grow outside in the summer and under lights in the winter, and this plant is particularly suited for those conditions because of it's size. It doesn't get very tall at all.

If you are new to orchids, and haven't grown plants from seedlings, I might recommend getting an adult plant, however you're going to have to try growing plants from seedlings eventually, so this might be a good time to give it a shot, unless you are truly passionate about this plant, and you feel like you can't live your best life without it, in which case, pick a plant you're only lukewarm about to try growing from a seedling.

Cattleya skinneri is one of the easiest species to grow. Your problem won't be if it will live, but rather, what to do with the massive plant that is taking over your grow areas! lol

to start with the dowiana's need to survive the winter. They won't tolerate the cold so a heated aquarium/terrarium to get them to that size first, then one more added to them won't make much difference.

Once winter comes it will be too late to organise this, now is the perfect time to get them all set up to handle winter

Thank you all for your input, you helped me make up my mind in favor of getting the plant, especially that it's a prolific grower and bloomer, these wonderful habits are always welcome. I hope to share bloom pictures one day in this forum

Here is the Chadwick and Sons helpful hints:

Cattleya skinneri

Have fun!

You made the right choice. It really is an easy, rewarding species to grow. In fact, when somebody tells me that they are getting interested in growing the natural species, skinneri is typically one of the ones I tell them to start with.

National flower of Costa Rica. Certainly - the flowers won't be as large as big catt flowers. But the number of flowers on one spike is generally a lot. I can say that growing orchids having various shapes and sizes and colours makes the experience super enjoyable.

I wouldn't mind at all if I grew just 1 orchid though. One is better than none.