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Catt species - fist order!

Hello,

Today I've made my first order and I am waiting for 4 catts:

Cattleya warneri
Laelia purpurata var. carnea
Cattleya mossiae var. coerulea
Cattleya bowringiana var. coerulea (FS)

I am so excited :cloud9:and I wanted to share this with you. :) I hope them to be happy in may home, like my other cattleyas.

Being a beginner in catt species, any advice is welcome.

In May I hope to have even more catts species and hybrids fom Brazil. :D

Nico, congratulations on becoming a cattleya species grower! I have several plants of C. mossiae and two of C. bowringiana. Both of these species are easy to grow, but they need different types of care.

C. mossiae will want lots of water, warmth, moderate to high levels of humidity and moderately high levels of light during the spring to fall growing season (my plants get a few hours of direct sunlight in the early morning hours, followed by bright, indirect light for the remainder of the day). It will then want a cool and dry winter rest (I lightly water my mossiae plants once or twice a month).

C. bowringiana, for me, also likes lots of water and good light and humidity during the spring to fall growing season (again, direct sunlight in the early morning is great; but the plants will benefit from some shading during the hottest part of the day). Although it gets much less water during the winter, I don't make it go through as severe a dry period as the C. mossiae plants go through. And unlike mossiae, bowringiana probably prefers warmer winter temperatures than what I give it. But it's a very adaptable species, so don't be too concerned if your growing conditions aren't perfect (very few people actually have perfect growing conditions, so the plants themselves are the ones who should get the credit for being more adaptable in cultivation than they might have to be in the wild).

C. mossiae's flowers are outstanding, being large, highly fragrant and produced in the spring after the plants experience a winter rest. C. bowringiana's flowers are produced in the late fall months at the end of the growing season (and, to me, they don't have much of a scent--and what I can smell isn't all that great).

Give both species as much direct light as they can handle during the winter.

Good luck with your plants!

Steve

Wow! Very kind of you to give so much and valuable information! Thank you!
I am saving your post to help me with the growing preferences of C. mossiae and C. bowringiana.

You also made me very happy with this: "C. mossiae's flowers are outstanding, being large, highly fragrant ". I dind't know it.

As you said, I don't have perfect conditions, but I can provide them direct morning sunlight and some light during the day, and warm winters. Even in the freezing days, it's warm inside but in my kitchen I can make a little cooler for Mossiae.

I have a few Cattleya mossiae plants also. These are very easy to grow and bloom. Unlike Steve, I grow mine in S/H and stay wet year round and experience winter lows new 3 degrees Celsius. I have also had Laelia purpurata in past which is another very easy one to grow and flower.

Thanks Ted! Very easy to bloom is like music to my ears. :) I hope to give them care and the right condition as much as possible. Being healthy plants helps me a lot.

Mossiae is very young now, but there are signs of new grows. :)

(sorry for my poor English. The tenses are still a mystery to me...)

I have only 1 catt in s/h and is doing well. Maybe in the future to use s/h for them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nico (Post 301962)

Mossiae is very young now, but there are signs of new grows. :)

(sorry for my poor English. The tenses are still a mystery to me...)

I have only 1 catt in s/h and is doing well. Maybe in the future to use s/h for them.

No need to apologize. Your English is fine. I would be lost trying to speak/type your language.

Before my mossiae plants were converted to S/H they were growing okay. But after, they grew very well.

Ted, then do your C. mossiaes not rest during the winter? How often do they experience temperatures that low?

Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by smweaver (Post 301978)

Ted, then do your C. mossiaes not rest during the winter? How often do they experience temperatures that low?

Steve

They do not get a watering rest at all.

I usually summer them outdoors and they start experincing that low a temperature in September to early October. Then I bring them in and it gets that low again in late November in the window sit over winter then would start warming up in February.

There have been times when I bring them in that they will send up a new growth and flower on both older and newer in the Spring. The older one would bloom first then later on the newer one would bloom.

After just 10 days, my C. mossiae var. coerulea, the little one, is having 2 new growths.:cloud9: It has perfect spotless leaves and smooth like the silk :)

The "pot" is in fact a plastic cup, but I think I must wait until re-potting... :roll: