Cattleya nobilior culture wanted
 

Would anyone who grows this species please be kind enough to post the cultural regimen you use? I have a couple of plants that I just received and want to make sure that I give them the treatment they require to thrive. Currently they're pretty small, growing in two-inch terracota pots with coarse coconut chunks (basically the plants are wedged into the pots with approximately four large pieces of the coconut--which is all that will fit in such small pots). The plants themselves consist of around three fully-leafed small pseudobulbs and leaves and are tiny (tiny for a cattleya, that is; I'm not sure how large this species has to get before it flowers, but these two plants are about a third of the size of my smallest-flowering-sized walkeriana). The leaves are very thick and a light to medium green, and the plants look healthy. Now I just want to keep them that way, which is why I would very much like to hear from anyone who grows this species. Thank you!

Steve

Hi Steve,

Just from my own experience with C. nobilior I treat them like my C. walkeriana's. They don't like to sit in water. The roots rot pretty fast when left damp. They do the best when mounted. I don't leave any of my C. walkers, or C. nob's in pots ever. They get mounted with no moss or anything.
I've tried both ways in pot and mounted. When left in the pot the roots suffered badly and the growth rate was stunted BADLY.
When I switched them all over to mounts they added growths and roots quickly.
I had heard at one time they were hard to grow. I figured I'd try cause I love species catts. I found out quickly that it wasn't that they were hard, just picky about growing mediums.
If your growing area is high in humidity or does not have alott of airflow to dry them out quickly after watering I'd suggest mounting them. You will have to water more often, but the root system you will grow for your troubles will be impressive :biggrin:

Hi, DJ. Thank you for the response to my inquiry. I have a number of walkerianas, all of which are potted. So far I haven't had any troubles with roots rotting or growths being stunted--but that just might be because I tend to be stingy (forgetful is a less polite term, but is probably accurate also) with watering the plants. They're all in small clay pots with the same large coconut husk chips for the media, and all of them have made lots of root growth through the pots since I repotted them last winter. In fact, I think they're doing a lot better now in their new homes than they were when I received them. The grower I got them from had them growing in clay pots that were stuffed with tightly-packed NZ sphagnum moss. Interestingly, I found a link somewhere on this site (can't remember who provided the information) that stated the Japanese growers who go loopy over these two species also like to pack them in clay pots with NZ sphagnum. The pots, however, didn't have any bottoms to them (which probably necessitated the tight packing of the moss to keep the plants from falling out the bottom). Since I have a couple of the nobiliors, I might just go ahead and do what you recommended, attaching them to a mount with nothing underneath to provide moisture. I would be interested to see how one of the walkerianas might also respond to the same treatment. I live in the Midwest, and our temperatures and humidity levels at this time of year are pretty high (most of the days so far in June have been--and the last two weeks in May were--in the high 80's, and the humidity over the summer frequently stays between 85 and 95 percent). So now might be a good time to get the plants to transition from their pots to a couple of small mounts. The next four months are the only time I'll have to try and trick the plants into thinking that they're still in Brazil! Thanks again for your help. It's very much appreciated.

Steve

Cattleya Nobilior is lovely but difficult
I grow it on a slab of bark with some Coconut fibre tied to the surface
High light ,Intermediate temperature, and a totally dry winter
No water till the new growth starts
Good luck

I grow mine in clay pots with large grade orchiata. They looooove heat and light. I usually get two flushes of growth per year. I used to give mine a dry winter per Francisco Miranda's advice, but another Brazilian friend and nobilior aficionado says they like water 1x per week during the cold months.

If you repot, wait until the new roots come out in the summer.