Cattleyas light cycles and blooming
 

I have a question related with light and Catts' blooming.

In my country we have some distinct periods on which the light is not so strong due to cloud cover and rainy conditions.

Taken from the web:

There is an average of 3023 hours of sunlight per year (of a possible 4383) with an average of 8:16 of sunlight per day.
It is sunny 69% of daylight hours. The remaining 31% of daylight hours are likely cloudy or with shade, haze or low sun intensity.

Between end of Nov till middle Jan we have cloudy and rainy weather, and the rest of the year is mostly sunny, with disctinct seasons of warm/hot weather with high HR and partially cloudy (Sept and April/May).

I'm wondering how this affects the blooming.

Do Catts need high light intensity during the blooming season or in average during the year?

I guess it just depends on the cattleya. Some require a sunny winter dry season to grow and bloom well in the summer wet season.

I am no expert with Catts but this very first one I got to bloom from the said alliance started blooming here when it was into a Fall cool down, after staying in our growcamp outdoors. Like you we get similar cloudy/rainy conditions at that period, so I have moved it by my west facing window, and so far the bloom has held on nicely, did lose one bud, but the remaining stayed. I hope it will do the same next year, now my confidence is back to grow Catts :)

Most growers I know try and provide fairly high light year round. Mine get mostly natural sun in the summer and then in winter they go under T5 lights. even though they are kept cooler and a bit dryer. In some natural environments sun might be more or as much in winter because leaves are off the trees so there is no shade.

Well, I don't have any confidence, not because I lost it, but because I've never found it. This is my first one and the only thing I've done was buying and water it.
Since it's not doing anything, I don't have any reason to feel confident, except haven't killed it so far.:rofl:

The lack of indications from this plant is not helping at all!:evil:

I don't blame you for feeling nervous. I think I remember your post about this. Was it a pink spotted bud that wouldn't open? Did you pot it or was it potted when you bought it. Hopefully if it was potted, it was in decent media. A clear pot would be useful to at least some of what's going on in the root zone. Are there any live healthy roots sticking out of the pot anywhere?

Maybe you need to buy a UNI-foliate robust Cattleya to give yourself a little more to work with and get used to :)

Is there usually a difference in blooming ease between uni-foliate Catts and bi-foliate Catts ?

Plant some radishes and arrugula so you have something fast to take your mind off the orchid. LOL

Yes, that's the same plant.If you remember, there was a bud, fused at the top. It never opened and died.
The medium seems to be ok, but it's somewhat old. I've not repoted it, I am waiting for the best time to do it.
It has living roots going under the medium but the plant hasn't grow new ones. I will post some pics on monday since I'm out for the weekend.

I can't say I see a difference in the ability to get them to bloom better. But bi-foliates have a reputation for being more fussy about when they are re-potted. Even the Baker culture sheets warn not to re-pot unless new growth is showing or it can sulk for up to a year and possibly even die. I am very careful with them. I think a bi-foliate, unless a complex hybrid, is maybe not the best for someone just starting out with Catts. However many bi-foliate hybrids have been crossed with uni-foliate ones and they are likely not as touchy. I always wait until new root growth has started unless it is a new purchase that must be inspected or of course a bare root purchase. But if the media and roots are OK, I wait for new root growth to re-pot all orchids.