A mix of Catts....

[katrina]

Here's a sample of some of the cattleyas I've had blooming over the past few months. I'm really bad about taking pics...even worse about uploading what I do have so some of these finished awhile back.

Cattleya iricolor - sort of a sprawling thing but one of my favorites. Reliable summer bloomer. Typical catt culture.



Next up - Cattleya walkeriana - semi-alba
This is the first time this one has bloomed during June for me and I find it interesting how the color is different this month vs the winter bloom. More blushing w/the June bloom. I can only assume it's a temp thing. 1st pic from Jan bloom and 2nd pic from current (June) bloom....



Next is a first bloom seedling I got about a year ago from Ecuagenera -- Cattleya Valda which is a cross between C harpophylla and C coccinea. It is happiest on the lower end of catt light and w/more moisture. It's a compact grower and w/some maturity it should give more than one flower per spike.


Cattleya purpurata v carnea
Another reliable summer bloomer....



A first bloom for me on this one --
Laelia anceps v guerrero -- this one bloomed a couple of months ago -- my pictures don't do it justice. The color is amazing and the deep purple lip looks like velvet. This will be outstanding once it gets some age and size.



Ryncholaeliacattleya Green Dawn - a cross between C granulosa and Rl glauca. Heavy substance and amazing fragrance w/this one. It's got enough size on it now that it's blooming a couple time a year.


Encyclia bractescens. Great plant -- easy grower and reliable bloomer. It gets better and better each year.



Last, but not least....Epidendrum centropetalum (formerly Oerstedella) This is another easy grower and reliable bloomer. This one is long done but it took 1st place and Best in Class at our spring show this year.



That's it for the catts.

---------- Post added at 06:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:38 PM ----------

I almost forgot one! C. jenmanii coerulea....another first bloom for me. This one bloomed awhile back...huge flowers.

[WhiteRabbit]

Gorgeous!

[isurus79]

Great growing Katrina! Are you putting these guys outside at all? What is your routine for changing the light schedule on your lights? Is it automated or do you manually change the hours through the year?

[silken]

Wow! What a delightful bunch of Catts!

[Shivonne]

Very pretty!

[LovePhals]

Love the Catt walkeriana and Green Dawn. Your plants are always so nice and beautiful, so make sure you get those pictures keep posting! Thanks for including the care tips as well.

[desertanimal]

Impressive.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[katrina]

Thanks for the kind words and comments everyone.

Originally Posted by isurus79

Great growing Katrina! Are you putting these guys outside at all? What is your routine for changing the light schedule on your lights? Is it automated or do you manually change the hours through the year?

Thanks! Yes, all my plants go outside as soon as the night time temps are in the upper 50's...usually late May. And they stay outside until the night time temps drop back to the mid 50's..usually mid-late Sept.

In previous years I did the whole light time altering thing when they came inside in the fall...shorten for winter and then lengthen in the late winter going into spring...but this year I set them at 10hrs and left them and I saw zero difference. Some of my plants boomed later than normal but I don't think that was the lights per se because many orchid friends noticed later blooming in their orchids too. And some of those orchid friends grow in greenhouses.

To the best of my knowledge, I have only one plant that is affected by day light time...C labiata...which I move that one around to accommodate the shortening days. The others...most come from equatorial regions which doesn't vary all that much in length of day/night time. I try to pay more attention to the aspect of brighter or darker due to the native habit of leaf drop or cloud cover. I wasn't sure how it would work out when I did it this past winter but it seems to have changed nothing.

The cumulative effect of lights being on for hours on end should (note the SHOULD) mean I can get away w/less run time vs in nature where there is natural variation in amount of light over the course of the day. If that makes sense. ?? It was a test and it seems (so far) to have worked out ok...I might go one step further next winter and try just 8hrs for the majority of the indoor time. I figure worst case scenario I'll see a reduction in blooms...but I have a strong feeling it won't reduce anything but my electric bill.

[isurus79]

Great info, thanks! Since moving to Texas from Hawaii, I've been running a ton of experiments to find what works best with regards to maximizing blooms and growth. Timing of the lighting systems is the last thing I am working on, hence the Q's. Thanks again!

[smweaver]

Those are all fantastic, Katrina. I especially like the C. iricolor. And always good to see (read?) how others are growing their plants. It's easy to get caught up dwelling on pretty pictures. But I really appreciate learning about what other growers do to be successful with their plants--especially (look away for a moment, formerly-Hawaiian Steve) if they aren't spoiled with near-ideal weather conditions throughout the year. Congratulations on your beautiful blooms.

Steve