do cattleya bloom only for 4 days
 

Hi Al,

I'm planning to buy two cattleya .. their pics attached but one of my friend told me.. this variety of will bloom only for 4 days ? Is it really true
I want to buy cattleya like 1 attached here.

thanks,
manisha

Hello Manisha,

Not usually. The shortest lived blooms I've seen lasted two weeks. I would expect those hybrids to last longer.

Some cattleyas are very ephemeral and last only a few days.
But most should last at least two weeks. Sometimes longer.

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If any Catt flower only lasts 4 days then there is something very wrong with the plant or culture.

They last longer than 4 days....whoever gave you that information is very wrong....if you give it high humidity it will even last longer and the fragrance will even smell stronger....

This probably has some Saphronitis in it and that could account for the idea it last only a few days. But usually Saphronitis lasts at least a week but usually two.

I can reassure you, no reason to be alarmed.
First and foremost the durability of Cattleya flowers depends on how strong the plant is. Normally older well established plants with a good root system are able to take up water and fertilizer well. They build up strong bulbs where they store nutrients. When flowering they take use of this stored energy. So flowers last until the plant is exhausted.
The second important thing is parentage. For example Cattleyas with a big part of C. dowiana in their background may have a durability of 7-10 days only.
Third impact is the temperature, often together with the flowering season.
There are also factors that cause long living Cattleya flowers. Longest I've seen was a durability of 8-10 weeks.
For this type of hybrids including multiple genera as depicted you should exspect 2-3 weeks, eventually flowering twice a year.

I agree with the others, most cattleya flowers last two to three weeks.

Well, this thread answers my question. I purchased a Cat. that I really liked at the POE, in San Francisco. It was bare root, but had a spike on it. The spike did flower and was beautiful, but lasted only a few days, probably not even 4. From the dead roots and shrunken psudobubs I thought it was gone, and as the flower lasted for such a short time I really didn't care, but I don't give up on a plant. After some TLC, a new sprout appeared and new roots started to grow. Now, if what I read elsewhere is true, perhaps the flowers will last longer next time it blooms!

Glad you resuscitated your Catt!