Cattleya Orchid Care Tips

The Cattleya orchids are famous for producing large, flamboyant flowers with striking colours and intricate shapes. A typical Cattleya orchid flower consists of two fringed petals and a third one that has developed into a showy lip with a fringed margin. All three petals are quite narrow and the lip is often decorated with markings and dots. At the base of the Cattleya orchid flower the fringed petal margins fold into a tube. Each flower stalk grows from a so called pseudobulb.
The Cattleya orchids belong to the genus Cattleya in the family Orchidaceae. This genus currently contains 42 described species and a vast array of hybrids has been created for the floral trade. Cattleya hybrids can produce flowers that exceed 15 cm in length and you can get them in all colours except true blue and black. The number of flowers varies from just one to ten. The Cattleya orchids grow in tropical parts of the South American continent and up to Costa Rica in Central America.
Cattleya orchid medium
If you want to keep a Cattleya orchid, it is very important to provide it with the right type of medium. This orchid is not used to soggy soil and must be given a well draining potting medium such as coarse fir bark or medium coarse fir bark. Even with a well draining potting medium, over watering can lead to root rot, and green mould and snow mould can start growing in the potting medium. The Cattleya orchids are epiphytes which mean that their natural way of growing is by clinging to tree branches and similar. They are therefore ill equipped to deal with a soggy medium.
Temperature for Cattleya orchids
As mentioned above, the Cattleya orchids come from tropical parts of South and Central America and they will therefore prefer the 75-85˚ F (24-29˚ C) temperature range during the day. The recommended night temperature for Cattleya orchids is 60-65˚ F (15.5-18˚ C). If your Cattleya orchid is well established and healthy it can survive occasional temperature drops or spikes, as long as you don’t make a habit out of exposing it to sudden temperature extremes. Being kept in the wrong temperature range or exposed to a lot of changes is very dangerous for this orchid.