S. Brazil, Cattleya cernua, and Cattleya Seagulls ‘Tiny Tim’
S. Brazil (wittigiana x brevi)
C. cernua
S. Brazil (wittigiana x brevi)C. cernua
A bouquet of miniature Cattleyas
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mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
I mean, they are all adorable, but Cattleya Seagulls is particularly cute and I like the color of this clone. I presume that none of these are fragrant, correct?
Approximately how old is the C. cernua? Waiting on mine to bloom while it appears to be focusing on roots, but yours is waaay bigger! Also what is your humidity like?
They are all so lovely!
They are all so lovely!
Very cute!
WOW ... all are lovely and cute ones.
Beautiful! My Cattleya cernua bloomed for the first time after 6 years and has 22 blossoms, and that's gotten me very interested in the miniature cattleyas. Yours are super charming!
My cernua took 6 years, but I think the key was that I gave it vigorous artificial light starting in September. Here in Alaska, the autumn darkness is like a brick wall, and without that extra energy from artificial lights, the cernua kept growing robustly but never blooming. Maybe that will help?
Mine is about 3 inches from my light, so hopefully that will spur it onward! It's just small I think, and I've had it less than a year.
Check the intensity and duration of the light. You may know more about this than me, but I started with artificial light last winter and just hammered my orchids. I did more damage than good. I've since gotten the Photone app on my iphone and learned more about Daily Light Integral. This article and others on the same page were very helpful: https://herebutnot.com/light-recommendations-ppfd-par-for-orchids-and-houseplants/
For Cattleyas, I aim for a DLI of 11-12, and for paphs, maybe 6 or 7. The photone app figures that out for you and makes it easy to adjust for light intensity and photoperiods. That knowledge has been the biggest orchid development for me in the past few years and has resulted in many blossoms from plants that had never bloomed for me. I have two closet lighting setups.
Good luck!
Excellent info, thank you!! I've been following the ppfd recommendations but need to recheck my new setup and also haven't gotten into DLI.
Yes, I initially was just looking at Footcandles or Lumens, but the photoperiods are critical. In nature, the intensity of the light changes constantly during the day, but artificial light is constant. So, if you're using the common FC "requirements" of Cattleya of, say, 2500 FC, you might be giving it the intensity of light that plant receives in nature from 11 am to 4 pm, 5 hours, while you may be giving it that intensity of light that for 12 hours.
I am not an expert by any means, but changing the way I thought about it was really important. Photone app is great for amateurs.
