Catt schilleriana 2012

[Rick]

This plant hasn't bloomed in a few years, and before my Klite strategy was actually going down the tubes. The newest growth is the biggest ever, and getting very strong roots.

 

[John Boy]

schilleriana rules!!!

 

[Shiva]

This is one magnificient cattleya species. Never had any success with it though I tried, and tried and... And I may try again.:drool:

 

[Rick]

This is one magnificient cattleya species. Never had any success with it though I tried, and tried and... And I may try again.:drool:

Try mounting it. Originally it was on a piece of walnut bark, which fell apart after a few years (about the time it started going down). I strapped it to a piece of cork bark, but until choking down the K and increasing Ca it was pretty stubborn.

Otherwise it's in the brightest/warmest part of the GH.

 

[likespaphs]

isn't walnut toxic and allelopathic?

 

[Rick]

isn't walnut toxic and allelopathic?

I've grown a bunch of stuff on walnut. The hulls of the seeds are real tough on soil critters (leaching strong tannins and stuff), but mosses and other stuff doesn't seem to have to hard a time on the bark.

 

[SlipperFan]

Nice!

It thought it was the roots that were toxic, not the bark.

 

[JeanLux]

Great blooming Rick !!!! 5 flowers !?, 2 spikes!?
I am in the situation Michel described ! Jean

 

[paphioboy]

Beautiful!

 

[Rick]

Great blooming Rick !!!! 5 flowers !?, 2 spikes!?
I am in the situation Michel described ! Jean

One spike of 5 flowers JeanLux. This was the normal flower count for this clone before it went on decline, so I can't say that the Klite made for a bigger show than normal (just brought it back from decline:wink.

I checked on the records for this plant and I bought it from Ed M in 2004 as a blooming size plant. It grew prolifically at first on the walnut mount and probably bloomed 3 years in a row usually with 5 flowers per spike. Since I had it in very bright light, it didn't surprise me that the leaves were purple. But when I started playing with epsom salts and bonemeal (a couple years before Klite) the leaves turned green again indicating that the plant was Ca/Mg deficient rather than bright sun adapted.

As noted earlier, I gave up on the walnut mount (it was pretty rotten and falling apart anyway) and put it onto a cork bark mount a couple of years ago. It was having trouble making good roots, not blooming, and making small stunted growths. The plants momentum has totally changed now.

 

[Stone]

That's a good blooming Rick, good one:clap:
The thing that is often missed with schilleriana is that it begins its growth phase in Autumn not Spring like most others. (goes to sleep after flowering in my experience) It shares this habit with C. tenebrosa and C. warneri which I think come from much the same area. I struggled with it for a long time until I discovered this important fact, but after that - no further problems. So if you remember to rest it during the summer by not feeding (of course you have to keep watering) and place it in a warm bright spot in the fall/winter and feed then you should have results. Rick is correct about mounting or baskets-it's not crazy about pots.
My two are just waking up now!

 

[JeanLux]

.......
The thing that is often missed with schilleriana is that it begins its growth phase in Autumn not Spring like most others. (goes to sleep after flowering in my experience) It shares this habit with C. tenebrosa and C. warneri which I think come from much the same area. I struggled with it for a long time until I discovered this important fact, but after that - no further problems. So if you remember to rest it during the summer by not feeding (of course you have to keep watering) and place it in a warm bright spot in the fall/winter and feed then you should have results....!

Thanks for remembering this !!!! Jean

 

[Brabantia]

Thanks for remembering this !!!! Jean

Jean!! Stone is living in the Southern hemisphere. Here in Belgium it start in June.

 

[Rick]

Jean!! Stone is living in the Southern hemisphere. Here in Belgium it start in June.

I think he is compensating for hemisphere differences. I usually don't see a new lead for the following years growth until much later in summer. After the spring blooming mine also sits around for a few months not doing anything until it starts to cool off a bit (often in September).

It could be that your June peak temps are more equivalent to our late summer temps in Tennessee (even when regulated for peaks by GH technology)???