Cattleya walkeriana

[DukeBoxer]

Hi guys, I just got a walkeriana and I was wondering if they have a rest period in the winter or if they should get watered right through the year. I know lienluu has one. Maybe she can give me some tips. thanks

-Josh

 

[NYEric]

Mr. Lien Luu!

 

[Ron-NY]

Do you have the walkeriana potted or mounted.? What has to be remembered is that in their natural environment they do have a dry season in the winter but that does not mean no water. They have a large root system for a small Catt and get moisture from dew during their dry season. During the summer there is cloud cover so, they get more sun during their drier period. Hope this helps with culturing yours.

I have 4 or 5 walkers and I grow mine mounted on a cork slab. I water less in the winter and almost daily in the summer.

 

[DukeBoxer]

Thanks Ron, I just got mine from Andy's Orchids yesterday at our OS meeting and it's mounted. I'll take your reply and translate it into my growing conditions. I'll say a little less light in the summer and plenty of water, say once or twice a day watering depending on the weather. It will be grown outside during the summer. In the winter I will hold back watering some but give it more light, maybe water once or twice a week, depending on the relative humidity. I grow under lights on a stand during the winter but I just made a frame for a little wardian case (3'x3'x4' high) I still need to finish it but I have a few months. Hopefully it will be done by september/october so I can have it installed in my room. Also one more thing, when they bloom the flower usually comes out with the new growth right? Mine is in active growth right now.

Thanks again
-Josh

 

[Ron-NY]

The flower does not come out of the new growth (p-bulb and leaf). Catt. walkeriana usually sends up a specialized stem that flowers. The stem usually develops after the p-bulb and leaf are out and it grows adjacent to that new growth. It is my understanding that this is an adaptation for a habitat that has a short wet season that may fail some years. It allows the plant to bloom even if there was not enough rain to produce a new lead.

 

[DukeBoxer]

OK, I knew that, well that it comes from the rhizome and not the leaf axil, but I swear I have seen some plants in photos that have the flower coming out of the bulb while it is still growing, kind of like a Sophronitis. oh well.

 

[Ron-NY]

OK, I knew that, well that it comes from the rhizome and not the leaf axil, but I swear I have seen some plants in photos that have the flower coming out of the bulb while it is still growing, kind of like a Sophronitis. oh well.

To tell you the truth, I have seen that occasionally with the alba 'Pendentive' clone

 

[NYEric]

check out 'Limrick' photos.

 

[Ron-NY]

maybe it has something to do with albas. 'Limerick' is an alba as well and one that was awarded many years ago. There is a Limerick in the greenhouse, I will have to see if Glen will let me have a piece of it

 

[DukeBoxer]

Hey Ron, if Glen has a lot of some plant in the greenhouse, will he just give you a piece of it or do you have to pay for it. It must be great working for him, all the things you can learn! I really want to start a orchid business when I am down in Costa Rica, small scale though. We have a big collection now, mostly species and at the orchid show in San Jose this March we met a guy that will flask seed pods given to him and will give back like 100 plants to us. I asked a lady I met down there if she had a walkeriana, she has a garden center up the road a little from us and she said she did, that she got it in Brazil and paid a lot of money for it, but it was in her private collection. When she showed it to us it ended up being some BLC cross white with a yellow lip. I felt to bad to tell her that it really wasn't walkeriana, it was nice though.

-Josh

 

[DukeBoxer]

Hey Ron, if Glen has a lot of some plant in the greenhouse, will he just give you a piece of it or do you have to pay for it. It must be great working for him, all the things you can learn! I really want to start a orchid business when I am down in Costa Rica, small scale though. We have a big collection now, mostly species and at the orchid show in San Jose this March we met a guy that will flask seed pods given to him and will give back like 100 plants to us. I asked a lady I met down there if she had a walkeriana, she has a garden center up the road a little from us and she said she did, that she got it in Brazil and paid a lot of money for it, but it was in her private collection. When she showed it to us it ended up being some BLC cross white with a yellow lip. I felt to bad to tell her that it really wasn't walkeriana, it was nice though.

-Josh

 

[Ron-NY]

Josh, Glen and I are friends. I don't work for him but I do give him a hand once and awhile. Some have been gifted to me and others I have purchased off of him at cost. He also has his mother's collection in the greenhouse, she is no longer able to care for them. Most likely the walkeriana 'Limrick' had belonged to her. If I ask nicely, I am sure he will share a piece with me. He knows how out of control I am, LOL I have learned quite a bit from him over the years. The arrangement with the grower sounds like a good one. I have a similar arrangement with a grower but I won't get my plants back until they are blooming size. He can grow them much quicker than I can. I won't want more than a dozen or so of each cross. The rest is for him to wholesale.

 

[NYEric]

Catt. walkeriana Limrick is one of the nicest flowers I've ever seen. Kerry Richards at World of Orchids used to have some but...