[ckollmer]

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"Training" Catteya's to improve form and save space

live in Southeastern PA and grow my plants indoors during the colder months. Because I have a manageable collection (my wife would argue about the term "managable"), I have adopted a few techniques that just about anyone can use to help save growing space and improve the growing form of your plants. Specifically I am referring to the cattleya alliance, but this could be applicable to other orchids with sympodial growth habit.



Materials needed: Raffia (from Michaels or other hobby store) [or coated wire if you prefer]; Bamboo skewers (from grocery store) [or bamboo or metal stake]; sterile (ie, new) razor blades or razor knife



When new growths are about 1/3-1/2 developed, I soak a length of raffia in soapy water or a weak physan solution (physan is a great surfactent); once softened up I will tie a knot around a stout pseudobulb adjacent to the new growth. I then loop the raffia around the emerging growth, tie a simple overhand knot (like tying your shoelace) and very slowly and carefully pull the raffia tighter until the emerging growth starts to straighted to a more verticle position. You need to be careful here - if the growth is too young, or if you pull too tight, you could break the growth. If you do this when you first obtain your plants, eventually you will end up with most of your p'bulbs and leaves rather perfectly upright. The limiting factor is the underlying growth habit of your plant, determined by its genetics. For example, I love the blooms of LC Marie's Song 'CTM 217'. However, the foliage is very sloppy and tends to "flop" over. For plants like this there is little you can do. But for plants with an inherently better growth habit, "training" new growths produces a neater looking plant and avoids having pseudobulbs sticking out at odd angles. You will be amazed at how much more growing space can be liberated by "training" plants like this. If you don't have a stout p'bulb to anchor your raffia, or if an existing mature p'bulb is not in the position you need, insert a bamboo skewer (or a more substantial stake if needed), tie a double overhand knot at the desired height, and use this as your "anchor" to pull the new growth into the desired direction. If, after the raffia dries out, you find that the knot you tied to the stake is loose and slides down, simply secure it in place with a bit of masking tape.