Cattleya aclandiae

[RJSquirrel]

well you know I like these I cant help myself. the scent is just incredible it fills a small room .Makes you feel good when you smell it. You want more bigger smells of it..heh but dont suck in any bugs.



now you see the secret here..just a few peices of bark in a net pot. the roots dont like a lot of media around them. they will seek water. dont make them drink the roots wont take it. Its been re-potted 3 times now and you can see how the roots travel all around the pot. Now with the clay pot on the outside the roots will stick to the clay and travel around the clay. So dont cover up your aclandiae roots and water them when they turn white. These were just watered and now pretty green.




and you see again how the roots push the plant up above and outwards.its a general theme in orchids is to push the plant away from the media. Take notice when you re-pot and you bury the bulbs. then wonder why your plant went south........

[isurus79]

This is one of my favorite species and yours is really nice!

[Zoi2]

Beautiful, way to grow!
Joann

[ezil]

How much light do you give yours? I have one that I got as a seedling 4 years ago. I grow it mounted (no moss) and at about 4000fc in a terrarium. It forms new pseudobulbs, but no flowers. Any advise you can give me?

[WhiteRabbit]

Fabulous!

[RJSquirrel]

thanks it got a little bruise on the lip but thats okey its not going anywhere...

I give this full morning sun nothing after 11am...the wide fat leafs will burn pretty fast if you get them overheated. (hidden clue #43 the wider fatter the leaf the less light they need Is my general rule of 'dumb') but 4000fc sounds about right. I get full spectrum with the sun. Are your lights red 3000k, blue5000k, or equatorial 6500k? your spectrum could be off the blooming scale. With the sun you get what the plant needs. In terrariums or just plain grown by a window you have to be more aware of what you are giving them and how much to get them to bloom. These are photo-cyclic orchids and get there messages from the light. Your 4 year old should be mature enough. It might break out in a flush too for you when its ready and that would be a site

[silken]

Yours is lovely. Mine has quite different looking leaves. They are long and narrow compared to yours. But the growth habit of the plant looks the same.

Ezil, are your leaves round like that? I got mine from Clouds last year as a small seedling. It has many growths tho.

[professor plant]

I bought one from Ecuagenera this Spring and it is doing well, with new leads. I am curious as to how dry you keep yours through the winter. I have read they need to be quite dry. I have mine potted in plastic with medium bark. The leaves show signs of dehydration, but it is kept very humid. As of right now I water it about every five to seven days, and it is in a terrarium as close to the light as I can get it. Any more suggestions???

[RJSquirrel]

Mine never really get any cool weather like winter. I had a few days down below 55 last year and they come inside under lights. Being where Im at it really doesnt get a REAL rest where I have let it just go dry for a long period bec I dont have the warmth or enough light to keep up. They dont seem to be getting any rest and dont seem to be any worse for the wear.

When these catts are growing they can suck up a lot of water. I water mine outside at least 3-4 times a week and mist the leafs lightly 3 times a day. But as you see its all root and doesnt have much media in there at all. 2 pieces of large bark and thats it. The roots like lots and lots of fresh air.
Your plant might need some more water over the roots. You got to really hose them down until the roots turn green and stay that way for a day or 2. Humidity isnt going to keep up with a need for watering.

[tucker85]

Beautiful! I really like this species. That's an excellent photo also.