Gok Cattleya (God only knows)
 

I got Gok cattyela as Christmas gift from my mom. She wrapped it all up. Luckily, I took it out earlier on time because it doesn't have air, humidity, and light. Yikes, or it will be in for like a week. It came in as itself cattyela with roots. Very glad I got this out early.
Next day, I repotted it. I don't know if I did pot it right.
I am going to add three pictures so that would help. I noticed something black on it's new plant. Noticed some reddish spot on it's new baby leaf. It's too much sun. I water it once a week since it's winter.
I am very new on those cattleya. I would like to learn as much as I can. Yes, I do have brassovola cordata. It wasn't doing well due to calicum deficiency. Of Course, I have peter 15 15 15. I am waiting for Kelpmax which should be here this Tuesday. (I wanna grow healthy tomatoes which I failed last year(grumpy:(( and grrrrr), Hope I can do it this year.)
What's the proper watering and fertilizer? It's roots are different than Phals, Paph. I read article about watering first, as let it roots soft, then water it with fertilizer. Is that true? Something has to do with water absorbing.
Yep, I admit. I have to learn how to grow cattleya because my husband fell in love with one cattleya that it's flower smells like old spice.. I will get that for father's day. Pretty please keep it secret. LOL
Any advices, and hints! I'd love to learn....
Thank you very much for reading this and taking your time for reading this.. Have a good day!
Karen :waving

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Is that normal? Or Did I pot it lit deep? I only used roots in potting media. Why is this black around puesobulb? It's new baby leaf. It's very sturdy and healthy.

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Catts are epiphytes, so let it dry well between waterings and don't put too much sphag in the pot, if any. I use large bark chunks.

I like Ray's advice to water with very dilute fertiliser (VERY dilute) every watering. I certainly wouldn't soak the roots first. If the fertiliser can burn the roots, then it's too strong.

Fertilizer is used for very little in orchids. Yes, you need a bit, but it is minute. Talking about root burn, Another thing people who water orchids could do is to allow the chlorine to evaporate from their tap water.

I had to really go back to basic plant biology. What is the water for? It is a raw material plants use to get molecules from to make sugar. Same with the sun. Raw material. Plants do not live off of water, they live off of sugar.

Psuedo bulbs are grown by orchids to store the sugar they live off of. Same goes for succulent leaves. Roots are used to charge the molecules with a minute electrical charge, which combines the water and sun into sugar. When the p bulb is filled, when the leaf is grown, the root ages and dies. In an orchid with a rhyzome (sympodial) the only active roots are those attached to the actively growing pseudobulb or leaf combination. The life cycle is grow, have a flower and then be used as fuel by new bulbs. In a monopodial orchid, new storage leaves grow continually up a central stalk, with matching roots also growing.

Orchids are very tough plants and need very little water. Past the first few seconds of watering, all you are doing is raising your water bill. Misting is a more cost effective way to water.

Thank you very much. That explains... I have spring water/well water which I don't use. Sometimes on my phals. I have two different fertilizer. One is 20-10-20 and other is Peters 15 15 15. Yes, very little fertilizer as weakly fertilizer watering. Should I do like 20-10-20 this week then next week Peters 15 15 15 next week? I do know that they require calcium. I only use rainwater that I saved up. (Less 20 gallon of rainwater) thank you again.


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