Anyone has this Rhyncholaelio Cattleya?
2ft to light, direct
4â pot with drainage
Last watered 20 hours ago
7
Best Answer
Depends on your conditions. I have mine in a controlled environment (growlights, warmth year round). So I don't do anything.
I'm general cattleyas don't go dormant. They just produce one growth after the other. Meaning, you water year round as well. If it's at a window and light levels and temperature drop slightly, it might respond with slightly slower growth, which also means they don't need quite as much water.
However, it's always a good idea, to not water orchids by following a strict schedule but instead to water roughly when they are dried. Cattleyas, especially, are powerhouses, when it comes to storing water and nutrients in those growths (pseudobulbs). Being one or two days late doesn't really matter to them (if you aren't continuously late over months).
I usually look at the roots and the medium to decide when to water (at least until I get a fell how often they need water in general. But I always go back to that when they grow, don't seem happy, the seasons change etc) : If the roots in the pot still look green and plump or even wet, they don't need water. (I'm car you cannot see the roots, gauge how wet the medium looks. )
Of they start to dry you will notice a change. Phal roots will get a silver sheen, cattleya and oncidium roots will turn white. When you see that change, you water. Simple as that. That way you tailor your watering to your plant all year round, no fuss.
Oh. And just a word of warning: don't repot those types of orchids willy nilly. Unless there is a serious problem, even experienced growers usually only repot them when the time is right. They tend to have very sensitive roots, so there's a good chance a lot of them will die after the repot. And since they grow cyclically (pseudobulb-roots-flowers or a version of that) and some produce only one new growth a year, if you repot at the wrong time the plant might have to survive for a long time with no roots. So it's best to only repot once you see the first signs of new roottips coming in.
Oh, btw, I'm talking about cattleyas here, because RLCs are a subset of those. In the aspects I've mentioned they all work basically the same.
Good luck
I'm general cattleyas don't go dormant. They just produce one growth after the other. Meaning, you water year round as well. If it's at a window and light levels and temperature drop slightly, it might respond with slightly slower growth, which also means they don't need quite as much water.
However, it's always a good idea, to not water orchids by following a strict schedule but instead to water roughly when they are dried. Cattleyas, especially, are powerhouses, when it comes to storing water and nutrients in those growths (pseudobulbs). Being one or two days late doesn't really matter to them (if you aren't continuously late over months).
I usually look at the roots and the medium to decide when to water (at least until I get a fell how often they need water in general. But I always go back to that when they grow, don't seem happy, the seasons change etc) : If the roots in the pot still look green and plump or even wet, they don't need water. (I'm car you cannot see the roots, gauge how wet the medium looks. )
Of they start to dry you will notice a change. Phal roots will get a silver sheen, cattleya and oncidium roots will turn white. When you see that change, you water. Simple as that. That way you tailor your watering to your plant all year round, no fuss.
Oh. And just a word of warning: don't repot those types of orchids willy nilly. Unless there is a serious problem, even experienced growers usually only repot them when the time is right. They tend to have very sensitive roots, so there's a good chance a lot of them will die after the repot. And since they grow cyclically (pseudobulb-roots-flowers or a version of that) and some produce only one new growth a year, if you repot at the wrong time the plant might have to survive for a long time with no roots. So it's best to only repot once you see the first signs of new roottips coming in.
Oh, btw, I'm talking about cattleyas here, because RLCs are a subset of those. In the aspects I've mentioned they all work basically the same.
Good luck
@Araceae ð
I do have several RLCs, but not nearly enough that it is statistically likely that I have one specific hybrid. There are so, so many.
(Funnily enough, my sister in law asked the same question with a specific cattleya species 2 days ago, and *that* was a hit, which was weird enough). Thanks for the shoutout, though.
@HipIvorytowers however, if it's not about this specific RLC, but you have any care questions about cattleya or Rhyncholaelio cattleyas in general, ask away. Maybe I have an answer or a resource that i could point you towards.
(Funnily enough, my sister in law asked the same question with a specific cattleya species 2 days ago, and *that* was a hit, which was weird enough). Thanks for the shoutout, though.
@HipIvorytowers however, if it's not about this specific RLC, but you have any care questions about cattleya or Rhyncholaelio cattleyas in general, ask away. Maybe I have an answer or a resource that i could point you towards.
@MusicalRedmint Thank you!