Orchid Care: Repotting Cattleyas

In this video, I repot a couple of my newly acquired Cattleya seedlings. The potting medium is dependent on the orchid and the environment in which the orchid is raised but, I use a base of lava stone and top off the pot with various sized LECA medium. I show how I stabilize the orchid in the pot and how the seedlings should be prepared and planted.

[@kiyuemadkick]

Amazing video as always. I would love to see a video on seedpods and how growing them affects plants.

[@plantpropagator]

A lot of breeders say that the capsule has a strong negative effect on subsequent growth - I heard recently that blooms were delayed for years after a capsule was harvested. I have not really seen anything like this but I have not done a side-by-side comparison. I cannot see how it would be that draining on a plant since the seeds are so small. It does seem that new bulbs do not form until the seed capsule is mature.

[@cherylpenn4509]

I just need to see more of what you do in the pot on the table :)

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment. I will make more repotting and dividing videos on my Catts and will record those when I am sitting at a table. Thanks for your comment - I am always trying to improve my videos!

[@nicolewildman8976]

Hello, great video. I have never had a cattleya bloom for me. I suspect I might have to either transplant or mount it but I've never been lucky with them and they are my favorite orchids. Thanks for the tips, appreciated.

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment - I killed most of my earlier purchases due to rot. When I changed the potting medium to something much drier, that seemed to do the trick.

[@lethargicken7451]

I have had a lot of the same issues with my catts as well. Everything was going fine until we started getting daily rain. I moved away from bark and have moved to Leca as well with similar results. My dendrobiums and bulb types may be next.

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment - I do still have occasional issues but I am SLOWLY learning how to take things under control.

[@orchidsandplants]

I had no luck growing them in leca. Coz I have to keep moving them indoors and outdoors. Like me, orchids hate the cold. Lol.

[@SaverioPestuggia]

Hi, I saw your great video and I would like to know in your climate how many times you water your Cattleya with the Clay pot and this substrate composition. I live in Florence (Italy) and in summer is very hot. Thank you

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for watching. My orchids are watered 3 days per week for 15 minutes from an automated well irrigation system. I fertilize on a separate day. So, a total of 4 days per week. I have been told by people that live in the same area that they water every day but they have many Vandas. It gets hot here in the summer but the humidity is very high and it usually rains almost every day. If I use bark in my potting mix, it degrades very quickly due to the high humidity and heat. Thanks for your comment.

[@SaverioPestuggia]

@@plantpropagator thank you very much

[@chriswoon-fatt5926]

The actual potting was out of frame

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment. I will try to use different camera angles next time.