catt seedlings

[Cinderella]

I have a couple of Catt hybrid seedlings in tiny 2 inch pots in bark. I have only watered them weekly because of my tendency to overwater. The new growths are exceedingly slow. I am growing in an eastern sunroom, allowing them to get some morning sun, direct, but just AM. They are looking a bit yellowish too.

I think that I will move them out of direct sun as they are so tiny and water twice a week. Does this make sense? Do these type of seedlings require different care?

[Heather]

Cinderella, I would not do both at the same time. If you change too many variables at once, you won't know which one worked or didn't work. Catts take pretty bright light and I don't know how young your seedlings are but if they are NBS I would think you could leave them in the higher eastern light. If they are dry, then maybe upping the water to twice a week or twice every 8 to 10 days even, might be a good idea. My NBS catts are in SE light and I water 2x a week, or when dry. If you are unsure of their dampness there is always the bamboo skewer trick.

*disclaimer - I'm a newbie too, so would love to hear some other opinions.

[Cinderella]

That is a good suggestion, Heather. I think that I'll just up the watering a bit.
They are so tiny and must be drying out faster than I realize.

[Heather]

They are so tiny and must be drying out faster than I realize.

How big/old are they Debbie? I have a C. aurantiaca that is NBS and in a 2.5" pot. It definitely needs more water than the other two I have in slightly larger pots. I also occasional mist everything in the mornings. I had a couple wrinkled pbulbs earlier on the C. aur. but then it put out two new large growths, which I guess is normal, but w/ summer temps I tend to have to water everything more frequently. My temps are anywhere from 68-85 or 90 depending on the day's weather and my humidity also ranges similarly - this morning it was around 80% but on a hot dry day will go down to 50%or so.

[momokev]

Hi Debbie,

I have several catt seedlings (I am the catt-woman after all!) Mine are in a fine fir bark mix and I water every 3 days. Your light sounds fine, mine are also in an eastern window. Seedings need more moisture than mature catts.

Lisa

[Heather]

Oh good! Glad you chimed in there Catt-Woman, since clearly I don't know as much about Catts as say, Paphs...

Still willing to try to help and share my experiences.

[Cinderella]

So sorry the Catwoman movie didn't do well, Catt-woman. Do you think watering twice a week would be a problem? (2 inch pots)

[momokev]

Well, if they'd made the movie about "catts", I bet it'd been a hit!!

Sure, twice a week should be good. What are they potted in? The finer the bark, of course, the more water will be retained.

Lisa

[Cinderella]

Pretty fine bark, I believe but I will check.

[Aerides]

Just a couple rules of thumb FWIW. Seedling catts do not take as much light as mature ones. The leaves are softer, the transpiration rate will be faster and the heat that accompanies high light would dessicate tender plants. An east window sounds pretty nice for them, although a summertime unobstructed east window offers a goodly amount of light for a seedling.

The fact that seedlings are reputed to take more water may not necessarily mean that they actually *utilize* more water, but rather, since they are in relatively small pots (as are yours) that they would need to be watered more frequently to sustain the same level of moisture as a mature cattleya in a larger pot (because of faster drying). While keeping in mind that the basic cattleya cycle of dry/wet/dry/wet still needs to happen.

Just some stuff to think about.

John