I have some cattleyas that are basically potted in air (the plants are in a
pot and the roots are bare with no media). How do you water these? Do you
soak the roots for a few minutes or do you just spash the roots with water?

I have been soaking the roots for a few minutes when I have time, other
times I pour water over them and it immediately drains out.

Thanks for all replies

Uncle Vito

Basically, you have plants that are mounted without the mount. There is
nothing to keep moisture in and air circulates, so it's almost impossible to
over water them.

How are the plants doing? That's really key. Most Catts don't need a lot of
water, so your arrangement might be fine.

OTOH, why use pots if you aren't using media?

Diana

"Uncle_vito" wrote in message
...
I have some cattleyas that are basically potted in air (the plants are in
a pot and the roots are bare with no media). How do you water these? Do
you soak the roots for a few minutes or do you just spash the roots with
water?

I have been soaking the roots for a few minutes when I have time, other
times I pour water over them and it immediately drains out.

Thanks for all replies

Uncle Vito

Dear Uncle Vito,
If you have the time & lots of water then thats
the way to go. Just like most people grow Vandas.
We put them in pots, here in hot dry S. Calif.
Cheers Wendy

"Uncle_vito" wrote in message
...
I have some cattleyas that are basically potted in air (the plants are in
a pot and the roots are bare with no media). How do you water these? Do
you soak the roots for a few minutes or do you just spash the roots with
water?

I have been soaking the roots for a few minutes when I have time, other
times I pour water over them and it immediately drains out.

Thanks for all replies

Uncle Vito

I got the orchids from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate where most all of
their Cattleyas are bare root. They had them in small plastic pots and the
roots went through holes in the bottom of the pot and over the sides. They
then had this pot in a larger pot and the roots were now growing into that.
As the plant and roots grew, they kept moving the entire thing into bigger
and bigger pots.

This is they way that they were growing the Cattleyas. (Phals and
Cymbidiums were potted with media). The plants are stabilized. In fact, I
attended a class in potting put on by SBOE and the smallest of cats were at
first tied into the pots until their roots could form against the sides and
in holes through the bottom.

Your comment about watering often, like in the wild, makes sense. I live in
S. Cal

Thanks for the comments.

Vito


"tenman" wrote in message
...
Uncle_vito wrote:
I have some cattleyas that are basically potted in air (the plants are
in a pot and the roots are bare with no media). How do you water these?
Do you soak the roots for a few minutes or do you just spash the roots
with water?

I have been soaking the roots for a few minutes when I have time, other
times I pour water over them and it immediately drains out.

Thanks for all replies

Uncle Vito
What is commonly missed is that these plants neeed a good deal of water.
They don't like to stay wet, but they still need the water. Your 'potting'
situation is ideal IF you have the plants stabilized so there is no
movement to harm the new growing roots. And the best watering regimen for
them is several times a day for an extended period of time. In their
natural habitats, when they get water they receive it over a prolonged
period of time, that is, it rains for several hours or the heavy mists in
the AM last for hours. What media do in a pot normally is provide a chance
for the plant to absorb water for a while as the medium stays wet.So,
bareroot in a pot, have a mister on them three or four times a day for
5-10 minutes at a time.It's labor intensive, but then you have chosen to
go without medium, which requires you to more closely mimic their natural
environment without the baffer of a medium.

Tenman wrote (in part):
What is commonly missed is that these plants neeed a good deal of water.
They don't like to stay wet, but they still need the water..

I think the "don't like to stay wet" part of our knowledge of orchid-growing
comes from suffocating the roots in insufficiently airy media, and not from
too much water, per se.

Taking a clip from The Baker's orchidculture.com free sheet on Cattleya
skinneri, for example:
_____________________Plants usually grow in wet mountain forests from near
sea level to about
4100 ft. (1250 m), but they also occur on rocks at higher elevations where
rainfall is greater and evaporation is less._____________________
That sounds to me like "staying wet" is the norm. We have to consider,
however, that the root systems are very much exposed (sort of like those of
"Uncle Vito's" plants) to air so they important gas exchange processes that
occur through the root systems go on unimpeded.
--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!

I'm with you, Tennis. Too bad we don't have the same growing conditions as
out there, though.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"tenman" wrote in message
...
Uncle_vito wrote:
I got the orchids from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate where most all of
their Cattleyas are bare root. They had them in small plastic pots and
the roots went through holes in the bottom of the pot and over the
sides. They then had this pot in a larger pot and the roots were now
growing into that. As the plant and roots grew, they kept moving the
entire thing into bigger and bigger pots.

This is they way that they were growing the Cattleyas. (Phals and
Cymbidiums were potted with media). The plants are stabilized. In fact,
I attended a class in potting put on by SBOE and the smallest of cats
were at first tied into the pots until their roots could form against the
sides and in holes through the bottom.


Very interesting information; thanks for the info. I keep promising some
year I'm going to get out there, but have had to make do with an
occasional mailorder purchase from them. Probably just as well; I'd likely
have to take out a second mortgage to pay my tab if I ever went shopping
there in person!

My first thought is that Uncle Vito should ask the Sta Barbara Estate what
they do ... since that regimen, whatever it may be, successfully grew the
plants for the however many years before he bought them.

But more generally, Catts tend to be pretty hardy and adaptable. In Belize,
where I've had a few opportunities to see them growing in the wild, the
plants get a lot of rain for several months of the year, but they also
survive a very pronounced dry season, during which they may get no water at
all (well, maybe a little morning dew) for a couple of months.

Here in South Florida, we don't water our mounted Catts any more than we do
those in pots with medium, and they do just fine. In a low humidity
environment, I think more frequent watering would be advisable.

But as a testimonial to the "hardy" part: We dropped a tray of bareroot
Enc. alata while unloading our trailer at the end of a show. Several weeks
later, while loading up for the next show, we noticed that some of them had
rolled under one of the shelves. All survived, and most were in spike,
after at least 6 weeks in an ungodly hot, dark environment with no water at
all. Not that I recommend such treatment LOL.

Kenni

"Ray B" wrote in message
news:hCADj.768$Nr1.750@trnddc01...
Tenman wrote (in part):
What is commonly missed is that these plants neeed a good deal of water.
They don't like to stay wet, but they still need the water..

I think the "don't like to stay wet" part of our knowledge of
orchid-growing comes from suffocating the roots in insufficiently airy
media, and not from too much water, per se.

Taking a clip from The Baker's orchidculture.com free sheet on Cattleya
skinneri, for example:
_____________________Plants usually grow in wet mountain forests from near
sea level to about
4100 ft. (1250 m), but they also occur on rocks at higher elevations where
rainfall is greater and evaporation is less._____________________
That sounds to me like "staying wet" is the norm. We have to consider,
however, that the root systems are very much exposed (sort of like those
of "Uncle Vito's" plants) to air so they important gas exchange processes
that occur through the root systems go on unimpeded.
--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!