Intro:
Cattleya bowringiana is native to Belize and Guatemala and can be found growing in a wide range of conditions from a few hundred feet above sea level to about 3600 feet. It is often found growing as a terrestrial in sand alongside stream beds, as an epiphyte on tree branches and as a lithophyte on rock outcrops. This plant is perhaps one of the easiest Cattleyas to grow and flower and in autumn the flower displays are quite amazing with from 25 to 30 flowers or more on really mature growths. This plant was discovered by the famed English nursery James Veitch and Sons and was first exhibited in the fall of 1885. It was named for John C, bowring of Windsor Forest.
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Light:
This plant can grow in medium to high light from 2,000 to 5,000 foot candles or more. This plant does well under artificial light but really requires a high Pressure sodium fixture to do best.
P.L. Lights systems are a great way to provide artificial light to your orchids. See our P.L. Lights page for more information on this great product we offer.
Temperature:
This plant is an intermediate to warm grower and would like ideal winter night temps to be around 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Day temps should be 70 or above. Summer temps can be up to 20 degrees warmer.
Humidity:
This plant likes a relative humidity of 50 percent or higher.
The use of humidity trays or room humidifiers is beneficial.
We offer two products that can help increase humidity levels. The humidity tray offered in black or white, and the Mist Maker.
Water:
This plant really doesn’t need a dry rest in winter but if conditions are cloudy or cool we recommend reducing frequency of watering or allowing the potting mix to become just dry between watering. During active growth and flowering this plant likes an abundance of water never really drying out completely at the roots.
Overwatering can cause several problems such as root rot and infectious bacteria/fungus in the potting medium. One product we offer that can help these problems if caught at an early stage is Phyton 27 bactericide and fungicide.
Fertilizer:
Use Green Jungle Orchid Food, especially formulated to work with rain, distilled, reverse osmosis water or water low in alkalinity. Fertilize with Green Jungle every time you water if plants are planted in bark. Be sure to flush the mix with clear water only once per month to prevent fertilizer salt build up. For plants in moss or mounted on slabs feed every third or 4th watering as the moss holds a lot of nutrients. Or use
GrowMore 20-10-20 Ureafree for municipal or well water. Use at the rate of ½ teaspoon per gallon. If using GrowMore with rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water, add back in 5 - 10% municipal or well water to supply the necessary calcium and magnesium. Fertilize every other watering in the summer and every third watering in the winter.
Another fertilizer offered is: GrowMore 6-30-30 (Cymbidium and bloom boosting formula).
Flowering:
This plant usually flowers from mid to late September into October. The flower usually last about 2 and a half to 3 weeks. If one can grow this plant really well and develop large strong pseudobulbs the flowers will last longer. The flower are normally colored in purple but the coerulea forms are more of a blue indigo. There are also albescens forms that are mostly white with pale lavender overtones in the lip. The flowers are about 3 ½ inches in size. Typically smaller growths will produce 5 –10 flowers but once the growths start hitting 24 to 30 inches in height one can expect 25 to 30 flowers. Many significant hybrids have been made from this species like C. porcia and Bc. Maikai. This is a bifoliate plant with 2 horizontal leaves at the top of tall sturdy pseudobulbs. The flower sheaths emerge in mid summer from between the leaves and the base of the sheath begins to swell and form buds in early to mid September.
Repotting:
It is best to repot this plant when you see new roots coming from the base of the newest pseudobulbs. Repot using medium bark mix and plastic or clay pots. This plant likes to be root bound so only use a pot that will allow 1-2 years new growth. This plant can be divided but one must leave at least 4 growths to each division for best results. We believe that it really likes to be grown into a specimen plant and then one can experience the true potential of this species with dozens of flowers at once.
We offer several different types of potting medium. Here are direct links to what we believe to be some of the best potting mediums available for orchids: Orchids Limited bark mix, New Zealand sphagnum moss, coco husk, coco peat, sponge rock,charcoal, tree fern fiber, and cork slabs for epiphytic plants.
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