Cattleya Seedlings - Care

Here you will find Cattleya Seedlings growing recommendations, there are four important thing we need to aware about when growing cattleya seedling:

1. root health - provided with well-oxygenated but water-retentive media

2. overall hydration - watering with wet - dry cycles

3. leaf health -provided with good illumination and high humidity

4. continuous growth - provided with a good fertilizer and appropriate additives.

Points to consider when growing Cattleya Seedling:

1. Orchid Seedling Root Health - Potting Media for Seedling Orchids

We do recommend using coconut husks very clean like 3 to 5 washes prior to use and of course you need to replace the high salt content of the natural coconut husk with Calcium and Magnesium...

2. Overall hydration - watering with wet - dry cycles

It is usually recommended to follow wet/dry cycles, targeting a 3-5 day dry out period, however we cultivate all our orchids, adults and seedlings outside and where we live it rains daily due our nearest Rain Forest... so our orchids including the seedlings are used to the wet season (rains every day for more than a week) and to the dry season (so during this period we water our orchids every 5 days), of course we usually use a preventive fungicide and bactericide in a monthly basis to prevent any bacteria and fungi growth... hoewever orchids roots adapt very quickly to the weather conditions.

3. Growth & Leaf Care Light & Temperature

If you want your cattleya seedlings to grow quickly, you need to provide a good quality light at moderately-high intensity; bright enough for fast growth, but not so intense that it causes chlorosis and not hot enough that it burns the leaves, just like you do with your adult cattleyas

4. Continuous Grow Quickly - Nutrients & Fertilizing

We do recommend MSU orchid fertilizer at 1/2 strength every week because it’s well-rounded and offers both nitrogen and ample micronutrients. Also, we add to the mix Superthrive, Kelp and Aminos...

You can find what we recommend here go to Feeding Categories!

In addition please consider these 5 elements when cultivating cattleya orchids seedlings:

1. Strong AIR Movement is essential to avoid mold and diseases.

2. The best WATER Quality preferably RO or Rain Water if possible.

3. High ILLUMINATION as the same you applied to the adult cattleyas but no direct sunlight.

4. Warm TEMPERATURE - cattleya orchids love warm to template moderate weather conditions, not to hot not to cold, but please refer to each cattleya species natural environment conditions in their habitats, prior to cultivate. 

We cultivate our cattleya orchids seedling between 69 - 72 at night and between 78 to 85 during the day.

5. High HUMIDITY - As we mentioned before we cultivate all our orchids very near to a Rain Forest so we have very mild weather here at the mountains, and our Humidity always is around 80 to 96%

6. MEDIA - the growing media should be appropriate for your climate or growing conditions, we love to use a mix: bark, perlite, lava rock and carbon, which is very airy and also allows it to drain very quickly.

Also for cattleya seedling we use our "curated" coconut husk to promote rapid root growth. We don't use spagmoss because it will rot the roots and the bulbs in our conditions.

When you purchase one of our Cattleya seedlings you will get it in a clay pot and in a coconut husk most of the time, please refer to each product description and photo for details.

Hope this help you understand what you need to consider before bringing an orchid to your home, you need to understand their requirements and the condition of grow in nature, so if your environment can't provide it , then you will need to consider adding some equipment like humidifiers, artificial lighting, a watering cycle routine and even a heat mat if it too cold.

Growing Cattleya Seedling is one of the most rewarding things, because you will enjoy the beautiful results of your efforts, patience and time, and you will be able to have in your collection exquisite orchids that otherwise will have cost you a fortune if you have bought it in the mature adult stage.

Visit us today and get your first Cattleya Seedling, the most rare and hard to find orchids species available in the market. Happy Shopping!

XOXO @La Foresta Orchids