Cattleya percivaliana

Also known as: Christmas Orchid or Cattleya percivaliana h.v. reichenbachi Cattleya percivaliana h.f. coerulescens Cattleya percivaliana h.v. o'brien Cattleya percivaliana h.f. suave Cattleya percivaliana h.f. atropurpurea Cattleya percivaliana h.f. trilabiata Cattleya percivaliana h.f. semialba Cattleya percivaliana h.f. albescens Cattleya percivaliana h.v. percivaliana Cattleya percivaliana h.f. aquinii Cattleya percivaliana h.v. grandiflora h.f. alba Cattleya percivaliana h.f. rubra Cattleya percivaliana h.f. coerulea Cattleya percivaliana var. grandiflora Cattleya labiata var. percivaliana Cattleya percivaliana var. bicolor Cattleya percivaliana f. alba Cattleya percivaliana f. bicolor Cattleya percivaliana var. alba in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: Departamento del Huila - Colombia

General Information

Christmas Orchid is a sympodial warm to hot growing epiphytic orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to Colombia.

Plant Description

Sympodial. Grows to 40cm. Each new growth has a single erect rigid leaf that grows to 25cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 15cm

Flowers

Numerous short lasting blossoms appear during Winter

Fragrance

The fragrance can be described as curious and musty

Blooming Season

• Winter

Substrate(s)

• Coarse
• Medium
• Bark
• Charcoal
• Perlite

Care Notes

These orchids like to be kept on the dry side, but may need to be watered daily during warm weather, and prefer a well draining mix or also do well mounted, provided they can be watered regularly.

These are quite a forgiving orchid, there are no special requirements to get this orchid to flower, just good care and consistent conditions. Larger plants may be more fussy and can react poorly to change; a poorly timed repotting, a pest infection or an unusually hot day can set them back for a couple of years. However, even plants that have been treated poorly can thrive, and if they are set back they often recover much stronger then they would otherwise be.

Climate

Grows at high elevations. Rainfall ranges from 46mm to 274mm per day, heaviest in October and lightest in February. Humidity ranges from 77% to 84%, highest in November and lowest in August. Temperature ranges from 12C to 26C, highest in August (14C to 26C) and lowest in January (12C to 22C).

Watering

Keep moisture levels up during hot weather as the plant is prone to dehydration

Fertiliser

Apply liquid based fertiliser per recommended directions. They can benefit from a high phosphate fertiliser leading up to flowering season, followed by a high nitrogen fertiliser when new growth appears, and a balanced fertiliser in other times. These orchids can also tolerate slow release fertiliser applied 1-2 pellets per cup (250ml) of media.

Apply fertiliser regularly at half strength year round. Use a high Nitrogen fertiliser during Spring and Summer. Use a high Phosphorous fertiliser during Summer. Reduce fertiliser when plant is dormant during Spring.

Potting

These plants are quite forgiving and will do well repotted ever 2-3 years. The mix should be coarse, well draining, and allow space for air to move and for roots to grow. 

Alternatively, these plants will also do well mounted to tree fern or cork slabs, or mounted to trees.

Best time for repotting or mounting the orchids is the end of winter when new growths start to appear. Avoid repotting during hot weather,

This plant does very well in baskets or suspended pots This plant does well mounted to Cork slabs.