It is indeed an honor to be a speaker at the
First Annual Western Orchid Congress. I am sure all of you have
seen the program and know that my subject is "Growing Cattleyas
from Seed to Flower in 2 1/2 Years".
As the normal time to flower Cattleyas, as
stated in most orchid books, is 4 to 7 years, I feel sure there
are some among you who have a little doubt in your minds. In
fact, a few of my friends has so much doubt they came to Vallemar
Gardens to check up ahead of time! I was very happy to see them
and have them satisfy themselves as to the truth of my statements.
So as not to mislead you, I have found through
my own experience that about 10% of a batch of seedlings will
flower in 2 1/2 years, 80% will flower in 3 years, and the balance,
usually through a weakness in the plant or improper culture,
will flower 6 to 12 months later. In my estimation, the value
of shortening the time of flowering the first 10% lies in the
fact that it gives a good indication of the quality of the entire
cross and you can decide at that time whether to keep or dump
it. Plants do not reqire much space or labor until they are shifted
from 3" pots and it pays to know before then how good the
cross is.
There are a lot of things that we do not know
about growing Cattleyas; they thought so 50 years ago; we still
think so. But as we go along from year to year we are gradually
increasing our knowledge of what the plant needs to make it grow
well, to flower when we want it to, and to produce the quality
and type of flower we want.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of spending
a couple of weeks in Hawaii. This trip was very valuable to me
in that it gave me an opportunity to gain knowledge I never would
have gained otherwise. Some of my very fine Hawaiian orchid growing
friends showed me Cattleya seedlings growing outdoors underneath
lath and flowering in 3 1/2 years without any trouble at all.
There they were taking full sunlight, the weather as it came
- wind, rain, or shine - and yet in 3 1/2 years from seed they
were in bloom. I wondered, if they could shorten the time of
flowering under those conditions, why in the world can't we under
conditions which we can control? To me this was a challenge.
I began to analyze and compare growing conditions there and here
and I found a number of things: first, they have a long day;
second, the temperature at night usually is about 70° F.;
third, the light intensity is very high over a long period of
time; and fouth, they feed heavily.
As I see it, the plant needs heat, it needs
light, it needs food, and for continuous growing it needs long
hours of daylight to store up energy so that the plant can grow
during darkness. It needs water to develop the growth and humidity
to reduce water loss by transpiration so there is an adequate
supply for growth. These six factors will give rapid growth if
they are applied in balance. The method I have used follows.
Flasks:
- nutrient formula, Knudson's C;
- temperature, 68-70°F. nights, 80-85°F.
days;
- relative humidity, 50%-70%;
- light intensity, started at 200 foot-candles,
increased gradually after germination to 400 foot-candles;
- day length, artificial light added to daylight
to a total of 16 hours, winter or summer, regardless of season;
- time in flasks, 4 to 6 months
- (1 growth completed).
Some of you might ask, "Why not go to
20 hours or 24 hours continuous light?" Well, the plant
needs some darkness to complete the process of food manufacture
and to produce growth. As far as I can determine, as yet, 16
hours does what I want it to do. There is a lot still to be learned
in this direction
Flats:
- planting medium, EZR Grow mixed with yellow
osmundine;
- temperature 68-70°F. nights, 80-90°F
days;
- relative humidity 50%-70%;
- light intensity, started at 400 foot-candles,
increased to a maximum of 600 foot-candles;
- daylength as above, 16 hours total;
- time in flats, 6 months
- (2 growths completed), elapsed time from
seed one year.
Plants are removed from the flask and transplanted
to flats, which I prefer to pots. Since we sell no plants, it
is not necessary to keep them in small containers. Pots, of course,
may be used. At this stage the plants are fed. The feeding program
is very gradual to begin with. I am not exactly an advocate of
light feeding - I feed heavily. I know you are going to ask,
"What are you using?" Well, I'll tell you. I am using
at this time a combination of W.P. solution and Hoagland's solution,
the exact amounts, which I determine myself, varying according
to the season of the year, the stage of growth, and the amount
of light at the time of feeding. This part of the program must
be worked out by the individual according to his location and
weather.
One and One-half Inch Pots:
- planting medium yellow osmundine;
- temperature same as flats;
- relative humidity same as flats;
- light intensity, gradually increased from
600 foot-candles to 1500 foot-candles;
- day length, same - 16 hours
- time in 1 1/2" pots, 12 months
- (2 growths completed), elapsed time from
seed, 2 years
During this stage, the feeding program is
again stepped up. I transplant from 1 1/2" pots to 3"
pots (and from 3" to 5"). I am a lazy man at heart
and like to save myself as much work as possible. Needless to
say, that a large shift can be made only if the plants have made
vigorous growths and a strong root system and the osmunda is
in good condition so the roots won't have to be disturbed.
Three-inch Pots:
- Planting medium, same as 1 1/2" pots,
yellow osmundine;
- temperature, 68°-70°F nights, 80°-95°F
days;
- relative humidity, 50% - 70%, or even 80%;
- light intensity, gradually increased from
1500 foot-candles to a maximum of 4000 foot-candles;
- day length, same - 16 hours
- time in 3" pots, 12 months
- (2 growths completed), elapsed time from
seed, 3 years. The first 10% will flower on the first growth,
2 1/2 years from seed.
The plants put on a growth about every six
months now. If the temperature goes to 100°F. or 105°F.
I wouldn't worry about it, but when running that kind of temperature
you do have to keep a high humidity. You cannot let it drop below
50% and I feel 70% or 80% relative humidity is necessary for
maximum growth. Here again food is applied to a maximum. With
the high light intensity it is most imortant that you build it
up gradually. With this increased light your colored-type Cattleyas
become very red, while your white varieties lose their green
color and become very pale yellow-green.
The method I use to apply artificial light
is a very simple one. Spacing 100 Watt incandescent lights at
intervals of 5 or 6 feet, suspended approximately 20" to
24" above the leaves of the plants gives approximately 40
foot-candles which is ample light for this method of growing.
A clock is used to turn the lights on and off automatically.
The artificial light may be added at either or both ends of the
day.
Any locality where there is good amount of
sunlight over a long period of the year, such as the coast of
California, is an ideal location for this type of growing. This
long daylight is needed to keep the plant growing continuously
and not allow it to rest. It must be remembered, though, if a
period of dull weather appears, a proportional reduction in the
length of artificial light must be made.
Another point I feel to be very important
is that, when growing with high light intensity, high temperatures
and high humidity must be maintained and watering must be increased.
These factors, in correlation with feeding, are the most important
part of this method of growing seedlings.
In conclusion may I add a word of caution
to the uninitiated. I would say - if you are going to try a program
of this type, gradually build your plants up to the light you
want to run. For instance, if you are growing at 200 or 400 foot-candles,
don't try to increase the light to 1500 foot-candles all at once.
As you know, it is like a sunburn. A person who has never been
exposed to the rays of the sun can step into it and get badly
burned in 15 minutes, but, by going into the sun for short periods
at a time and gradually increasing the length of time, one can
eventually stay out all day without any burn. Your plants are
very similar. There is no sense in burning your plants when it
is not necessary.
Now, what I have told you can be done by anybody.
If you have the necessary elements and if you correlate all the
factors, you should have no trouble in flowering your seedlings
in 2 1/2 to 3 years. Let us hope we continue to learn a little
every year and eventually we will reach our goal - success in
the field we love most.
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