Cattleya gaskelliana is native to Venezuela. These plants are usually found in coastal mountain valleys in north-eastern Venezuela, just west of the island of Trinidad. They grow at heights of 700-1000 m, at the tops of tall trees...
Cattleya gaskelliana also called as Gaskell's Cattleya, Cattleya elegantissima, Cattleya gaskelliana f. alba, Cattleya gaskelliana var. alba, Cattleya labiata var gaskelliana, is a species of the genus Cattleya. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1883.
IDENTIFY CATTLEYA GASKELLIANA
Cattleya gaskelliana is native to Venezuela. These plants are usually found in coastal mountain valleys in north-eastern Venezuela, just west of the island of Trinidad. They grow at heights of 700-1000 m, at the tops of tall trees. In the highest parts of the natural habitat, they grow on rocks, in full sun, on debris and boulders.
It is a medium sized, cool to warm growing epiphytic species, which reaching 43 cm in height, with clavate, compressed, grooved, up to 20 cm long and 2 cm in diameter pseudobulbs subtended by greyish sheaths and carrying a single, apical, elliptic-ovate, thick, coriaceous, 23 cm long and 7 cm wide leaf.
Gaskell's Cattleya blooms in the late spring and late summer on a terminal, 9 cm long, few, fragrant flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb subtended by a large basal sheath. The flowers usually have less than 13 cm in diameter, but sometimes they reach a width of even 17 cm. The coloring of flowers is extremely variable, ranging from white to amethyst purple, often with darker edges of the petals of both whorls. The lip is usually paler with a large yellow stain in the throat. The color varieties have a prominent apical part of the middle plot, on which a purple-purple patch with a few veins appears variable in size. The intensity of the color of this spot varies from light to very dark. The alba form bulb has only a yellow stain in the throat.
CATTLEYA GASKELLIANA CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Cattleya gaskelliana needs a light level of 25000-35000 lux. The highest level of light takes place during the winter of the dry season. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
Throughout the year, the average temperature of the day is 28-29 ° C, the night 17-19 ° C, and the daily difference is 8-11 ° C.
Humidity:
Gaskell's Cattleya needs the humidity of 80-85%, for most of the year, but at the end of winter it drops to 75%.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Cattleya gaskelliana are usually grown in pots with a very loose, quickly drying substrate that provides the roots with excellent aeration. You can use medium-sized bark pieces, often mixed with perlite and charcoal. These plants can be repotted or divided only when the growth of new roots begins.
Watering:
The cultivated plants should often be watered during active growth, but the roots must always dry quickly after watering. At the end of autumn, when new growths reach maturity, the amount of water should be gradually reduced.
Fertilizer:
Weekly use of 1/4-1/2 orchid fertilizer dose is recommended. From spring to mid summer, a balanced or high nitrogen fertilizer should be used, but at the end of summer and autumn high phosphorus fertilizer should be used.
Rest period:
At the end of winter and early spring, Cattleya gaskelliana should dry more, but they can never remain completely dry for more than a few days. Occasional morning fogging between waterings, especially in sunny weather, will give your plants health.
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