Cattleya jenmanii occurs in Guiana, Venezuela and on the borders of Brazil, where it grows epiphytic in trees in deep forests along rivers at an altitude of 400 to 1200 meters above sea level...
Cattleya jenmanii also called as Jenman's Cattleya, is a species of the genus Cattleya. This species was described by Robert Allen Rolfe in 1906.
IDENTIFY CATTLEYA JENMANII ORCHID PLANT
Cattleya jenmanii occurs in Guiana, Venezuela and on the borders of Brazil, where it grows epiphytic in trees in deep forests along rivers at an altitude of 400 to 1200 meters above sea level.
It is a small sized, hot to warm growing, unifoliate epiphytic species with clavate, clustered, compressed, 15-18 cm long pseudobulbs subtended by 4 persistent sheaths carrying a single apical, elliptic-oblong, coriaceous, acute, about 20 cm in length and 7 cm in width leaf.
Jenman's Cattleya blooms in the summer and fall on a short to 10 cm, terminal, 3 to 7 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb subtended by a basal spathe. The flowers are fragrant, from light to dark carmine-red, about 15 cm in diameter. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, and petals are ovate, less often narrowed ovate, wavy along the rim, often with lighter (rarely whitish) denticles. The lip in the form of a folded paper, covers a column inside itself, its shape is ovate, wavy along the rim, inside yellow or orange, often with red-brown veins, in front has a darker spot. The column is white, about 3 cm in length.
CATTLEYA JENMANII ORCHID PLANT 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 jenmanii loves bright sunlight and is able to tolerate direct morning and evening sunshine (25000-35000 Lux), however, on hot summer noon on windows of southern orientation it should be protected from direct sunlight, by placing it behind a curtain (for example, on a table near the window) or in the shadow of other plants, otherwise the orchid leaves can get sunburn. Bright sunlight is one of the main prerequisites for flowering orchids of this species, and if lighting is insufficient (especially during the development of new shoots), then the blossom will simply not bloom, as new pseudobulbs grow underdeveloped, i.e. incapable of flowering. During the whole year, the duration of the light day should be at least 10 hours, ideally 16 hours.
Temperature:
This type of orchid refers to a moderately warm temperature regime, and throughout the year the plants are kept under the following conditions: Day temperature at 22-30 ° C; Night temperature at 20-25 ° C. For the successful cultivation at home, it is necessary that the night temperature of the content is always 3-4 ° C lower than the daytime temperature.
Humidity:
In the natural habitats, the relative humidity of the air seldom falls below 70%. In conditions of high humidity, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room where the plants are kept, since wet, stale air is an ideal medium for the mass reproduction of various fungal and bacterial diseases.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Cattleya jenmanii can be grow in pots and hanging lattice baskets and placed on blocks. The substrate must be very well breathable, therefore, the mixture of the bark of coniferous trees with charcoal and sphagnum moss (10-20%) is best in its quality. When growing orchids on blocks to prevent rapid drying of the root system of the plant, it is recommended to make a small interlayer of moss between it and the block. Above the roots, you can also put live or dry sphagnum.
Repotting is desirable only when it is really necessary, for example, in cases of severe salinization or condensation of the substrate, at its critically high or low pH (the norm of 5.5 to 6.5) or , when the plant will grow very much and the pot will become too small for it (pseudobulbs will begin to hang from the edges of the pot). The best time for transplant is the time when new orchid sprouts reach a size of 5 cm and begin to build up their own roots.
Watering:
Watering this kind of orchids directly depends on the overall temperature of the content, the higher it is, the more often and abundant it is necessary to water. Plants growing on blocks, it is desirable to water daily in the morning, so that by evening their roots could dry out relatively well. When watering orchids in pots, it is necessary to remember that excess water during watering should flow freely out of the pot, as the stagnation of water both inside the pot and in its pallet can very quickly lead to rotting of the roots and the lower part of the plant. The substrate between waterings should dry well, since this kind of orchids is very much prone to decay.
Fertilizer:
During the new growth period, this type of orchid is fertilized every 2 weeks in 1/2 of the fertilizer concentration indicated on the package. In addition to the usual root top dressing, it is also recommended to produce a foliar dressing, when a very much diluted fertilizer is sprayed on the outer part of the plant. It is best to feed the orchid, alternating both these methods. The best fertilizer is fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in equal parts, for example, NPK = 3-3-3 or 8-8-8. If you do not have such a fertilizer, then at the beginning of the growing season (the emergence of new shoots), feed the orchid with a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, and when the sprout reaches 1/2 of its normal growth - fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
In winter, Cattleya jenmanii undergoes a short rest period when the plants contain somewhat drier and colder than usual and do not fertilize. Beginning from the middle of November, these orchids are placed on the lightest of the possible (for autumn) places and are kept at ideal temperature around 12 ° C, however, it is possible at 14-16 ° C during the day and 12 ° C at night. Watering should be coordinated at relatively lower temperatures and produced only slightly when the substrate does not just dry very easily, but at least 14-20 days will be completely dry, when growing the plants on blocks, to avoid deadly drying of the roots once a week lightly sprayed from the spray gun. With the advent of new shoots (as a rule, in late February) the dormancy period ends and the watering of the orchid resumes in the usual volume.
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