Cattleya cernua bloomed for 17 days

     My Cattleya cernua bloomed on November 1.  Today, 17 days later the flower is wilted.

Cattleya cernua blooms

Blooming Cattleya cernua on mount

     My Cattleya cernua (also known as Sophronitis cernua) bloomed exactly 4 weeks after the bud first appeared.  The spike produced one single flower that is exactly 1" across.  The color is a reddish red-orange that is quite accurately represented in the picture above (or at least it is on my monitor).  There is no scent.

Closeup of Cattleya cernua flower

     My flower bloomed redder than many images I've seen online.  I expect that the recent cold temperatures (my orchid shelves are situated next to an always open window) as well as its close proximity to the light source have combined to intensify the red color.  

     The lip has a bright yellow near the center of the bloom, which fades into an orange-red of the rest of the petals.  The tips of the column are intensely purple.

     Below, is a series of photographs showing the bud maturation during the past month.  I found it interesting how the bud color changed from green, to a nearly black purple, before acquiring the reddish hue of the eventual flower.

Week 0

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Cattleya cernua bud 2 days before opening

Mounted Cattleya cernua in bloom

Flower buds on Sophronitis cernua

Sophronitis cernua

     Each of my two Sophronitis cernua orchids produced a new growth over the summer, which have now matured an opened.  One of these growths has something in the middle that looks like flower buds.

Flower bud on Sophronitis cernua

     The brownish segment on the left seems like the sheath, while the dark thing on the right seems to be a bud.  I am a little concerned by the blackish color of the bud.  It does not look very much like the macro photo of Sophronitis cernua buds here.  For now it seems to be growing, and I can only wait and see if it will bloom properly.

Re-mounting Sophronitis Cernua

Dead sphagnum moss on a Sophronitis cernua mount

     When I was first mounting the Sophronitis cernua back in May, I used some live sphagnum moss to pack around the roots for added humidity.  However, sphagnum moss needed constant humidity to survive, and soon turned into dead mush (picture above).  For all my other orchids, I've been using moss gathered from my parents' backyard in Michigan, to much greater success.  This kind of moss is hardier, and can better survive drying out.  As I had some of the hardy moss left-over from my dead den victoria-reginae's mount, I decided to transfer some of it over and remount the soph cernua.

Sophronitis cernua remounted with fresh live moss

     The remounting process went pretty smoothly.  The clam shells I used as mounts are generally too smooth for the orchid's roots to attach to, so I had no difficulty swapping out old moss for new and reattaching the orchids to the shell. The two shell halves did fall apart from each other, so now the two cernuas are each separately mounted.

     The orchids themselves are growing well, albeit slowly.  Each plant has one new growth, as well as multiple new roots.  If my growing conditions are right, then I can expect some flowers after the new growths mature.

     I also recently noticed that the orchid's leaves lost their purple edging. Interpreting that as a sign that it needs more light, I moved the orchid another 4-5 inches closer to the light source.

Mounting Sophronitis Cernua

Sophronitis cernua mounted on a clam shell

     Many culture guides for sophronitis cernua recommend growing it mounted.  The little orchid likes regular watering, and needs to dry out between them.  At first I wanted to keep my soph in a pot; I did not want yet another orchid that needed daily watering.  However, my soph was drying out daily in its little 3" clay pot.  Since I was watering daily anyway, I decided to go ahead and mount it.

two bare-root sophronitis cernuas

     This time I was more thorough at removing all the old media that had stuck to the roots (unlike last time, when I mostly left the old media attached).  In the process, I realized that I had two separate plants.  Presumably they had once been connected by an old psuedobulb which died.

     I didn't have any wood chunks on hand, but I did have a big clam shell, which I decided to use as an impromptu mount.  I used wire to attach the two little orchids to the shell, among some loosely packed live sphagnum moss.  I'm pleased with how the final result looks.

New Orchid: Sophronitis cernua

Root detail on new Sophronitis cernua orchid

     I am participating in an orchid growing project at the Orchid Board, where members vote on a project plant, and then all try their hand at growing the orchid.  The species selected for the Spring 2012 project is the lovely miniature: Sophronitis cernua.  This cattleya-alliance orchid is a native of Brazil and blooms with red-orange 1" flowers.  I look forward to learning how to grow the plant; with the healthy orchid I received today from J&L Orchids, I think I am off to a good start!

so small

     This blooming size orchid has 11 old pseudobulbs, and 2 new growths.  The leaves are just under 1" long.  The roots had attached to the old growing media such that I could not pry the old bark pieces off without doing considerable damage to the plant.  

Sophronitis cernua in new pot

     As a result, I kept most of the old media, and replanted into a slightly larger 3" clay pot. I added some fresh bark chips along the sides and bottom. I've read that root rot is a big concern with growing Soph cernua in pots, so everything is loosely packed and airy to allow for quick drying.

pot hanging 5" away from CFL light source

     I used some craft wire to hang the pot off the side of the shelf.  This way it's about 5 inches away from the light source.  I'll keep watch on the leaf color and be ready to move it further away if I see any signs of burn.