Cattleya velutina
1 2
After dealing with orchids for
a while it is easy to get tired of seeing so
many beautiful flowers, but sometimes
a particular one touches us in a way we
cannot explain. One of these is Cattleya
velutina, a Brazilian beauty that holds a
special appeal for many. Could it be desir-
able because the species is so often quoted
as being “difficult” or because it is on the
verge of extinction, if not already extinct?
Maybe we focus too much on the small de-
tails and fail to start with an understanding
of the overall cultural requirements. That’s
what happens with C. velutina, I believe.
Cattleya velutina is a bifoliate with
slender, relatively tall pseudobulbs. It
once grew in southeastern Brazil, an area
subject to two distinct climatic regimens:
the fresh, relatively cold dry period (May
through August and September) and the
hot, rainy period.
The survival of this species — so it can
bring joy to future generations — depends
on us and on our ability to keep healthy
plants, as many as we can. I hope these reflec-
tions can help us with its culture and, once we
feel confident, with its reproduction.
There’s no magic or secret to growing
C. velutina. This essay is based on my ex-
336 Orchids june 2010 www.AOS.org
periences of how to achieve good cultural
conditions for this species and, as you will
see, everything here is known already. So,
answering in advance the question I am
sure many will ask — “Why, then, write
an article on something we already know?”
— I’d answer, “To refresh our memories.”
When we grow more than a few orchids we
have the tendency to simplify and standard-
ize our cultural practices and this can make
a huge difference in whether we succeed
with a specific plant.
When talking with other enthusiasts
about uncommon cattleyas, C. velutina
often comes up for discussion. The first
comment is that the species is difficult. The
second is that any given adult plant survives
in artificial cultivation for a few years and
then dies. Also, it is common to hear that
the seedlings are a challenge to grow to
maturity, most of them dying before that
time. Who, having some interest in Cattleya
species, didn’t hear statements such as these
as if they were definitive statements about
this species? The failures in cultivating C.
velutina created a reputation that is now dif-
ficult to change. Whatever the truth behind
those comments, I am sure that most of the
failures are the result of inappropriate cul-
[1] This 20-inch- (50-cm-) tall specimen of
Cattleya velutina flowers in February.
Grower: Waldomiro Terassan.
[2] Cattleya velutina bears several flowers on
an inflorescence. Grower: Mauro Rosim.
ture practices. I will not be so optimistic as
to say that these perceptions are not based
on experience, or are unfounded. I agree
that C. velutina has its own requirements
and is not as easy to grow as many other
cattleyas, but I feel confident that it is not
much more difficult than Cattleya forbesii,
Cattleya granulosa, Cattleya bicolor, Cat-
tleya schilleriana or, to a certain extent,
Cattleya intermedia.
The first important thing is that C.
velutina is a bifoliate with slender stemlike
pseudobulbs. Knowing this is crucial and
essential in understanding how to grow
this orchid. Bifoliate cattleyas lack a robust
ability to store water for future uses, and
along with other bifoliates that are even
more sensitive, such as Cattleya tenuis and
C. bicolor, whose stemlike pseudobulbs are
also slender, C. velutina cannot rely on its
pseudobulbs to store water and nutrients
when needed because they are too thin.
A Brazilian Species with Precise Cultural Needs
text and photographs by mauro rosim

[3] A single flower of Cattleya velutina.

Grower: Mauro Rosim.
[4] This clone of C. velutina lacks the
characteristic yellow band on the lip.
Grower: Mauro Rosim.
[5] CAPTION TO COME. Grower: TO COME.

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www.AOS.org June 2009 Orchids 337


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Also, the leaves are somewhat thinner than
average for bifoliate cattleyas, making it dif-
ficult for plants to recover from desiccation.
Because of this, I believe that most plants of
C. velutina that die in cultivation do so due to
dehydration; this can lead to diseases.
When growing C. velutina, it is essen-
tial to adopt cultural practices that minimize
the risk of dehydration. If C. velutina starts
dehydrating, it is a challenge to bring it back
to a healthier condition. One of the main
reasons leading to dehydration is the dam-
age we inflict on the roots through cultural
practices. Cattleya velutina has an umbili-
cal dependence on healthy roots and will
suffer a lot, if even a partial loss occurs, and
will most likely die if it continues to lose all
roots. In this last case, the leaves quickly
wrinkle, losing their characteristic leathery
condition, and start yellowing. At this point,
with no roots, they have little or no ability
to get water and it becomes difficult to save
the plant. Even though you provide more
water or a more humid environment, saving
the plant is not easy.
I can’t establish the exact point of no
return, but once the water balance inside the
plant is disturbed in some way, it seems that
most times the plant is unable to recover from
the descending health trajectory. In my opin-
ion, this is the species’ major weakness.
With this in mind, it becomes clear
that any discussion of C. velutina’s basic
cultural requirements must be organized
and guided by the big picture. And it’s here
that I feel I am going to disappoint some
readers because all we need to understand
to have a well-cultivated specimen of C.
velutina is already known.
During the seedling phase, monitor
C. velutina carefully. So, the first thing
we have to do is let the plant teach us. We
need to learn its vital cycles and care for it
338 Orchids june 2010 www.AOS.org
[6] A comparison of the thin stemlike pseu-
dobulbs of C. velutina with a finger.
[7] New roots emerging into a fresh medium
consisting of 30 percent styrofoam beads
and 70 percent Brazilian native red moss,
which is similar to sphagnum moss.
according to those, aiming always to ensure
the plant doesn’t lose its roots, or at least
that loss of roots is kept to a minimum.
How do we learn those vital cycles? If
you don’t want to rely on your memory, take
notes. Write down the important events:
things such as when the new roots appear
(breaking through the rhizome), when the
new shoots start their growth cycles and
when they finish, how tall the new growths
are, whether or not a floral sheath is pres-
ent, when you notice dry or rotted roots, the
general temperatures throughout the year,
when and what kinds of diseases appear,
when you observe shriveling leaves and
other cultural practices, such as watering
frequency, fertilizing frequency, fertilizer
type (chemical, organic), how often you
thoroughly water the medium to remove
salt buildups and so on.
After awhile, the data will tell a story.
Decisions such as when to repot, fertilize,
water and do nothing become clearer and
easier to execute.
Let’s assume everything else is good
(suitable, disease-free medium, good-qual-
ity water, adequate light levels, tempera-
tures, watering frequency, etc.) and focus on
the two most likely problematic situations:
repotting and fertilizing.
One of the most common reasons for
loss of new roots occurs when they are
emerging from the rhizome and finding
the medium. If the root tips encounter salt
buildups due to excessive fertilization they
will be burnt; the chemical salts steal water
from the nearest wetter thing they find and
because these are the root tips, the healthy
cycle is interrupted. New roots emerge
when development of the new pseudobulb
is finished or almost so, usually in May. I
recommend you take all the care necessary
from March on to not heavily fertilize and
sporadically thoroughly rinse the medium
to remove, or reduce to a minimum, any
possible salt formations. If you use organic
fertilizer, then you will need to be careful
to leave no residue on the substrate surface
by the time the new roots emerge because
it probably will burn them. It is simple, but
frequently we don’t pay enough attention.
Does this mean that you are not allowed to
fertilize your plant during this period? No,
it doesn’t. You may fertilize with chemicals
as long as you fertilize now and thoroughly
water your plant 20 minutes later. This is a
recommended practice I adopt every time
I fertilize with chemical fertilizers.
Let’s see when to do nothing. Knowing
how essential roots are, you want to leave
the plant where it is for as long a time as
possible, because you don’t want to disturb
the roots. Wait for the plant’s rhizome to
reach the rim of the pot before repotting.
Do not keep repotting for the sake of repot-
ting, or because you don’t like the old pot.
Disturb the plant only when needed.
Know when to repot. Looking at your
records, you are now able to establish a
relation between the emergence of new
roots and the new-growth development
stage. You also know that repotting, even
the most careful repotting, inflicts damage
to the roots, at least to a degree. So you
want to ensure the root damage is minimal
in order to try to limit the negative effects
on the plant. For that, you need to decide on
two important things: first, when to repot
and second, how to do it.
The new roots are key because the plant
will rely on them if something bad occurs
to the old roots. If you need to ensure that
the new roots grow healthy, then the best
decision is to repot right before they usually
appear so that by the time they emerge there
is fresh and clean medium to grow into. It’s
often recommended that repotting be done
when new roots begin to appear. In my opin-
ion, this is a simplification, but can be fol-
lowed, with some risk, when the plant does
not show any reliable pattern as to when the
new roots appear. But, you need to remember
that the young roots are fragile and the tips
break under the slightest touch.
Remembering the condition of the
young roots is important to remember at
repotting time as well. Having decided to
repot, unpot your plant and observe the
medium. If it is broken down, consider
removing it with flushing water. By doing
this you can have the root system clean while
minimizing potential risk. If the substrate is
not decayed and the plant can stay in it for
more time (it depends on plant size) then you
would want to simply remove the plant from
the old pot and place it in the new, larger one,
filling the empty space with fresh medium,
thereby restraining your interference to the
minimum needed. If your plant is mounted
and firmly tightened and you need to remove
it for some reason, then you’re in trouble.
Choosing the medium is a challenge.
Most epiphytic orchids can grow in or on
a support — or no support at all. It depends
on the environment and our availability to
care for them. So, the medium you choose
is less important than adapting your cultural
practices. Nevertheless, the choice you
make now can make all the difference when
the repotting time arrives. 8
I once used tree-fern fiber and a plastic
pot for C. velutina, but now I’ve been using
sphagnum moss (actually, kind of similar to
what we have here in Brazil) and a clay pot
with good results. When moved from an-
other kind of medium — not only the adult
plants of C. velutina, but also several other
cattleyas — the plants take a few months to
adapt to the sphagnum moss, but once ad-
justed they do well. I see some advantages
for using it, but this is my personal choice
and it works well in my growing conditions.
If you feel your growing conditions allow
you to use moss, activities such as remov-
ing the plant from the old pot or removing
the old moss from the roots using water is
less traumatic to the plant, while providing
good stability to the newly repotted plant,
good watering control and so on.
In the past, I also had my failures with
this beautiful species just as everybody else
most likely has had, and also believed for a
while that the plant itself was too tricky for 9
some intrinsic reason, but I’ve changed my
mind. I’ve been growing my plant (and a his academic degree in economics at the [8] Small seedlings of C. velutina in 2-inch
bunch of seedlings) for the last six years and University of São Paulo in the 1970s and (5-cm) clay pots.
they have not died, so I believe I’ve been started growing orchids in 1982 when pre- [9] Recently repotted 6-inch- (15-cm-) tall
learning something of how to deal with this sented with a plant of Cattleya intermedia. seedlings of C. velutina in 4-inch (10-cm)
species. Some friends that took on the task Today, he has a small property in the coun- clay pots.
also are successful in keeping plants alive try where he grows about 2,000 orchids.
for a long time. He is especially interested in the Cattleya
I was only able to grow Cattleya alliance, mostly species, although he also
velutina successfully when I was able to grows some classic hybrids. Other genera
incorporate the small but important cultural in his collection include Oncidium, Vanda,
details outlined here. I encourage you to Paphiopedilum, Dracula, Zygopetalum,
try growing and preserving this beautiful, Maxillaria, Pleurothallis, Bulbophyllum
perfumed Brazilian Cattleya species. and a few terrestrials. He is a member of
the Associacao Orquidofila de Santo Andre,
Mauro Rosim lives and works in Santo a regional orchid society, where he serves
Andre, one of the cities of the Big São as director for orchid matters. (e-mail ms-
Paulo, Brazil. He was born in 1956, earned rosim@ig.com.br).

www.AOS.org June 2009 Orchids 339