Sophronitis (Cattleya) coccinea

I don't know that I grow it exceptionally but I've started growing a number of them when they were not at my place of employment. The main factor I noticed was their response to being flushed. Very intolerant of salts. On the issue of water, the frequency is letting them be like a day from approaching dryness. Good humidity isn't something you struggle with. Temperature differential probably isn't a problem either. They are right against the water wall so temperatures in the day are probably in the mid 70s and lower 60s as a night temperature during these summer days.

I've got a couple from the old 4N lines of warmth tolerant ones mounted and some of the ones imported from Japan by Golden Gate Orchids and Cal Orchid growing in clay and moss. I try to keep the mounted ones wet and just spray the potted ones down in hopes of dissipating conducted heat through evaporation.

I go back to them a couple hours after fertilizing rinse them with RO. I think that is my success in growing them is to keep healthy roots.

 

Daniel is right-on on the culture. If you grow in moss, they don't seem to like being constantly wet. If you have moss or algae growing on your medium, I would say they are too wet. I like to water when the moss is almost dry. I have found sometimes that keeping them dry in the summer is better than keeping them moist or wet. If they are dry, they seem to put out roots in search of moisture. If they are wet, the roots rot. My best ones are grown hanging...they seem to like plenty of air circulation.
If they are mounted or have roots exposed, they need higher humidity and more frequent misting (every other day for me).
Pure water is a must. Very light fertilizer and then occasional flushing is good. Moss much be changed out yearly. Those in moss should be in small clay pots with enlarged drainage hole. Do not overpot. Keep the moss tight around the roots, not loose.
I agree with Daniel that keeping the roots is very important. Once you lose the roots the plants will slowly decline and they are hard to bring back to life. They tend to form roots in late summer (now), so it is a good time to change the moss just as new roots are forming.
PS. I hope to write an article on S. coccinea for the Orchid Digest.

Pete

 

I don't think it regularly gets below 55. In the winter however, since the cooling is shut off and the declination of the sun makes light come in at a weird angle, the temperatures will spike into the 80s. Coupled with low humidity, the temperature difference is a bit greater.

Apart from the wetness, I grow them the same way/area as my cuthbertsonii.

 

I'm adding my interest to this orchid. I bought one of these plants from a grower in Manchester, Michigan. The label says: Soph. cochinea "4N". I have owned it for a month now. I have it growing in a warm environment 75*F day time and around 65*F at night. It is in bright light. I have watered it with RO water. It has a lot of little growths. I have planted in a Neofinetia pot.

 

When I read someone call 75F warm, it is a reminder of the trouble I had initially with the cultural advise on the orchid books available when I was starting. 75F is the daily low temperature for most of the year where I live. The books were made for orchid growers in temperate zones. I have tried many "sophronitis" hybrids, some lived for a time, all eventually died probably because of the high temperatures. I read in an old AOS magazine, I think of the eighties, that they grow in places where the ground has huge waterholding bromeliads.

 

Hello Ricardo, this is an interesting point of view, and it reminds me that this forum is international. The irony is that this plant is a species endemic to Brasil. If I hadn't lived in Brasil, I would have thought that its climate would be similar to yours--tropical. However these plants come from the mountain region of Brasil and they require cooler temperatures. I lived in Rio de Janeiro for several months and I saw many of these plants growing in gardens.

Based on your observation, and your reference to an American Orchid Society article, I started looking around the Internet and found the article you mentioned. I hope it is okay to post a link. http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=334

This article has shown me I was doing somethings right and somethings wrong. Another irony, my plant was bred in Japan and was imported from there to Manchester, Michigan. This is mentioned in the article that the Japanese have been the largest market for these plants, outside of Brasil. They find the diminutive size of this plant appealing, and the flowers rewarding. And that is why I bought mine in the first place. Thank you Ricardo.

 

Vey nice healthy looking orchid she seems lo love the spot ... Post a pic when it has blooms

 

When I was starting in the orchid growing hobby, back in the eighties, all that was available in my locality were very basic books, some of which were written in England. Their advice was good if you had a green house or were growing at home in a temperate zone. I was seduced by the bright color of sophronitis hybrids and tried to grow a number of them. Their slow, slow deaths were a great lesson of trying to grow plants on a climate that was not suited for them.