Cattleya Skinneri – National Flower of Costa Rica

The flowers displayed are C Skinneri coerulea X C Skinneri alba, as far as I can tell, an unregistered hybrid. In nature this orchid grows mainly in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southeast part of Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. They usually grow in wet mountain forests. These orchids like strong winter light and good air movement all of the time. From late spring through autumn, these plants like lots of water, but they should always dry out quickly. During the winter months, they can be watered less. Fertilizer should also be reduced or even eliminated during the winter months. If you grow these orchids outdoors in Florida, root rot is a primary danger, particularly if you have the plant in a pot with some type of media. Many people grow these orchids in pots or baskets with a very coarse, open, fast draining media. Many growers will use a coarse grade fir-bark. If you grow in South Florida and your plants get rainfall, I would recommend mounting these orchids in a basket with little or no media. The downside to this method is that during very hot, dry weather, you may have to water more than once each day. I have actually found that from the beginning of spring through May in South Florida is the time of the year that one must be careful of the plant becoming too dry. During about two and one-half months, one may need to water thoroughly in the morning and again before noon. These plants most often bloom between February and June. It appears that there is some confusion over names, since some identify these plants as Cattleya deckeri while others say that C deckeri is a different plant – possibly a separate natural hybrid. I happen to own a plant that the seller labeled as C deckeri. My C deckeri looks very similar to the C Skinneri coerulea X C Skinneri alba except it always blooms EARLIER, usually in January.