A Cattleya by Any Other Name
Orchids, The American Orchid Society Magazine
June, 2003
Photographs by Francisco Miranda
How to Grow Laelia purpurata
Laelia purpurata has the same cultural requirements as the other large-flowered
Cattleya species. It benefits from lots of sun and moving air and a temperature
between 58–60 F (14.5–15.5 C) at night and 80–85 F (26.5–29.5
C) during the day. It usually begins sending up new growths in late summer
and early autumn in the United States. These growths will be completed
by mid-January or early February and buds will begin to form in the sheath
after a short rest period. The plants will flower from late May into June,
depending on the clone.
Give L. purpurata a few weeks’ rest after it flowers by minimizing
the watering, but do not let the pseudobulbs shrivel too much. Once the
plant begins to grow, it requires lots of water, particularly as the growth
elongates beyond 6 inches (15 cm). Laelia purpurata can develop some really
large pseudobulbs, often exceeding 20 inches (50 cm) from the base of
the pseudobulb to the tip of the leaf, if grown well. — A.A. Chadwick.