Cattleyas, a great greenhouse plant

Cattleyas are a great addition to any orchid collection.  They are often fragrant and very long lasting on the plant, but not as long lasting as phalaenopsis blooms.  Cattleyas require more light than phalaenopsis but still in the category of 'bright shade'.  This makes them difficult to grow by a window, but they tend to thrive in a greenhouse setting if given adequate shading.  Cattleyas can be grown without a greenhouse it just takes a little more ingenuity.

The fragrance is one of the things I like most about Cattleyas. There is a wide variation in fragrance but typically very delightful.  When the plants have larger blooms they can fill up the nearby area with the smell.  

The blooms typically last about a month under good conditions.  The lighting required to make them happy plants is a bit brighter than what Phalaenopsis prefer.  There is also a range of optimal lighting depending on the species of Cattleya in it's background.  Some Cattleyas will have their leaves burned by light levels that would be fine for others.  Burn spots on the leaves are a good sign that the light level is too high at some point in the day.  

Getting enough light is important to producing enough energy to bloom.  It's best to have near optimal light levels in the months leading up to blooming.  For Cattleyas the blooming time is often seasonal.  One trick to blooming Cattleyas without a greenhouse is to purchase them in bloom in the fall or early winter.  This works well if you have a way to provide brighter light during the summer so that they are going into the blooming period with a lot of energy.  One way to do this is with a pergola or other structure that provides the bright shade that Cattleyas love.

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