Native to: Colombia. Cattleya quadricolor grows high up in trees where it is exposed to bright light and breezes. It is found growing on the eastern slope of the Andes mountains.
Plant Size: Medium. Unifoliate. Cattleya quadricolor has 8 or 9 inch tall compressed pseudobulbs with a single 12 inch (30 cm), dark green leaf. New growth begins in the fall (in the northern hemisphere) and the growth matures during the winter. Flowering occurs as the growth matures in the spring. The leaves are flexible. Similar in appearance to Cattleya trianae. The pseudobulbs rest before producing flowers.
Flower Size: 7 inch (16 cm)
Flower Description: Fragrant. Cattleya quadircolor produces only a few (2-4) flowers on a short stem. The flowers do not open fully and are cupped or bell-shaped. The petals and sepals are wide. The main flower color is white with rose, yellow, and purple markings on the lip.
Bloom Season: Winter
Growing Temperature: Cool to Intermediate.
Growing Information: Easy to grow and forgiving for beginners.
Light: Bright Cattleya conditions.
Humidity: Provide 80-85 percent humidity for most of the year. Its acceptable for summer humidity to drop into the 75-80 percent range.
Water: Plants should be watered regularly throughout the year, but they must drain well after watering. Cattleya quadricolor is more tolerant of excessive moisture than most other species or Cattleya orchid.
Growing Media: Plants are frequently grown mounted on cork slabs or in baskets, but some growers report success using pots with extremely open fast draining medium such as coarse bark nuggets. Whatever the choice of medium, it is critically important that the roots dry rapidly after watering or root rot is a near certainty. Use very small slabs for mounting this species because larger slabs retain to much water. Tree-fern slabs hold more water and should only be used only in very dry growing conditions. When mounting, do not use sphagnum moss between the mount and the plant because it retains too much moisture and promotes rot. Divide, repot, or remount only when new root growth is just starting. This lets the plant become established in the shortest possible time with the greatest success.
Synonyms: Cattleya chocoensis
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