Cattleya maxima

A unifoliate Cattleya from the seasonally dry forests of Ecuador and northern Peru, with club-shaped pseudobulbs and lavender-pink flowers whose lip has a dark central stripe and branching veins. A lowland form bears up to 12–15 flowers per stem and an upland form 3–6 flowers, growing on trees or on rocky slopes. It wants bright light, warmth and a distinct drier season.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Epiphytic on trees in dry deciduous and semi-deciduous forest of the Pacific slope and inter-Andean valleys; the upland form also grows lithophytically on rocky slopes. These forests are open and bright, with a long dry season often softened by coastal mist.

From about 100 to 1,800 m, with the many-flowered lowland form near the coast and the few-flowered upland form higher up. Our data file had no usable wild records.

Ecuador (western lowlands and Andean slopes)Peru (north)Colombia (southwest, few records)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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More Cattleya

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.