Species library › Cattleya › Cattleya velutina
Orchids Well documented

Cattleya velutina

A bifoliate Cattleya of the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil with fragrant, glossy tawny-yellow flowers spotted maroon, described by Reichenbach in 1870. It is a warm-intermediate epiphyte of humid forest; grow it bright, evenly moist in summer and a little drier and cooler in winter.

Cattleya velutina
Photo: Orchi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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

An epiphyte in humid Atlantic Forest, on trees in fairly bright, open parts of the canopy. Species-specific habitat notes were not reachable, so light is estimated from related bifoliate cattleyas.

Few records carry an elevation; the measured sites suggest lowland to mid-elevation forest.

Brazil Southeast

🔒 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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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.