Baby Cattleya are growing

My tiny SLC (sophro-laelio-cattleya) came from international orchids exposition of Munich, they were inside an Orchi-pack, 5 small seedlings of about 2 cm with roots in feeding jelly. The seller told me that it would take up to 5 years for the first flowering and he recommended me to don't open the glass for the next two months, to keep them in a quite place and so repot in small bark with sphagnum moss; What a shame he did not tell me not to remove the external sachet.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
seedlings in sphagnum-therapy
(picture of 2 August 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot,

As soon as I discovered that the glass was not sealed without the bag I wrapped it in cling film hoping that it wasn't contaminated. I placed in a warm place, on top of the refrigerator, took light from the window facing East but far 2 meters and half. I've been waiting for 2 months, watching almost every day, progress has been minimal, not knowing if was their normal rate of growth or not I did not bother, then a panic morning : MILDEW! The whole jelly was covered with! AND EVEN SOME ROOTS! In the closed and wet pack if mildew is growing even fungi can quickly attack, the plants could be died. I immediately pulled out and washed well under running warm water; then 'cause I'm not so practical in Cattleya & Co. I didn't trust to repot them, so I placed in beautiful glass jar with a layer of about 3 cm of moist sphagnum around.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
seedlings 3 months after deflasking
(picture of 2 August 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
just repotted in sphagnum
(picture of 26 July 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea)
x Love Knot

They were "big" about 2 cm each. After three days on the smallest plant I saw a suspect fluff, again MOLD! At this point I decided to do an experiment on the smallest plant, I could not put it back in the jar with the other so I half-repotted it! In fact I put on the bottom of a transparent jar about 7 cm of diameter, with a layer of only 1 cm of wet sphagnum around the base, inside the small orchidarium. Thus, light from the window away two and a half meters plus artificial lights lit 14 hours a day, relative humidity never below 65% with peaks of 90%, minimum temperatures 21°C and maximum 28C°. By the second day I started to give to it a light spray of water in the morning increasing the amount gradually to give a light "shower"  when the roots are completely dry. That was two months ago today the 4 that were under glass are still pretty much the same, they are grown only a bit and you can also see some signs of a fungus attack of some roots, the fifth plant instead is all the rage in his mini pot with sphagnum, here it is, just repotted in the first picture and now, after 2 months of cultivation in sphagnum.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
3 months after deflasking, grow in sphagnum-moss
(picture of 26 July 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot

I thought a bit about that and at the end I decided to put also the other four in a pot with sphagnum , I was unsure whether to try in a pot with small bark and moss but when I pulled them out of the jar they were dehydrated and with a beginning of fungi and they could not survive in bark, do not have enough roots.

Sophro-laelio-cattleya
seedlings in pot with sphagnum-moss
(picture of 2 August 2012)
Hybrid: (Laelia Lucasiana x Cattleya violacea) x Love Knot

Of course I must be veeeery patient before get flowers, but in the meantime see them grow is already a great satisfaction!

Links to information sheets about: Laelia lucasiana and Cattleya violacea:

Go to sheets on IOSPE:
Laelia lucasiana - sheet on IOSPE
Cattleya violacea - sheet on IOSPE