How to Grow Orchids in California

Grow cattleyas indoors at 55 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Alternatively, in an area of California that experiences that temperature range in the summer, take the potted cattleya outdoors for the warm season. Keep it under the canopy of a tree so it receives dappled sunlight. Move the plant inside for the winter, placing it in bright, indirect light. Move the orchid to a brighter location or put it under a grow lamp if the leaves turn dark green.

Plant cattleyas in fir bark, a very airy medium ideal for growing epiphyte orchids such as this one. Epiphyte plants climb trees and rocks, exposing their roots to the air, from which they draw nutrients and moisture.

Dilute a water-soluble 30-10-10 fertilizer to 25 percent strength and water the orchid with the preparation. Irrigate cattleyas only when the soil becomes completely dry. Apply the prepared nutrient until excess flows out of the pot's drainage holes. Irrigate the plant with plain water every six weeks to leach fertilizer salts accumulated in the soil.

Fill a plant tray with pebbles. Add water to it. Place the cattleya on the pebbles to expose it to the humidity the evaporating water generates. Verify that the pot's drainage holes are above the water line to prevent the fir bark from absorbing moisture through them. Spray the leaves with water in the morning on hot summer days.