Hi there :)

I say go for it!
Since you already have phaps and phals, you should be able to take care of cattleyas with no problems, requiring probably just minor adjustments in where you locate the cattleya.
The main thing that will be different, as you already stated is that catts prefer more light.

Depending on where the cattleya was located in the original nursery in the first place, you may need to re-acclimate it anyway to your home prior to placing it in the intended location.

Here are a few suggestions:
1. If the cattleya was indoors and appeared to be just under store lights for quite some time, then initially place the orchid in the same spot as your phals. Then you can slowly move it towards a brighter area.

2. If the cattleya was getting a lot of sun/bright light at the store, then try to find the brightest area where you want to place the plant. And then place it in an area that is a few notches darker.

It would be better to introduce them to less light and then move it up. Giving them too much light/heat initially could result in sunburn, as you have seen with your phals.

Great advice above. I say go for it too. You won't really know until you try. And if you find you need a little supplemental light to make the difference, it's easy and cheap to add that.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the advice. I guess I won't know until I try, but I'm still very new to this.

I guess my real concern here is keeping the humidity around the plant up as this Blc. should prefer a bit higher base level of humidity than my paphs and phals do.

I do what I can in the winter to maintain comfortable humidity in my apartment, less for the plants and more for myself. I recently purchased a hygrometer and while the humidity during the day stays pretty much between 50% and 60% near the leaves, by morning the humidity can drop to nearly 40%. Add to that the fact that the brightest light situation in my apartment is entirely too close to a radiator and I begin to think I'm biting off more than I can chew (perhaps it's just having been told for so long that it's hard to keep orchids alive).

As far as the conditions it's been growing in. I'd basically be moving it from the greenhouse (not a showroom attached to it) to my house, so it would be stepping down a notch in comfort no matter what. This makes me think that moving it in late April might be wiser as it will spend less time so close to a radiator that's on while it adjusts to its new home.

I'm in NY with humidity ranging around 20%-25% all winter. My Cattleyas manage and grow in this desert. All my orchids are grouped together, which helps a tiny bit. I don't worry about humidity, it's just not possible for me to increase it. My room is very large with high ceilings and I've tried humidifiers, vaporizers, etc, with little change.
Your biggest challenge will be light and warmth. Go for it. If you can't get flowers, you'll need to add a light. Buy a whole bunch and put them together...sorry, I got carried away...

Jane

Well, if you can grow them in humidity that low then I can do the same. Thanks for the encouragement Jane!

As Jane says, I too have found that light and temperature are far more important than humidity. If they don't have the right light, nothing else matters.I have forced hot air heat and that is really, really dry, but somehow my plants manage. Next will be watering. Water the plant well and then let it get dry. If at all possible put your catt outside for the summer. Even a couple of months will do wonders for it and enable it to manage through the dry desert of winter heat.

I wondered this myself not too long ago, and now I have three. I have a nearly identical situation. I live in Michigan, and I also have a southeast facing window. All of my phals are sitting back away from the window, but my maxillaria and three cattleya alliance types are all up in the sill, where they are loving it and flowering!

I have cattleyas in a south facing window in Chicago, and they do fine. I agree with the advice around light--that's the big factor. You might have to add a supplemental light by your window, that's all.
But here's something I discovered about growing cattleyas near bright street lamps: Some species are sensitive to nighttime light and it inhibits their blooming. So see what's in the genetic background of Ports of Paradise and if C. mossiae or C. labiata are prominent, I would try another kind. Bifoliate types don't have this problem.
But do make sure to try cattleyas!

Margo, that's great advice, but I'm not quite sure I know how to go about finding the genetic history of this particular hybrid. I know it's a cross of Brassolaeliocattleya Fortune x Brassavola digbyana, but I don't know what makes up Blc. Fortune.

It sounds like a bifoliate type is an absolute necessity for me as there is tons of light pollution at my windows. Looks like I'm going to have to do more research before finding a proper cattleya for my home. I should be looking for plants that have more than one leaf on their pseudobulbs then?

Sorry, i'm a bit confused, but I'm getting there.