Monnierara millenium magic witchcraft

[Maru777]

Today I have many questions please do not ask me why I bought this little plant when 1. I never had a Catasetum type before,2. It’s a seedling, 3. I am not that big of a fan of “black” flowers I like the bright colored ones or white, 4. I live in the tropics so I don’t have any plants that go dormant. 5. I had never heard of it before. *Sigh* I blame it on attending an orchid show for the first time. Anyway, now I have it and I love it because it’s really cute. So I did some research on it but I am not sure about some things. Hopefully I can get a bit of help and more clarification from wiser heads.
The little thing is clearly dormant now so I understand I should leave it be and not water it and of course no fertilizer. So I complied, no water for it unless it starts to shrivel. I am not sure though if I can repot it or if I should repot it right now. I understand it grows a lot in a season and it’s in a little (ugly) pot. The second part of this is how wrinkled should I let it get before I add some water and if I do how much should I add? Is it ok to soak it once and just let it dry a while after? Also, I am not sure how long it will stay dormant but I understand I should let it grow some roots before I water. In this pot I won’t be able to see roots so I was thinking to repot for that reason as well. Also from what I read the roots should be allowed to grow several inches before watering but because this is a seedling I think that might not make too much sense. Help please!

[Roberta]

The answer to "Why did I get it??" is, you are addicted to orchids and the "different" is irresistible.

Now is a good time to repot. You can put it in a pot that is a little larger although it would be OK in that one for another year. The pseudobulb looks fine... I think it will stay nice and fat without water. If you see little ridges on the surface, perhaps a little water once, but no more. Once you see new growth, your resolve will be tested.... it is soooo tempting to start watering. No... wait. Roots do go down into the medium so you can't see how long they are but there are other signs. First, the new leaves should be opened out - so they will be of substantial size by then. Also, after the first group of roots, a second batch will start about the time that the leaves spread out, and you will see them before they plunge into the medium. When you see that second group of roots, it will be time to start watering.

As the new growth matures, it will LOVE your tropical climate.(Even when dormant it needs warmth... the species in the Catasetinae group come from tropical but seasonally dry areas) When it is growing, it will want as much water as you can give it, and and also give it fertilizer (like twice as much as the rest of the orchids, or time-release tyep also good), because it will grow so fast that you can almost see it grow.

[Maru777]

Originally Posted by Roberta

The answer to "Why did I get it??" is, you are addicted to orchids and the "different" is irresistible.

I think so. At least I asked the vendors if the plants were ok with warm weather

Thank you very much for the detailed explanations! I think I will repot it to a clear pot so I can see the little roots and get rid of the ugly pot, but will try to disturb it as little as possible so it can “nap” quietly until it’s ready to wake up. Fingers crossed! I discovered that I really love seedlings / baby plants / rescues. Flowers are glorious but seeing a plant grow or get better and then bloom is just very special. It’s really helpful and appreciated to have such supportive answers to help a newbie pull it off

[DirtyCoconuts]

Hi maru!!
Welcome

I have almost the identical seedling lol. I got mine for like $5 at the ft lauderdale orchid show too funny I bet it was the same vendor as the tag and pot are the same. I’ll post up a few pix of mine tomorrow but I just swapped out the moss for hydroton (Leca) and raised the build up about an inch. They had it so low I could not see any of the bottom and i like to see the new growth right away. When I took it out mine had three really decent roots of about 1.5 inches

Anyhoo. Fast forward a week and there is a little green pimple on the bottom and the game begins

I see about three pinhead new roots which is very encouraging and I am planning to mist the leca once of twice a week but leave it alone until the new growth is the size of the current bulb

We live in special climates (you more than I) where we can get away with a lot of help from ma nature

If you place that bad boy in some lava rock and perlite or other inorganic media, you could probably water it freely without damage as lone as you have good air movement(grow it out doors)

I don’t know if you have ever seen this plant bloom in person but you might start to like black flowers in a few years

[Roberta]

When these are growing, you really can't overwater them. They will suck up everything you give them. They are really bipolar creatures... have to be dry in winter (not cold, please, not below 55 deg F, higher low is fine... just dry) and want to be really wet in summer (from a monsoonal climate, so water like monsoon).

[Maru777]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I have almost the identical seedling lol. I got mine for like $5 at the ft lauderdale orchid show too funny I bet it was the same vendor as the tag and pot are the same.

Anyhoo. Fast forward a week and there is a little green pimple on the bottom and the game begins

This is too funny! I got mine in Miami 2 weeks ago but it was probably the same vendor. I got too many things in Miami truth be told, but the other ones I’m ok-ish with. And this is the only seedling I bought (this time). But as you said, we get a lot of help from mother nature

It’s awesome to know that it should be waking up soon. One of the things I was wondering about was exactly when it went into dormancy because ignorant newb that I am of course it did not cross my mind to ask the vendor So now I might have an indication to make the wait more bearable

I would love to hear your thoughts on inorganic media in our climate. I’ve been reading a lot about it and it seems very tempting to not have to disturb the roots every time you repot. The self watering set ups seem very cool too but the only experiments I found reliable are in very different climates and I was too scared to risk any of my plants with a less than informed project

[Roberta]

Disturbing roots on Catasetinae is really not a big deal. Repot during dormancy. Roots more than a year old are pretty much dead. Te previous years' roots aren't at their best, but they are still useful. The roots that count, though, are the new ones when the plant wakes up. If these are reluctant to go dormant in the fall or start to wake up during the winter, like a toddler who wants a glass of water at 2 AM, whey they are growing in the late spring through the summer, they're like a teenage boy - they're massively hungry and thirsty, and growing so fast that you can almost see them do it.

For those of you in a tropical area, it's perfect - summer is humid, which will help keep the spidermites at bay. Nature's breezes are perfect.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Huge grain of salt.... I am not an expert nor do I play one on tv.
I believe, as many much smarter growers I have learned from, to adapt your culture first to suit me, then my plants. That is to say. Accomdate my climate and area for growing and my desires for effort and time to devote.

I like to be busy with my plants and I like to water. It is both therapeutic and a good way to see them daily

As a result I use VERY open mix for my potted plants and I mount or basket as much as I possible can. So, with all that, in a warm to hot, humid to wet environment I only have a small amount Of large chunk pine bark in my media or it will be all lava rock, charcoal, and big perlite

I repot only when the plant needs it as I like to over pot and then let the plant run wild. Most of my pot ups are me pulling the old pot over a new one, adding a bit of mix and then braking the old pot into the new one and walk away lol

---------- Post added at 12:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:17 AM ----------

here are the pics of mine currently

in LECA and much higher up in the media than when i purchased it

Dichaea longea by J Solo, on Flickr

and the tinies growth on the tiniest plant...
Dichaea longea by J Solo, on Flickr

[Maru777]

Finally it is awake! Unfortunately with this social distancing I am now working from home and this seems to have also awakened the “over-waterer” in me. I think because in these times it relaxes me to water my pretty flowers. But on the downside, I really want to water this guy Should I? Or wait a while longer?

[fishmom]

Bite your tongue and wait. The leaves on the new growth need to be spread open and the new roots 2"-4" long. It's fun to watch those roots pop out!