Dried sheaths on catasetinae

[Shakeinmyshoes]

Hi folks, me again. I recently acquired not one but THREE Catasetum type orchid plants. I’m wondering if it’s okay to pull off the old dried up sheaths on a dormant bulb? I’m a picker, and I realized too late you are not supposed to groom the Maxillaria tenufolia like I did. Oops!
Does it matter with the Catasetum types? I have one that already is lacking the dried up sheaths, one that has half, and one that is densely covered in sheath and I’m holding myself back from pulling it all off (although I pulled back a little bit already). Does it matter?? I had been looking for the FDK “After Dark” Black Pearl and I FOUND IT! AND LOOK AT THAT BIG HONKIN PSUEDOBULB! But I want so badly in my heart to groom it and pull off all of the dried sheath to expose the beauty beneath. Can I, can I? Does it help bring it out of dormancy if the exposed psuedobulb is exposed to light, or does that affect future growth in a way unbeknownst to me?

[fishmom]

Fred Clark, when he spoke to our orchid society, compared the sheath to sunscreen. If you strip it off, you might want to be sure that the plant is not fully exposed to the brightest sun. That said, I have peeled some of mine in the past and never noticed any damage. I worry about bugs hiding under there.

[Kruger]

Why do you want to remove parts of the plant?

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Kruger

Why do you want to remove parts of the plant?

The reason for removing dried sheath is to avoid having pests take up residence beneath them and multiply to the point where one is thinking "UhOh, where did these come from?" Good hiding spot if one is occasionally troubled by scale, etc.

[DirtyCoconuts]

first of all, i am jealous of the black pearl, i have been hunting for one for a while.

second, i would think that it should be left alone unless it is harboring insects as removing it has the possibility of making small tears in the bulb and allowing the introduction of nasties....that said, i don't think it practically makes any difference if you do remove it once it is dried out and if you do so with care to avoid harming the bulb. These plants are really strong and mine have some SERIOUS battle scars and are still fine so, regardless of my above concern, i don't think the plant would really get damaged

[Roberta]

I'd suggest waiting until the pseudobulb is a little shriveled (when new growth is well underway) and then if the dead "skin" is loose and easy to remove, won't do harm removing it. But I'm with DC... you don't want to risk tearing the surface of the pseudobulb by tidying it up. At this stage, it's tempting to fuss with them. Don't. Just leave them alone while they're "asleep".

[Kruger]

You can remove them if you want to. If it were me, I'd leave the plant to do its own thing. If the plant were so biologically disadvantaged by having the sheaths on, I don't think it would be extant.


Be careful in removing dead leaves, you might find they are quite "attached" to the plant. I'd argue there is living tissue you are tearing if you get resistance in removing them that could be a pathway for pathogens.

[Shakeinmyshoes]

You all are so awesome! Fishmom, the sunburn thing makes so much sense, I’m growing under led lights at the moment, but I will be putting them outside when our “winter” is over (I’m in PA and so far winter has been super mild, but I will still wait until maybe May to put them out). But I wouldn’t want to sunburn the babies, I’ve had a few issues with sunburn on catts and phals...not pretty.
I’d like to pull them the sheaths off because in this time of waiting I can’t stop the urge to ‘help.’ Also I’d rather my indoor garden be green and luscious rather than brown and dry. Pests are a concern, although I haven’t yet been a victim of anything serious. Also, as a mom to mostly Cattleyas, the sheaths are easy to get rid of, and it’s easier to see if the pseudobulb is lacking in water. And in the case of water, I’m told if you leave them on they can trap moisture and rot the bulb. Mostly I’m a picker and want to prune and beautify my collection.
Dirty coconuts I know right!! I’m so excited!! Ron from New Earth orchids told me he should have some divisions in the summer. In the meantime I found a local person looking to sell off part of their collection (thanks Andy!)
Being my first year with this type of orchid and being so lucky as to have found such a beautiful division I want to do what’s best for them and I’m terrified I will do the wrong thing! I did have an issue with a catt where I pulled off the sheath too early and I think I ruined the node that was going to grow. There are many other viable nodes on that particular orchid that it’ll be fine, but if you get too close to the growing area I could see where there could be an issue with tearing new or fragile tissue.
I will definitely let it do it’s own thing for now, but it’s hard to see significant shriveling under such a thick layer of dried sheath. That’s part of the reason I want to get rid of it. Also I think there’s something to be said about indoor growing versus natural habitats, as I don’t have ants/good insects or wind to rid the plant of the dead and unnecessary parts naturally.
It’s so tempting to prune while I wait for it to put out a new growth!!! Willpower will prevail!
Thanks all!

[Roberta]

Resisting the impulse to "groom" the pseudobulb is good practice for the harder-to-resist temptation yet to come... when you see those new shoots it is soooo tempting to start watering. Waiting for those new roots to get 4 inches long and the leaves to open out before watering will take all the will power that you can muster. But tie your hands behind your back or put them in your pockets... it is much better to wait a bit longer than you need to than to start watering too soon. Since if the roots go down into the medium it's hard to tell when there is sufficient length. I wait for the second flush of roots to emerge, that seems to give the right timing for something that you can see.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Roberta is so right. I actually would pretend to water them while I watered the others to get the itch out. (I now water them a bit in dormancy but I have a wide open growing medium so there is almost no chance of rot)

About the impulse to prune and pick, I have found an awesome fidget cube that has a bunch of different things I can busy my hands at and I find that walking around with that in hand while i look at my plants GREATLY assists in me not touching things.

This is generally for all my plants but the orchids. For some reason I don’t have the desire to control them /prune them. I basically make all my fruit and veggie plants into topiary lol

Channel the impulses into a bonsai or buy a sacrificial plant to bother and mend.

I recommend a milkweed. The monarch caterpillars eat it to stems every few weeks and it is lush again in five days.