Brand new catasetums arrived with black spots on pseudobulbs... help!

[katrina]

If the spot is hard...don't remove the pbulb. Recent imports can be a bit tricky and could take time to establish...needlessly removing the newest growth could result in the death of the plant.

If the leaves have dropped, treat them as dormant. The growth appears big and strong enough...it will sprout new growth when it's ready.

BTW - I would never recommend recent imports as the intro to a new group of orchids. The process is tough on most orchids and they can be tricky to get established. Always better to start out with plants that haven't endured the import process and once familiar and comfortable growing the group...then explore imports.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by katrina

If the spot is hard...don't remove the pbulb. Recent imports can be a bit tricky and could take time to establish...needlessly removing the newest growth could result in the death of the plant.

If the leaves have dropped, treat them as dormant. The growth appears big and strong enough...it will sprout new growth when it's ready.

BTW - I would never recommend recent imports as the intro to a new group of orchids. The process is tough on most orchids and they can be tricky to get established. Always better to start out with plants that haven't endured the import process and once familiar and comfortable growing the group...then explore imports.

This is most critical with plants that show strong seasonality like Catasetum. You have a plant cruising along in Ecuador thinking that fall is right around the corner that suddenly gets put someplace where spring is just around the corner.