Clowesia/ Catasetum - to Water or not to Water

[stefandeak]

So I got this Clowesia Rebecca Northen "Mikkabi" last Sunday. It came with a couple of buds that seem to be opening now. I know I`m not supposed to water it at all as it`s still in dormancy, so I just kept it on my desk hiding from the very early morning sun behind another pot. Temperature is around 18-20C around all day long and humidity is a constant 70%.

Now my question: it seems that the biggest pbulb is shriveling. It was almost just as plump as the other ones last sunday, but now it`s visibly more shriveled. The other 3 haven`t changed at all. Should I water? Just a couple of teaspoons of water to prevent this shriveling from happening? WILL it prevent it? Does anybody have any idea of what I should do?

Thank you in advance!
Stefan.

[Roberta]

If there is noticeable shriveling, you can safely give it a little water, but then continue to keep it dry. Note that this plant blooms in the winter, well before it breaks dormancy. So once you give it a little drink, you do still need to observe the rules about dormancy and wait to resume watering.

[fishmom]

You might enjoy reading some of the posts by orchidsarefun on this very topic. You will find them in the Catastum and Stanhopea section of the forum. Here is a link to one: Catasetum - To water or not to water ?

[stefandeak]

Awesome! Thank you for the feedback and the good suggestions.

fishmom: I was able to learn a few useful things from that thread. Thank you for sharing. I'll keep an eye out for orchidsarefun's posts and explore that forum section a bit more.

Anyway I've decided to water the little guy with just a bit of water and I'll post an update if anything changes.

Stefan.

[stefandeak]

Here's the update. Turns out my worries were baseless. Two new pbulbs growing happily. Repotted this guy as soon as I saw them. Still not watering though.
I guess I was still traumatized after some den. jenkinsii shrivelled to death right after I brought them home a couple of months before I got this clowesia. It was the first orchid I lost too.. ( the other one being a masdevallia chontalensis )

I have to mention though, I did add 1/4 cup water once after I made the previous post and once more a month later. It stopped the shrivelling to some extent, but they didn't plump back up. The japanese high humidity def helped. Anyway I understand more about my clowesias now. Hope this will help someone at some point.