Shriveled Backbulbs

[Diane56Victor]

No intentions to water any further till our Spring.
Just surprised at the speed of the yellowing leaves even accounting for change of environment and temps.

[Roberta]

That's just incipient dormancy. Continue to water as long as the leaves stay green, at least until June or so. If leafy, at that point cut back the water, but you can keep watering lightly until the end of June or early July (when you'll be well into winter) if it's still "awake". If you still have leaves after that point, you can cut back to very little or no water. Seedlings (though these are bigger than that) may not go completely dormant, but these probably will, since they're showing signs of it now. Of course you can stop watering sooner if the leaves drop.

[SouthPark]

Diane ...... mook is right. Most of my catasetum-related orchids have gone into dormancy now. A few still mostly yellow leaves with a partial green in one section. I still have three that are still green - but I expect eventually (soon) they're going to head the same way too. So don't be alarmed about yellow leaves.

Seeing yellowing for the very first time can be alarming ----- first time growing catasetum-type plants that is. That's expected and normal - to be alarmed heheheh. But just like all the catasetum growers, that's like initiation or induction! Beyond that - welcome to the catasetum growing family.

[Diane56Victor]

Being alarmed is second nature especially when only being 3 years into growing orchids, and trying a completely different genus!

I did try to soothe myself saying

"Its normal"

"They do this every year"

"It has to be fast otherwise they they wouldn't be able to grow roots leaves and bloom in a year"

Think I need to take a firmer voice to myself!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Diane56Victor

Being alarmed is second nature especially when only being 3 years into growing orchids, and trying a completely different genus!

I did try to soothe myself saying

"Its normal"

"They do this every year"

"It has to be fast otherwise they they wouldn't be able to grow roots leaves and bloom in a year"

Think I need to take a firmer voice to myself!

When they DO get into their growth phase, in the spring, they grow so fast you can almost watch them... at that time, they need plenty of water and fertilizer (they're growing like a tomato plant...) A nice thing about the whole Catasetinae group... if you get ugly leaves (bugs, sunburn, the various ills that do happen to orchid plants) those leaves will be gone in winter and you'll have a whole new batch the next spring (as opposed to a Cattleya or Phalaenopsis, where leaf damage will stare you in the face, reminding you of your errors, for years )

[Diane56Victor]

Thanks Roberta.
That was one of the reasons I wanted to try Catasetums, a fresh start each year.
I do have quite a number of Oncidiums so I can really relate to your comment about leaf damage.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Diane56Victor

Being alarmed is second nature especially when only being 3 years into growing orchids, and trying a completely different genus!

Absolutely! Once a grower becomes confident, and knows pretty much they've been doing the necessary things to maintain satisfactory growing conditions ----- then they can begin to trust their own instincts (like the Star Wars saying hahaha....when Ben tells Luke to trust instincts).

If a catasetum starts to get yellow leaves rapidly at a time when we don't expect it ---- such as in the early stages or middle stages of a growing season, then that's a time to unpot and check the roots and media etc.

Otherwise, toward the end of a growing season, such as when temperatures start getting lower ------ the yellowing of leaves can occur at a fairly fast rate for some catasetum-type plants. Some individuals are more gradual in the yellowing and leaf-drop behaviour.

I'm pretty sure that seeing the fast yellowing of multiple leaves for the first time for most growers will be at least slightly unsettling!

[isurus79]

Actually, I’d water once a week until about early June and back off until you’re not watering anymore in July. Make sure temps stay above 13 degrees and no fertilizer.

Edit- I didn’t realize Roberts basically said this already. That’s what I get for doing this on my phone and not the computer lol