It's Catasetum season! Perfect timing for poll on dormancy??

[MJG]

It's catasetum season (in this part of the world, anyway). There are some great, educational threads happening on the forum! I am growing my first catasetum this year and am thinking ahead towards dormancy. Would y'all please share your wisdom on the subject?

How do you winter your catesetums, ie, treat them during dormancy? Bare root in a pot in the basement? Or???

Why is your method your method of choice?

If you're wintering in a medium, how do you keep checking to see if the roots are growing again without disturbing the roots?

[Keysguy]

Well, I grow where there has never been a frost so it's easy.
I stop all non-natural water around Halloween. Once all the foliage has been shed I put them in a spot under cover so they can't get rained on but they do get very bright light pretty much all day.
At some point (late Feb ish) I'll depot and clean up and repot, put them back in their sunny but dry spot and wait for the magic to happen before they go back in the shadehouse.

[estación seca]

I keep them in my sunroom but away from the plants that get watered.

New roots emerge from the very base of new growths, and almost never from old growths. New growths normally tend to emerge at the medium line, so it's easy to see when new roots begin forming. They plunge into the medium quickly, and then they're not visible. That's the hard part.

[hypostatic]

I basically try to forget about them for 4-6 months, and then I frantically check for new growth when NJ thaws out.

I'll usually keep them them somewhere they can get receive a decent photoperiod, so that they can sense the days getting longer. I don't know if this does ANYTHING besides making me feel better lol. Especially since I've gotten backbulbs to sprout new buds, in closed dark containers. This will be pretty weak light, maybe around 1000 FC.

Generally, as the leaves fall off, I gradually stop watering over a few weeks. You COULD water a little during the winter when/if the bulbs shrivel, but from what I understand, it's better to not risk it.

I've also seen lots of people who cut off all the roots, clean the leaf remains off of the bulbs, and store the bulbs like potatoes over the winter haha

[isurus79]

I dry mine out sometime in late November or even December and leave them in their media until they start growing. I repot as the new nubbin gets big enough for roots, if needed.

I do that because its simple, easy, and time tested to work! No reason to get fancy if its not required, IMO. I made a video about winter care as well: Winter Cattleya/Catasetum Care 30 November 2019 - YouTube

[DirtyCoconuts]

I do basically what KG does but I let them get rained on a bit. They are under an eave and I can hang them up on the lattice too in order to get it out of the rain if it gets really wet out of season.

I don’t repot every year, it works out to about every third year probably.


Also, to make it clear. It’s super humid and I grow in a mix that allows for my plants to get literally rained on for days at a time with out getting too wet ever. Not for everyone.

[mook1178]

I grow mine in Sphag moss in clay pots and seems to work well for me in Delaware.

Over winter I slowly cut back water through Nov or Dec. It depends on the plant and when the leaves start to fall. I stop all water by Jan 1 until I see a new sprout w/o roots. I then water enough to plump the bulb back up. IDK if that is really needed though. I repot once the bulb is plump and before roots start. Then no water until roots are long, usually 2-3 months after repot.

[My Green Pets]

I have 3, my Mormodia turns yellow and drops its leaves every October like clockwork. At the first sign of yellowing I give it a good soaking to flush out all the fertilizers etc. I let it go a couple weeks to dry out completely and then water it again, but this time it's November and it's spiking, so I might give it little drinks until it is done blooming, then strictly no water until April or May when the new growth has substantial roots.

My Cycnodes Wine Delight and Fredclarkeara Desert Davison get similar treatment but tend to hold on to their leaves until I stop watering around the winter solstice. Again, they stay strictly dry until the new growth has roots that are several inches long.