First Catasetums

[Dorchid]

Agreed, WW will rock these for sure.

Speaking of minis, does anyone know if Ctsm. Fong Cing (Jose Abalo x Orchidglade) is a mini? It was one of my last to be watered this summer so not sure if it’s just stunted or is indeed a mini...it’s about a quarter to half the size of my other 2 Ctsms.

[mook1178]

My little bit to add to this discussion.

If you buy some plants this year do not disturb them. Wait until the spring to move them to SH. As everyone has said they are thirsty and need the roots from this year more than the older roots. So disturbing and breaking roots is not ideal this time of year.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Dorchid

Agreed, WW will rock these for sure.

Speaking of minis, does anyone know if Ctsm. Fong Cing (Jose Abalo x Orchidglade) is a mini? It was one of my last to be watered this summer so not sure if it’s just stunted or is indeed a mini...it’s about a quarter to half the size of my other 2 Ctsms.

Fong Cing should be pretty big!

[Dorchid]

Hmmm...may just be a smaller specimen. The back bulbs aren’t all that big either, which made me think it might be a mini. Maybe it’ll put on some size over the next few months.

[Dorchid]

Here’s the Fong Cing (middle)...not the best pic but you can see it’s quite a bit smaller than the other 2 ctsms. It just pushed out a couple spike nubs, though.

[JScott]

I'll post a picture of my Cycnodes Taiwan Gold 'Orange' tomorrow so you can see how small it is. It's quite small compared to some of the others, so if you want a small one, that may be a good one to start with. And it's a hybrid, so it's more forgiving of less than optimal conditions. I don't do anything to it. Just put it outside in the summer and water the heck out of it. And yes, I use a time release fertilizer. It may actually be osmocote. Or maybe it's not. It's gray, and I think Osmocote is yellow/brown. Either way, I use a time release and they seem to like it.

[JScott]

As promised, here are some pics of my Taiwan Gold 'Orange'. You can see as far as Catasetinae go, it isn't that big. The new growths still have a little growing to do, but they are mostly there and won't get much bigger, and you can see how small the backbulbs are in one of those pictures. It's been a really easy plant, and I would recommend it as a first Catasetum for anybody wanting to try to grow one. For size reference, it's in a 5 inch pot.

[WaterWitchin]

Now that's a manageable size!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Now that's a manageable size!

Of the two I have, FDK After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl' and this one, CYcnodes Taiwan Gold 'Orange', I think the Taiwan Gold is my favorite. It's a good size, and it grows and blooms reliably (although my FDK does the same), but the orange clone has such a rich, dusty orange color that is fantastic. If you're looking for a first Catasetum, I highly recommend this one. It's readily available, and if you don't like orange, it comes in yellow too.

[WaterWitchin]

SO, I ended up getting my first Ctsm on a whim. It's a fimbriatum. I got it from OrchidsAmore. I know, don't say anything. I posted in the vendor section about my experience. It was actually an Mcv Frances Fox I was looking for.

Anyway, the packaging was horrendous, and now it has no leaves. When it arrived, it had six or so very healthy looking leaves, except they were all broken off at the base.



Now it looks like this a week later:





Except I cut off that last leaf after taking the picture. And there's a tiny little guy that was lying sideways in the pot with no roots. I propped it up in the medium.

Soooo, having never grown a Ctsm before, this isn't exactly the greatest start, but what the heck. The question becomes... how do I know when this thing is going dormant so I stop watering? I really don't think I should yet, because all the leaves on it looked great, other than being detached. Any advice?

And I presume I just leave it until it goes dormant, then move to semi-hydro when I replant in spring?