Cycnoches Growing Guide

[isurus79]

Hi All,
I had some viewer requests for a Cycnoches growing guide since this genus has a tendency to up and die at the slightest whim. Hopefully this helps demystify the genus a bit!

All About Cycnoches - Care & Culture - YouTube

[mopwr]

Good video, thanks for putting that together. I have a cycnoches hybrid, and it does seem to have some subtle differences. Definitely likes it's water like all of from this group, but more than some others... Definitly more than my Clowesia, that's for sure.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by mopwr

Good video, thanks for putting that together. I have a cycnoches hybrid, and it does seem to have some subtle differences. Definitely likes it's water like all of from this group, but more than some others... Definitly more than my Clowesia, that's for sure.

Is it a Cycnodes or just a complex Cycnoches? The Cynodes can get huge and are major water hogs!

[mopwr]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Is it a Cycnodes or just a complex Cycnoches? The Cynodes can get huge and are major water hogs!

It's a complex Cycnoches, so far it's growing really well. There's a handful of subtle differences, but the thing I noticed most so far is that it's leaves just seem to be a bit more delicate and lighter in color than all of the other seedling catasetum types I'm growing this year.

These are all my catasetum types this year:
Fredclarkeara After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl'
Clowesia Jumbo Grace 'Alba'
Cycnodes Wine Delight
Catasetum Memoria Dorothy Wells
Cycnoches (Richard Brandon 'SVO II AM/AOS' 5887x Dark Swan 'Black Swan' 4661)
Mormodes (Ignea 'Orange Blaze' 4588 x Aftermath 'Nuclear Fallout' AM/AOS 5888)

They all get the same (high) light, but the Cycnoches is more of a lime green color compared to other plants. The Fdks, even under blasting light, are about 4 shades darker in color. The other thing I've noticed, is relative to the other plants, the cycnoches probably put on size a little bit faster than anyone else in the group.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by mopwr

It's a complex Cycnoches, so far it's growing really well. There's a handful of subtle differences, but the thing I noticed most so far is that it's leaves just seem to be a bit more delicate and lighter in color than all of the other seedling catasetum types I'm growing this year.

These are all my catasetum types this year:
Fredclarkeara After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl'
Clowesia Jumbo Grace 'Alba'
Cycnodes Wine Delight
Catasetum Memoria Dorothy Wells
Cycnoches (Richard Brandon 'SVO II AM/AOS' 5887x Dark Swan 'Black Swan' 4661)
Mormodes (Ignea 'Orange Blaze' 4588 x Aftermath 'Nuclear Fallout' AM/AOS 5888)

They all get the same (high) light, but the Cycnoches is more of a lime green color compared to other plants. The Fdks, even under blasting light, are about 4 shades darker in color. The other thing I've noticed, is relative to the other plants, the cycnoches probably put on size a little bit faster than anyone else in the group.

Yep, those Cycnoches want to grow fast!! And I'm pretty sure the Fdks can survive a nuclear blast!

I believe I got the same Mormodes as you from Fred's offering a few months ago. I'm really excited to see those when they bloom!

---------- Post added at 11:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:47 AM ----------

Originally Posted by SG in CR

Here's some pictures the first is the Cycnoches warscewiczii that bloomed last year. The new p-bulb is significantly smaller than the previous one. Hopefully it does better next year.
Attachment 153845
And this is the smaller one that I think might bloom next year.
Attachment 153846

So cool you get to have wild Cycnoches at your place! I'm very jealous.

It looks like the warsc got less rainfall this year than last. Is that about right? Or perhaps the vegetation nearby was removed causing more sunlight to shine through and drying out the roots a bit faster?

I'll put money on that smaller one blooming this year.

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

So cool you get to have wild Cycnoches at your place! I'm very jealous.

It looks like the warsc got less rainfall this year than last. Is that about right? Or perhaps the vegetation nearby was removed causing more sunlight to shine through and drying out the roots a bit faster?

I'll put money on that smaller one blooming this year.

Actually we had a really mild dry season this year. We had rain during the normally dry months of March and April. I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I cut the p-bulb from 2019 off in hopes of creating a division. Sadly the old p-bulb just kind of did nothing and withered away over the course of about 6 months. The remaining plant seemed unaffected but I'm guessing that I'm to blame for the smaller growth this year. It is in higher light than it used to be because a branch right above it died but seems to be doing fine light-wise.
Hopefully you're right about the smaller one, I'm curious to see what it is.

Edit
By the way what is the accepted wisdom about removing the dried leaf sheaths from the p-bulb? I do it thinking it will give the plant a bit more photosynthetic area. I figure it offers some protection from pests but I take care of that if I see something is eating at it. I've done it for the last few years on my other Catesetinae to no ill effect, at least as far as I can tell.

[SG in CR]

Originally Posted by isurus79

I'll put money on that smaller one blooming this year.

Looks like you were right. The smaller one has a bud on one of the bulbs.

[Leafmite]

I have a Cyncnodes Wine Delight. Thank you for the guide.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I have a Cyncnodes Wine Delight. Thank you for the guide.

The nice thing about the Cycnodes is that they’re much tougher than Cycnoches and are much less likely to die at the drop of a hat.

[SG in CR]

Thanks for the video. I have a Cycnoches warscewiczii that was blooming this time last year. It's doing OK but not even close to blooming yet this year. Found what looks to be another Cycnoches growing on a dead branch of an old orange tree last year. But I figure it needs another year before it's ready to bloom. Seeing as you mention they are fairly short-lived it would be nice to produce a seed pod and see if I can get some seedlings to germinate.