Fredclarkeara after dark dormancy and growth issues

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Leareu

Hi!


I see, that's great to hear then!

The medium I used was the 3 to 8mm Bio Leaf Premium Orchid Potting Mix from the same people who make Kiwi Bark.

I guess I'll repot it once the new growth kicks in with some sphagnum and perlite! Is it possible for new growths to kick in from the older pseuldobulb?

Thanks!

The time to repot, actually, is now or fairly soon - you want to get it done BEFORE the new growth and new roots. And the plant will grow roots before growth, so you want it in its new home before that. New growth will come from the base of the old pseudobulbs. (Occasionally you can also get growths on the side of a pseudobulb, but the main ones are from the base) It's too soon yet to think about it... You are still in winter. In a month or two you'll start to see the new growth. Don't start watering, though, until those new growths (and new roots) get to that 8-10 cm range. It is really tempting to water as soon as you see it... don't. Put your hands in your pockets so that you can't reach for the watering can. There are lots of notes within this Catasetum sub-forum on the subject. (Most of the notes are from people in the northern hemisphere, so add or subtract 6 months accordingly... it's the seasons that govern the process)

It does look, from your photo, like you got a somewhat out-of-season growth. If your weather is warm you could give it a little bit of water around the edges of the pot, especially if you see any sign of shriveling of pseudobulbs. But not much... it's still early.

You actually could dispense with the repot... once you get active growth, you could just sit the pot in a dish with some water in it. The whole concept is, when in active growth it needs lots of water and fertilizer (I use some time-release fertilizer in the pot for an extra boost) There is certainly more than one way to accomplish that.

[Leareu]

Originally Posted by Roberta

-snip-

Okay! Yeah I got it in the middle of autumn here, I'll keep my hands to myself and try not to water, It'll be a challenge of self-control! I'll be sure to have a look through the subforum!

I think I might just repot it into sphagnum hehe, better to be on the safe side

Thank you so much for the help!

[Leareu]

Hi Roberta, just wanted to check up on one of my seedling catasetums, it doesn't seem to be fairing well. A black spot has appeared on it and some bits of the pseudobulb is turning orange/brown. Water might have fallen into it when I was watering my other plants but besides that I have no idea why this is happening.Would you happen to have any advice? I haven't watered it at all even though it's past mid spring here. Should I just start watering it? Thanks!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Leareu

A black spot has appeared on it and some bits of the pseudobulb is turning orange/brown. Water might have fallen into it when I was watering my other plants but besides that I have no idea why this is happening.

Just check to see if the regions of the bulb that is turning brownish is soft/mushy.

With Fdk type orchids, these appear to be pretty much indestructable in tropical North Queensland when we keep spider-mites at bay - or under control. I just keep a bottle of "yates anti-rot phosacid" if I spot any signs of rotting activity. And - for spidermites - natra soap spray ..... or natra soap with some pyrethrum added to the mix does the job for me ----- packed into a 'atomiser' type spray bottle --- and I spray the leaves (under and over), bulbs and all.

Is your fdk growing indoors or outdoors? I find that good gentle air-circulation cuts down on the chances of rot. In fact, I've only seen some menacing - and quite concerning leaf rot - that all started with a spidermite attack - not quite sure what happened yet - but which got dealt with very effectively with yates anti-rot phosacid ----- which happened to work on whatever it was causing that. I've never had serious bulb rot before on any of my catasetum type orchids. There was one time only when one bulb (of a relatively new arrival fdk) developed some yellow round patch - getting soft. And then I sprayed yates anti-rot onto it ..... and the patch turned black coloured and remained that way permanently. The bulb had no issue after that. No problem.

The leaf rot came after a spidermite attack, and was affecting my whole set of catasetum type orchids. But ----- as mentioned --- it (the rot) got dealt with very effectively (from the treatment). The spidermites got deal with nicely as well.