Catasetum pileatum seedling first bloom

[StephaneL]

Here is the first bloom of my Catasetum pileatum seedling from Sunset Valley Orchids (SVO 8097, v. imperiale 'Pierre Couret' x f. album 'Snow White'). It has six large flowers and its fragrance is a mixture of bubble gum and mint. I really like the spotting of the top petals.

[mormyrid]

Great! How long have you had this plant? I bought the same hybrid last month, will try to post a picture for comparison when it blooms.

[StephaneL]

I bought it last year. Including this year's pseudobulb, it has three, so it is at least three years old (do catasetum produce a pseudobulb during their first year?).

[mormyrid]

Thanks for letting me know! Mine has two pseudobulbs, so I guess I should expect flowers next year if all goes well. And yes, they do grow pseudobulbs during "infancy." There are some pictures on the web if you search "deflasked catasetums." But at that point the pseudobulb is not very developed and it may take longer than a year before the second pseudobulb sprouts.

[Kaschmitz]

I brought a few from SVO. He told me not to repot it but didn't say I should. Roots are growing good, but may start to get crowded. Any suggestions on repotting?

kris

[Roberta]

No repotting until after it is dormant. No matter how crowded... some of the SVO babies end up with roots all over the place, you may have to put the plastic pot into a terra cotta pot for weight. But definitely leave them alone at this time. During the winter (or early spring) before it's ready to grow again, you can repot. At that point, this year's roots will be pretty much cemented into the dry spaghnum. Don't try to remove it, just put the whole thing into a larger pot. Depending on pot size, either sphag or smalll bark, place it so that new growth will have maximum room (oldest part against the side of the pot). Then leave it alone again until the new growth and new roots are big enough to begin watering (3-4 inches for both). (The NEXT time you repot, in a couple of years, the part in the sphag will be dead and easy to remove. But for this repot, you don't need to remove the old sphag, which will still be good)

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Kaschmitz

I brought a few from SVO. He told me not to repot it but didn't say I should. Roots are growing good, but may start to get crowded. Any suggestions on repotting?

kris

Along with what Roberta said, here is a video from Isurus79 about repotting Catasetum.

How to repot Catasetum- PET Method - YouTube

[smweaver]

Congratulations on your flowers. I like the bold color in the lip, as well as your description of the fragrance.