Catasetum incurvum - Exercise in patience

[Roberta]

I got this plant as a single-pseudobulb division, from a South American grower, in February 2016. Since its seasons were flipped, it had just entered dormancy - very close to the time when Catasetinae are getting ready to exit dormancy in the northern hemisphere. I potted it up, and it just sat there (sound asleep) all summer. In the fall, the light and weather were saying "getting ready for dormancy" and this plant must have sensed that, since it stayed dormant. The following late spring (2017) it came out of dormancy with the rest of the Catasetinae. So it was dormant for 16 or 17 months. For the next bunch of years it did one new pseudobulb a year. I think it did two last year. But no flowers. FINALLY it just bloomed! And there are two new growths, getting big, maybe the other one could even bloom later in the season. Even it it doesn't, at last I got to see it. Sort of a weird one. but interesting lip.

At any rate, the question has occasionally come up as to long it takes to adjust seasons... for most orchids, a couple of years. But for high seasonal ones like the Catasetine, I have to say, "A looong time..." If you have one that has switched hemispheres and isn't performing, give it time. Lots and lots of time. As long as it is growing well, flowers are likely to show up eventually.

(Note: I modified dates when I rechecked my records. Plant was acquired in Feb 2016 dormant, didn't emerge until late spring 2017)

[WaterWitchin]

Very interesting weird blooms. Kind of like a pig snout wearing a droopy hat.

[vanda2020]

I have two plants. One hardly grew this season, it is just a bulb and an off shoot that has roots coming down. The other plant is good growing and bloomed for me. It smells lightly of lemons.

[isurus79]

Imports are always tricky! Glad this one made it through the adjustment process. Looks like a big plant, so I bet will through multiple spikes for you.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Imports are always tricky! Glad this one made it through the adjustment process. Looks like a big plant, so I bet will through multiple spikes for you.

No sign of a spike on the other new growth. Perhaps next year... it seems to have finally made the transition, though. But it took a really, really long time. My plant came from Peru. Other types that aren't so strongly seasonal transition fine, but I'd hesitate to get any more Catasetinae from the southern hemisphere. One little aside... I have seen posts where people comment on seasonal transition for plants from Ecuador... take a look at a map, Ecuador is squarely on the equator, and half of it is in the northern hemisphere - barely - and half in the southern hemisphere - barely. It's countries farther south where this becomes an issue, such as Peru and southern Brazil but not northern, Brazil is a really big place. Quite a bit of South America is in the northern hemisphere.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Roberta

No sign of a spike on the other new growth. Perhaps next year... it seems to have finally made the transition, though. But it took a really, really long time. My plant came from Peru. Other types that aren't so strongly seasonal transition fine, but I'd hesitate to get any more Catasetinae from the southern hemisphere. One little aside... I have seen posts where people comment on seasonal transition for plants from Ecuador... take a look at a map, Ecuador is squarely on the equator, and half of it is in the northern hemisphere - barely - and half in the southern hemisphere - barely. It's countries farther south where this becomes an issue, such as Peru and southern Brazil but not northern, Brazil is a really big place. Quite a bit of South America is in the northern hemisphere.

My Brazilian Catasetum imports also take several years to adjust, though luckily not 6!

Also of note, Cyrtopodiums are just as seasonal as Catasetum but are easy-peezy when it comes to getting them acclimated. They might be even easier to acclimate that Cattleyas from South America!

[Roberta]

I also wonder from what part of Brazil... if the more tropical parts, possibly closer to the equator so that seasonality is less of an issue. (A small part of northern Brazil is actually in the northern hemisphere though not much) When one gets down to the area of Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, distinctly southern. (The same issue is true of Peru... part of the country is equatorial, but it also extends quite a good distance south)

I wonder, in fact, about what triggers Catasetinae... for the ones that grow near the equator, day length varies hardly at all, and temperature doesn't either. They do their thing in anticipation of the rainy season or dry season, but how do they "know"???

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Roberta

They do their thing in anticipation of the rainy season or dry season, but how do they "know"???

They Google it, duh!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by isurus79

They Google it, duh!

[orchidman77]

Cool species and great story/reminder to be patient! I just saw roots developing on a cattleya division I've been pampering for two months now, and somehow that feels so short in comparison! Orchids really do teach patience.

David