Catasetum aeration

[Havoccity]

Do Catasetums need as much aeration as most other epiphytic orchids? I'm asking because I've noticed that in Stephen's/isurus's videos, his plants don't have air holes in the pots (granted I'm pretty sure he mostly pots with bark, while I use a bark/sphagnum mix).

It would be nice if I didn't need to go through the hassle of poking holes in the sides of pots, or to deal with roots growing out of air holes.

[Roberta]

I don't have holes in the sides of any of my pots - I do select media that are well drained and have good aeration, though. Catasetinae like to stay quite wet during the growing season. In fact, my challenge (living in a fairly dry climate) is keeping them wet enough. I use sphagnum for the medium and small ones, large bark for the big ones. And during the growing season, water daily.

[estación seca]

Many people need to stand their Catasetinae in dishes of water so they get enough. Ventilated pots aren't a great idea for these unless your relative humidity is extremely high.

[isurus79]

I've seen the Brazilians and some Floridians add extra holes to their PET pots, but most folks don't do that. The Catasetums naturally send their roots into the leaf axils of palm trees, which fills with water and debris, so the roots don't need nearly as much fresh air as many other orchids.