Clowesia flower spike…what should I do, please help!

[KatieY]

Hi, I bought this in Oct 2023, never repotted. The leaves fell off and it’s been dormant since. Then I got these two flower spikes. I asked Mr Fred Clarke about the roots and he said it looks like it was repotted at the wrong time. (not sure what that means) Can you give me some advice on what I should do? Leave it alone or start watering? Thank you so much. This is my first Clowesia experience.

[Roberta]

Welcome!

Leave it alone and DON'T start watering - this is the time of year when Clowesia (especially Cl. rosea and its hybrids) bloom - on bare pseudobulbs. The leaves will be along in a month or two, as with all Catasetinae, don't start watering until new growth is 3-4 inches (roots the same length). It missed a year because of incorrect potting time, but looks like it back in synch with what is normal.

You're going to have a challenge keeping it wet enough in that LECA once growth starts. My suggestion would be to repot, once the spikes are done, in something more water-retentive like sphagnum - when in rapid growth, these are water hogs!

[KatieY]

Thank you so much. I’ll take the LECA out (it’s just on the top) and put spagnum moss. I will leave it alone until I see new growth. But what is new growth? Is it new bulbs?

[Roberta]

The new growth starts as a little green shoot at the base of the pseudobulb. Then it gets bigger and bigger, and new roots grow (though you may not see them in the medium, usually about the time the leaves of the new growth are starting to open out, you'll also see a second flush of roots, and that is another indication that you can start watering. It won't be subtle. Don't e tempted to water too soon... I tell people to hide the watering can and put hands in pockets when those new growths appear.

Hard to tell from the photo, if that is the original pot you could go up a size, the new growth will produce a pseudobulb (or 2) the size of the old one, and it'll get crowded, tempting to you to repot at the wrong time again.

If you're not on it already, get on the Sunset Valley Orchids email lists so you get Fred Clarke's newsletters which give seasonal info on the care of this group, and look at the culture notes on the SVO website. Also scroll through the Catasetinae sub-form (this one) for prior notes on culture.

[KatieY]

Again thank you, this is so helpful. I will do as you suggested and yes I am on his newsletter and have been following his instructions to the tee. But suddenly these two flower spikes showed up and threw me off!! LOL! And Mr Clarke saying it was repotted at the wrong time! Thank you!!

[Roberta]

That it skipped a year was likely due to repotting at the wrong time. (Actually, Oct 2023, it didn't skip a year... that's when I got my Cl rosea that I show in another thread) ... leaf loss was mostly on schedule. Here is mine, gotten about the same time. Clowesia rosea

. (LECA is great for orchids that need to dry out a bit. Which is NOT growing Catasetinae! ) During the rapid growth phase these want to be sopping wet. Completely different from a Phal or Catt.

Now, it looks like it is performing normally. Scroll through some recent threads (including mine but there some other ones with better performance, too) showing these Clowesias in full bloom while dormant.

[PuiPuiMolcar]

Set it in one place and never touch it until it blooms and dont be like me. I was an idiot playing around too much and lost 2 bloom.

[isurus79]

The photo is super small, but it looks like those spikes are aborting. Are they green or yellow?

[KatieY]

They look green. They just spiked out. I’ll add another pic to see if it’s bigger. Thanks!

[Roberta]

I think just patience, see what they're are going to do. At any rate, behavior is pretty normal for that plant. By the way, is it Cl. rosea or one of its hybrids (like Rebecca Northen or Grace Dunn)?