First Cycnoches hybrid—too soon?

[greenhouseFrog]

So I got to meet Jim & Melana Davison tonight at an orchid society meeting in my area—I thought it was pretty cool to actually meet the inspiration of some of my plants’ names!

After helping them unload their wares, we got to talking about Catasetinae and they turned me on to a Cyc. Melana’s Swan and my immediate thought was “I’m not qualified for Cycnoches!” but I couldn’t let them down, so I stepped up and became a proud(for the moment?) owner of a Cycnoches!

I didn’t get to pick brains much between the hustle and bustle of setup and the presentation, but when I had a chance to, Jim really stressed that Cycnoches are not as tolerant of moisture during dormancy as other Catasetinae, yet I should be able to treat them like the other genera during active growth.

I guess I kinda spooked myself over time reading about the challenges faced by those that grow species Cycnoches—should I expect the same despite mine being hybrid? Also, I didn’t think to ask whether or not I should water at this point; what do you all think?

Thanks in advance!

[isurus79]

Jim and Melana are great! I enjoy chatting with them when I'm in Florida.

Do you have a photo of the Cycnoches? Just keep the humidity high during winter (should be easy considering your location!) and don't water when it finally does go to sleep.

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Jim and Melana are great! I enjoy chatting with them when I'm in Florida.

Do you have a photo of the Cycnoches? Just keep the humidity high during winter (should be easy considering your location!) and don't water when it finally does go to sleep.

Dude they’re seriously charming folks and I can’t wait to see them again! If you’re planning on coming to any of the bigger shows in the Miami area, I’m planning on running into you, too!

As for the Cycnoches, I included a third party thumbnail in the original post, but lemme send it through on this one and I’ll attach it via OB as well. The humidity is definitely present, but thank you for reinforcing the “no water” stance—I’m going to keep that Cycnoches separate from everyone else so I can’t mix things up!

Thanks again, Stephen!

[My Green Pets]

Melana's Swan is nice! Can't wait to see the photos of the open flowers.
If it were mine, I would continue to give it light waterings, keeping the medium somewhat moist, until the flowers are fully open. I've had issues with Cycnoches dropping their buds if the water stops too early. Of course this is only if the plant is growing in warm to intermediate-warm conditions.
I wrote out my observations about growing Cycnoches if you'd like to take a look: MyGreenPets - Cycnoches

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by My Green Pets

Melana's Swan is nice! Can't wait to see the photos of the open flowers.
If it were mine, I would continue to give it light waterings, keeping the medium somewhat moist, until the flowers are fully open. I've had issues with Cycnoches dropping their buds if the water stops too early. Of course this is only if the plant is growing in warm to intermediate-warm conditions.
I wrote out my observations about growing Cycnoches if you'd like to take a look: MyGreenPets - Cycnoches

Hey William! Thanks for weighing in! The flowers have some spots from what I’ve been able to see by holding the buds up to the light, so hopefully I don’t fumble this and if I do, it’s all on me!

As for the culture, I’ll try my best to stay within those parameters—right now air temps on the porch are ~60F(16C)dipping to about 50F(10C)by dawn with daytime temps peaking just under 80F(27C) with relative humidity that rarely goes below 40%(currently at 79%). We’re actually cooling down a bit by FL standards, but at this time of year the sun really warms up the concrete on the south side which then radiates that heat throughout the night so all the Catasetinae in my collection are probably a little warmer than the air!

I’m going to dig into your article right now—special thanks for sharing that with me!

Thanks again William!

[isurus79]

Oh, for some reason I didn't see the photo in the original post!

Originally Posted by My Green Pets

Melana's Swan is nice! Can't wait to see the photos of the open flowers.
If it were mine, I would continue to give it light waterings, keeping the medium somewhat moist, until the flowers are fully open. I've had issues with Cycnoches dropping their buds if the water stops too early. Of course this is only if the plant is growing in warm to intermediate-warm conditions.
I wrote out my observations about growing Cycnoches if you'd like to take a look: MyGreenPets - Cycnoches

Ohhh, that's a great article!!

[greenhouseFrog]

And here’s the bloom—these are big flowers!

[isurus79]

Nice!

[greenhouseFrog]

No reason I couldn’t collect and save pollinia from these flowers, right?

[My Green Pets]

Those are super nice! You got a good one. I can't understand how my Cycnoches (Richard Brandon × Melana's Swan) has not a single spot on its flowers, when both parents are spotted. I dread to think it's mislabeled.

Do you like the fragrance?

Keep in mind that if they pop their pollen, the flowers will wilt literally the next day. Only take the pollen if you are ready to say goodbye.