Fredclarckeara watering dillema

[SlzrJ]

Good day, I'm a new member of the forum but I've been reading for a couple months now and I'm very grateful for all the knowledge I've gotten from the members here. It's been a good source of knowledge and definitely helped me as a new orchid grower.

So I'm having a dillema here

My little seedling, a single pseudobulb, I got about two months ago has been establishing a new root system and that's great but now it's starting to push out a new psedobulb

I have been keeping I've been keeping it moist since I got it because it had an existing root system that had growing root tips so I wanted to keep those roots growing

So here's the problem

Conventional knowledge says to not water until the new roots are a couple centimeters long because it could cause rotting but if I stop watering, the newly established roots will suffer



What should I do?

[greenhouseFrog]

I am amongst the least qualified to chime in on this and I hope others contribute from their experiences as well, but I hear you! If you could post pictures, that would be immensely helpful, too!

Taking your location(The Philippines)into account, your risk of rot associated with cold and moisture is probably decreased, but for the new roots’ sake, you may want to withhold moisture unless it’s a matter of life or death for the plant.

Personally, I haven’t placed as much priority on keeping the older root system in pristine condition—while I have Catasetinae that have root systems that do keep growing throughout their dormancy, MY main focus is maintaining the appropriate environment for new growths’ roots once they emerge upon their awakening!

You won’t be doing the new roots any disservice by withholding water—these plants are designed to withstand extended periods of relative drought. I believe the prevailing theory is that they grow these extensive root systems in anticipation of the precipitation and early introduction of moisture discourages the root system from fully expanding—less root surface area leads to lessened ability for water and nutrient uptake which results in smaller pseudobulbs that are less likely to survive dormancy.

I also want to take a moment to extol upon but one of the virtues of the PET method in my personal circumstances—I can get the satisfaction of maintaining a humid(not wet) environment in the media(moss, in my case)during dormancy, keeping the old root system happy(if it wants to be) while keeping the media a cozy place for new roots to get into, even after several months of no water. I try to maintain a small amount of water in the “reservoir” at the bottom that I add through the drain holes in the sides of the cup—this way, the media doesn’t get wet, but the environment inside the cup stays very humid!

Old root system still gets to seek & sip if it so chooses…Cl.Grace Dunn x Morm. revoluta

And the new roots are kept humid, but not wet—ideally, I wouldn’t water until these reached the bottom of the cup. Ctsm. sanguineum x spitzii


Hope this helps!

[SlzrJ]

Thank you for replying

Here are some photos

I actually did put this in a variation of the PET method in anticipation of the coming hot, dry season because I feel like with this method I can keep up with the watering.

It has lost the lowest leaf and had a bit of yellowing but aside from, it looks pretty much the same when I got it.