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.

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thank you for the photos!

Out of curiosity, where did this plant come from?
The reason I’m asking is because at this time of year in the northern hemisphere, I expected to see a leafless, semi-dormant pseudobulb perhaps with a new growth—yours looks like it hasn’t even gone into dormancy yet!

I’ve heard of folks getting plants from another hemisphere or controlled environments where they’re receiving consistent conditions year-round—the new owner of the plant has to then sort of introduce the plant to its new schedule in their environment. This may be the case, but I am not entirely sure!

At this point, I’m drawing a blank!

Edited to add that the next time you construct a PET container, you may want to consider creating fewer holes and making a bigger reservoir if you find yourself needing to water too often!

[SlzrJ]

I got this from a local nursery though I don't know if they grew it themselves or it was imported from somewhere overseas. If it did come from overseas I highly suspect it came from Thailand.

The bottom half of this container is actually supposed to sit in the bottom half of the bottle with a water reservoir. I just pulled it out to get a better photo of the roots.

It's supposed to look like this

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by SlzrJ

I got this from a local nursery though I don't know if they grew it themselves or it was imported from somewhere overseas. If it did come from overseas I highly suspect it came from Thailand.

The bottom half of this container is actually supposed to sit in the bottom half of the bottle with a water reservoir. I just pulled it out to get a better photo of the roots.

It's supposed to look like this

I’m afraid I’m out of ideas at this point and can’t recommend something I haven’t experienced with a good conscience—hopefully a more experienced member might chime in!

Your PET setup is really cool, though—I see the big picture and that’s pretty nifty!

[SlzrJ]

That inverted bottle technique is actually a pretty common way to grow leafy vegetables for home gardeners here. I remember making them for the school vegetable garden back in elementary school.

Thanks for trying to help though. It's much appreciated


I think, for now, I'll do something midway

I could just keep the bottom half of the pot slightly moist and let the top half dry out.

[greenhouseFrog]

Originally Posted by SlzrJ

That inverted bottle technique is actually a pretty common way to grow leafy vegetables for home gardeners here. I remember making them for the school vegetable garden back in elementary school.

Thanks for trying to help though. It's much appreciated


I think, for now, I'll do something midway

I could just keep the bottom half of the pot slightly moist and let the top half dry out.

I may do some experimenting with inverted bottles myself…Thank YOU for the inspiration!

The inverted bottle with some water in the reservoir may be all you need to do in order to keep that bottom portion nice and humid while allowing the top to dry off just enough to not discourage the new roots!