Catasetum advice needed!

[Sandy4453]

I did it all wrong last year with my Catasetums. I've got 2 now (don't know their names) that I took out of all medium and no water given since about mid-late October. They look beyond dead, bulbs are all shriveled up but I noticed about a month ago, a tiny growth emerging from one of them. The roots are only about 1/4" now so I'm holding out on doing anything just yet.

When I pot this up, should I remove all the back bulbs and just leave the one bulb that has the new growth? Even that bulb (with the new growth) looks pitiful.

Not ready to give up on these....yet!

[Bruno De Toni]

Sandy, you should not remove any back bulb even though if they look pretty bad. Also do not water the new growth, but you can use another short pot to hold water and summerge only the base of the pot which has the plant to give some humidity for the development of the new roots. This would be enough for a couple of months before to water normaly. Also do not fertilize untill the new growth is strong and big.

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by Bruno De Toni

Sandy, you should not remove any back bulb even though if they look pretty bad. Also do not water the new growth, but you can use another short pot to hold water and summerge only the base of the pot which has the plant to give some humidity for the development of the new roots. This would be enough for a couple of months before to water normaly. Also do not fertilize untill the new growth is strong and big.

Bruno, I'm going to do exactly what you've suggested. Thank you so much.

So, I should or shouldn't let the base of the plant meet up with the water?

[Bruno De Toni]

Not the base of the plant, the base of the pot, one or two centimeters under water is enough to give humidity to the upper part of the medium. Remember not to have the medium wet, only the basal portion of the pot which drives the roots to penetrate the medium in search of water.