Intimidating Catasetum Buds

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by Junebug

I wonder, when this occurs, if the plant has actually divided itself due to some force of nature...thus resulting in one division producing male and the other female.

My plant has grown very well this year and I'd have to call her robust which makes since with the resulting female buds. This is what she looks like now.

There are some species which tends to have even female and male flowers on the same spike (e.g. Ctsm. atratum), and some other species are more likely to do this... also to produce hermaphrodite flowers (normally combined with male or female or both on the same spike). Ctsm. üpileatum is not one of them, but it does not mean it cannot happens. I have seen some doing it... it is just less common!

Your plant is very strong! the new PB is more than double the size of the previous one, which shows also you have done a great job!

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

Camille, Catasetinae are very easy to grow! They only need a lot of light (Cattleya or higher) and lots of water and fertilizer during the growing season. Important: DO NOT WATER before the new growth has roots of at least 5 cm long!

Schwerter has currently some very nice Catasetinae! If you order I would recommend to get Catasetum pileatum "Green Gold", as it is normally not easily found in Europe ('Oro Verde' is much easier to get, and probably cheaper in France!)... ok, it is more expensive than 'Oro Verde', but if you can get it, do it The plant is very nice and can be blooming next year!

Thanks! Have trouble giving high light for now, but normally next spring-summer I'll be moving out of student housing here and will select my apartment based on the orientation of the windows!
Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow though to have a look, their website is not loading right now.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

There are some species which tends to have even female and male flowers on the same spike (e.g. Ctsm. atratum), and some other species are more likely to do this... also to produce hermaphrodite flowers (normally combined with male or female or both on the same spike). Ctsm. üpileatum is not one of them, but it does not mean it cannot happens. I have seen some doing it... it is just less common!

Your plant is very strong! the new PB is more than double the size of the previous one, which shows also you have done a great job!

Thanks for the information.

You're giving me too much credit. This plant has another pseudobulb that can't been seen in the photo. It's bigger than the two little ones and about an inch shorter than the new one.

[CTB]

Teach the newbie time---- This is my casasetum, Orchidglade "Jack of Diamonds x Fuch's Delight, is it male or female and what is the difference.???

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by Junebug

Thanks for the information.

You're giving me too much credit. This plant has another pseudobulb that can't been seen in the photo. It's bigger than the two little ones and about an inch shorter than the new one.

well, what about if I tell you that this year none of my catasetinae managed to make a PB larger or of the same size as teh previous one? It is not always as easy as it seems... I moved this year during the main growing season of Catasetinae and they suffered a lot... no matter how much I tried to care for them... so.. you have done a great job there!

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by CTB

Teach the newbie time---- This is my casasetum, Orchidglade "Jack of Diamonds x Fuch's Delight, is it male or female and what is the difference.???

ok... Carol, the flowers you have here are male flowers... two easy way to recognise them: they are normally more colored than females (with some exceptions depending on the species) and then they have long trigger hairs (these are the two long "hairs" you seen in the center of the flower, and which when you touch them shoot the pollinia onto your finger!)

now some examples from Flickr to illustrate better... Most female flowers of Catasetum look more or less exactly the same, and it is very difficult to separate species only by the female flowers: green(ish) and hooded (hood on the upper side!)... However, some species like planiceps or macrocarpum have male flowers which are also hooded and often mistaken for female by newbies... (here you check for the triggers! and teh position of the petals)... Then, you will have very few species, like discolor or longifolium, which do not have triggers or these are very short (in this case it is more difficult to tell female frommale appart, but it is a matter of experience). I am posting now male and female flowers of the same species for comparison:


Catasetum expansum by GenaJog, on Flickr

Catasetum expansum (female flowers) by GenaJog, on Flickr


Catasetum. osculatum by adriano bosso, on Flickr

Catasetum. osculatum "flor femea" by adriano bosso, on Flickr

male flowers:

Catasetum viridiflavum by f_msantos_ choosing .... NIKON or CANON, on Flickr
in this one you can see the triggers:

Catasetum viridiflavum by aeranthes, on Flickr
and the female:

Catasetum viridiflavum female flower by f_msantos_ choosing .... NIKON or CANON, on Flickr

male showing triggers:

Catasetum planiceps male flowers by kavanaru, on Flickr

and female:

Catasetum planiceps female flowers by kavanaru, on Flickr

Ctsm. discolor male flowers.. no trigger!

Catasetum discolor (Lindl.) Lindl. by Mauro Rosim, on Flickr

[camille1585]

This is turning out to be a very informative thread! Learned a lot in the space of a dozen posts.

[CTB]

Fantastic! Wow, I'm surprised by guessing I would have switched the male and females around. Thank-you so much Kavanaru for sharing you knowledge and taking the time to post pics and explain this. Your pics are beautiful!
Junebug sorry I hijacked but I know you would enjoy a good lesson too. Thanks. Always a good thread when you learn something.

[Junebug]

No need to apologize, Carol. I was hoping this thread would inspire a lesson.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Those flowers look like they are from another universe!