Early start for my Catasinae

[Lars Kurth]

When I checked the greenhouse thoroughly this morning, I realized that many of my Catasetums and Cycnoches are starting to get new shoots. Many already 1cm. That is about 2 months earlier than normal for me and will hopefully be a good thing. Not sure what triggered it as all the plants are in the same spot than every year and January has been rather dull and not at all sunny in the UK.

I had lowered the temperature to 14-17C for two weeks at the beginning of January in the greenhouse as I was away (to ensure that the greenhouse only needed to be watered once during that period).

I was planning to repot my plants this year to try growing plants in a variant of PET culture (hydroleca at the bottom of the pots, followed by an small inusaltion layer - styrofoam pellets or epiweb - and then substrate; bottom of the pots standingin water during the frowing season). When is the best time to do this? Do I wait until the roots appear or the shoots are about 2-3 cm's. Or should I wait until the end of March, when I usually do this.

[catasetum-ian]

well i divide them during when the new keiki/shoot appears, even sometimes before the roots appear, or just appear. i do not like handling them when the new roots are too long or partially rooted because disruption of these newly form roots slows the growing slightly (not very much but i just dun like to see damaged new roots).
but hight percentage of my catasetums are made during the dormant phase, some says that they will suffer setback or delay growth but personally i did not experienced much of this. in fact sometimes when i divide a pot with 4-5 back bulbs, i get two separate bulbs sending out new keiki at the same time.

[RobS]

I to would treat them according their growing phase.