Catasetum tenebrosum

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by mark15

Have you tried to breed with it?

She was not really my type of gal.

In all seriousness, I didn't have any pollen around. And with the new potting media I am trying, I didn't want to place the extra burdon of a seed pod on this plant.

[mark15]

What is the new media? If the plant looks healthy enough breeding is a "fun' activity. I keep pollen in the fridge so I can cross plants that flower at different times of the year. I've got quite a few bottles of some very good crosses right not and can't wait for them to bloom, or at least grow.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by mark15

What is the new media? If the plant looks healthy enough breeding is a "fun' activity. I keep pollen in the fridge so I can cross plants that flower at different times of the year. I've got quite a few bottles of some very good crosses right not and can't wait for them to bloom, or at least grow.

Nope, unfortunately I had no pollen in the fridge! I just moved to to Texas from Hawaii, so the pollen were not invited to come.

The new media is semi-hyrdoponics. It seems to work very well for some of my Catasetinae and only so-so on others. The tenebrosum seems to be doing well now, though not as well as I had hoped. We will see if this experiment goes into next year.

[mark15]

good luck

[catwalker808]

My experience with catasetums &, hence, my opinion, is that LIGHT is the primary determinant of the sex of the flowers.

There is a big HOWEVER. A distinction needs to be made as to when & where the light hits. In general, catasetum plants need overall bright light to grow & thrive.

The light/sex issue is not determined by the brightness of light available to the catasetum plant , IN GENERAL. The intensity of light affects the sex of catasetum flowers at a fairly specific time & at a very specific location.

** The important factor is the intensity of light reaching a bud when it is about 1/3 to 1/2 mature. Let me explain. If a new flower spike is crowded, shaded by its own multi-leaved canopy, or if the light is below a certain threshold level, then the flowers are likely to be male. In the fall blooming period, many people (in certain geographic areas, growing indoors, or in a shady greenhouse) will almost never have female flowers.

** On the other hand, if a plant has few or sparse leaves, the emerging spike will be exposed to a much higher level of light (assuming there is also bright ambient light). Then the resulting flowers are more likely to be female.

If the FLOWER SPIKE is under relatively shady or lower light conditions, until the flower buds are 1/3 to ½ developed, then male flowers will likely develop. If one or several flowers start to bloom male and the FLOWER SPIKE & immature buds are exposed to much brighter light, then the very small & immature buds will likely yield female flowers.

The really unusual part is that some buds may be caught in an in-between transitional stage. If they are in the low light & BEGIN to commit to maleness (but are not yet fully male), then are suddenly exposed to much brighter light, the flowers may exhibit both male & female traits. They would be hermaphroditic in appearance. The much younger buds would develop as female. This is why some flower spikes have2 types of flowers, male & female. Some spikes even have 3 types of flowers. The oldest flowers are male, the middle flowers are hermaphroditic and the youngest flowers are female.

We have bloomed hundreds of catasetums & the relative health of the plant does not seem to be that much of an issue. Perhaps plants that are more vigorous going into spike have much more leaf canopy … consequently more shade for the buds and therefore more male flowers. On the other hand, plants that are less vigorous would have less leaf cover & the buds would be more exposed to light … resulting in more female flowers. I have also seen many fat, vigorous single bulbs plants, with less leaf cover over the buds, produce entirely female flowers.

***Based on these observation made over many years, my opinion is that it is not just light intensity, in general; rather, it is light intensity reaching a bud, at a critical point in its maturity, which most affects sex of the flower.

[Lars Kurth]

Mine this year: didn't like getting repotted. This years bulb so far is smaller than last years.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Lars Kurth

Mine this year: didn't like getting repotted. This years bulb so far is smaller than last years.

See, that is what I was looking for! Actually, I see my plant is just starting to put out another growth for the year, so maybe I'll get another shot at male flowers. I've noticed this is the most temperamental Catasetinae in terms of reacting to repotting and/or changing light levels. I'll usually see at least one aborted growth per season with this plant no matter what, but especially so after I have repotted it and placed it in a new location. Very finicky.

[mark15]

My experience with Catasetum is that there is more to the story then light. I have 3 Tenebrosom x Donna wise flowering at this time. 2 facing west and 1 facing north. The plants don't have much leaf growth to speak of. The one facing west with the most direct sun on it had 2 spikes of flowers all male. The plant facing west, because of a tall shrub and some banana plants in the way does not get as much direct sun as the other plant facing west. This plant has 4 big beautiful female flowers on it. The plant facing north is on the lowest tier of my step bench and also in the way of the banana plants in the west, grew a spike with a female flower the first flower to emerge on the cascading spike, while the others are male flowers, 2 of the flowers closest to the female flower have swollen stems, almost resembling an ovary of a female flower. The plant's condition, I believe, was the cause of this differentiation. The west facing, most direct intense light plant's condition was the weakest of the 3. The pseudobulbs were not as robust as the other 2. The most robust plant with the healthiest, fattest pseudobulbs has 4 female flowers, and the plant facing north, with the mix of male/female flowers is approaching the size of the best grown plant but is not their yet. Catesetum's like to be grown in a high level of light and will become robust plants when grown properly in those conditions causing the plant to produce female flowers. Human females that aren't within certain parameters of body weight will not have a period because the baby will be to stressful to be carried to term. So Catesetums employ the same strategy. If a plant is to grow and hold onto a seed capsule for the required amount of time the plant must be able to have an appropriate amount of stored energy to be able to successfully complete that task. A male flower is much less taxing on a plant, a few days of holding the flowers and then gone. Female flowers are a long term strategy for survival requiring much more reserve energy stores. So while high levels of light are required to produce robust plants, a weak plant grown in a high light will not produce a female flower capable of holding onto a seed pods for 6 months or more.