ok, and now it's my turn
I must admit I am a bit in a hurry, so I had not much time to read all the posts... maybe I will repeat some info...
first, my GH was not too cool for S/H
(20C minimum is pretty warm...) I still do not know why, but my Catasetinae and most other plants did not like traditional S/H anymore... I say traditional, because I have tried two different variation of it and it works great:
1- use a mix of LECA and bark (50:50 or 30:70) and they will love it! also pure bark works fantastic! I add a spoon of slow release fertilizer opposite to the new growth, before it starts growing and before well before I start watering. Water ONLY after the PB start growing and the roots are about 5 cm long! (don't worry about their dormancy, they will wake up on their own, when it is the best time for them!
2- use a clay pot (plastic also work, but seems to be too light and will fall too easy with the heavy PBs) with a mix of bark/perlite/sphagnum (sometimes I omitted sphagnum) and sit the pot on a tray with ca. 2-3cm water.... when watering, you need to wash the whole pot, because if you are not very careful or have not too high air humidity, you can have salts building up on the pots!, I recommend this method ONLY if you have a really warm place, as the evaporation
---------- Post added at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:51 AM ----------
ok, my iPad went mad :-)
I was saying I would recommend this method, as the evaporation will cool down the roots too much if the place is not very warm!
remember, lots of light, water and fertilizer when growing! that's the key for successful growing of Catasetinae!
keep your finger away from Mormodes! they are great plants, but not the easiest Catasetinae and could be very frustrating! same for Cycnoches, even though they are easier....
best choice would be Catasetum, Clowesia or any of the bi-generic Hybrids.
I know you said you are not impressed by plain pileatum (shame on you!!
) on you! LOL) but trust me, 'Oro Verde' is a great plant to start with, and it is really impressive when in bloom! one of the best Catasetum ever!
Cycnodes Wine Delight can be a bit difficult to bloom in some cases... but normally, Cycnodes ae great plants as well for beginners!
---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 AM ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by glengary54
Between Chryss, Catasetum-ian, Ramon and myself we will have you a full fledged Catasetinae grower in no time at al. You will constantly ask yourself why you hadn't started sooner.
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I couldn't remember what it was off the top of my head! Shows you exactly how much I know about these plants...
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