Catasetum new growth ALREADY?!?

[talyce66]

Thanks! Boy is it cold! It was down to 41 or 42 degrees F. sometime last night. Today will only be in the low 60's
I am as big of a wimp as my orchids! I hope they are ok since I did not move them in yesterday. If it gets any colder I will have no choice to spend a whole day tracking up my house! That is if I didn't kill them by leaving them out in the cold!

[nancy]

If it's any comfort, about 1/3 to 1/2 of my catasetinae have new growths now - some of them just get new growths starting in winter, always have. My personal choice is to never, ever water a dormant plant (leafless), and I really suspect that doing so might bring on the dreaded rot.
If anybody has new growths and decides to water and/or fertilize, I'd sure be interested to hear the results (but still won't water mine!).
Cheers - Nancy

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by euplusia

Two days ago I visited our local orchid group meeting here in Germany. One of our members brought a healthy plant of Catasetum pileatum with ten male flowers. All the leaves were green (January 12t !!), and even the tips had no signs of turning yellow. The plant received regular watering and was grown on windowsill.

same for me, I have a Catasetum pileatum with flowers plus a new spike on its way. I stopped watering it end of November (low watered between october and November) and it showes no signs or going dormant! other Catasetum pileatum is also non-dormant, and the Cycnodes and Cycnoches just started going dormant now (same water regimen for all of them) - Don't know what is happening with them this year... I will start watering like I am used to, mid March, when they start thrieving again... NOT earlier, not matter what they decide to do

[nancy]

On this 'watering' note, it may have been Fred Clarke himself who wrote an article (or was featured in one) in the AOS monthly magazine (ah, back when I could afford it...) and he said to begin watering, not when the new growth was x-long, but when the *roots* from the new growth were 4" long. Seems like good advice - I have watered at some time in spring when the new growths were pretty well developed, but the plants don't really start to take off until the roots are going strong. The fear of the dreaded rot, again...

[kavanaru]

yeshe is the same one who said to stop watering completelly after the first of january no matter at which state your plants are...

[euplusia]

3 pics to give an impression what I mentioned above. It is March on Ometepe island, Nicaragua. At the end of the dry season many trees and bushes start to flower. The rain has not yet set in !! I guess it is the dryest month here. And a strong plant of Catasetum maculatum is - already - well develloped.

[cb977]

Great pics! Thanks

[gixrj18]

I water all of my Catasetums with new growth, no rot yet. Its okay, you just need to turn them on their side, or something, so the water doesn't settle. Although, living in Florida may have something to do with it....we don't really have a defined winter. So it may be different up north.

[chloroplast]

I'm assuming that since everyone is "watching for root growth" before watering, that the Clowesia/Catasetum are bare-root at the moment?

How should a bare-rooted plant be treated? On a heat mat?

[cb977]

I guess my Cl Rebecca Northen got tired of waiting for the end of winter 'cause she's bloomed!