Keeping them wet, wet, wet!

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by jcec1

I agree about keeping them wet. I keep mine in about 1 inch (2.5cm) of water all summer, I also start watering as soon as new growth occurs. This has been watered since April, I stopped watering in January.

This is a Cycnodes Taiwan Gold - the leaves are about 18 inches long and 3 inches wide, it gets the same treatment year on year and I have seen no degradation of the plant.

Out of curiosity, I would love to see the new roots on this after the growing season is finished. Or if the plant is in a clear pot, can you post root pics?

---------- Post added at 09:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

Originally Posted by bil

Can you expand your remarks please? Only they aren't all that clear to me.

Originally Posted by bil

Steve raises some interesting points, and I really hope he will contribute some more. There is such a divergence between what we are doing, and conventional wisdom, that I really hope to get as much info as possible on the subject.

Bil sent me a PM to clarify and I sent him a response. However, I figure I should post my response here to contribute to the overall conversation:

Catasetum roots tend to stop growing when they encounter moisture. That's why you need them to be 4 inches (at minimum!) before you start watering. In nature they send the roots out before the rainy season and then spend their energy on growing leaves and bulbs.

If the new roots encounter moisture, they stop growing and try to put out new leaves and bulbs. Your plant might be able to send one year's growth with the energy stored in old bulbs plus the little bit of moisture that the new, stunted roots can provide. These plants will likely even bloom for you. However, such plants often won't survive the dormancy and will die the following year.

This is why the best growers wait as long as possible before watering. You want to get an giant root system to grow a giant plant, which will put out flowers and have a successful dormancy.

Plants that put out new roots that die are a bit of a mystery to me too. I've got plants that do that and they usually die. Its very frustrating. However, there are a few things you can do help the new, small growth. Stabilize the plant so it can't move in the pot, even with the strongest breeze. A plant that wiggles will bump the root tips on the media, causing them to abort. Picking the plant up or unpotting them to see the new roots will do the same thing. Keep your plant in the same spot if possible. If not possible, try to minimize the amount of movement until the growth is large enough to see well formed leaves. At this stage the new growth is unlikely to abort because of a new position relative to the light. Even then, move the plant as little as possible.

These guys love high temps, lots of water (when the roots are long enough) and high humidity. They don't need direct sun, but Spain is pretty far north so the sun should not be too strong. A 50% shade cloth would work or hanging the plant under an oak tree during midday would work too.