Catasetums waking up - Orchid Board

orchidsarefun · #1 02-14-2018, 10:58 AM

I did a spot check and noticed that many of my catasetums are developing new growths. My house temps are kept around 70f . Some are in South facing windows that receive Winter sun and temps go to around 80f. It would be a logical assumption to think it's temperature and angle of the sun based. However some stored in the basement at temps around 55f and in very low light are also growing. My catasetums Jose Abalo and tabulare are in full leaf and have growths. Even my habenaria Medusa are growing.
This is weird because it's all about a month early. Anyone else seeing the same?

jcec1 · #2 02-14-2018, 11:05 AM

Most of mine are waking up, they started new growths a couple of weeks ago, some are still losing their leaves - I stop watering on December 1st. I still have a few that haven't lost their leaves yet. This is about normal at this time of year for me.

Mine are all in South facing windows and when the sun is shining I can feel the pots getting warm now that the sun is stronger even at 56N.

rymor · #3 02-14-2018, 12:22 PM

All of mine (species and hybrids) are in various stages of waking up (from full leaf on new growth to just nubs).

I think that hybrids tend to lose their normal clock schedule and tend to wake up when they feel like it. Usually, Feb-March are when mine in NC tend to start growing again. My hybrids are a bit further along in their growth while my fimbriatum is just starting to show a nub of growth.

My Monnierara, on the other hand, takes only a couple of weeks break before going into growth mode again. So I think the more complex the hybrid, the more wacky the timing of rest can get.

isurus79 · #4 02-14-2018, 03:19 PM

I've got some waking up, but most are still dormant. They're all under lights right now.

orchidsarefun · #5 02-14-2018, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rymor

My Monnierara, on the other hand, takes only a couple of weeks break before going into growth mode again. So I think the more complex the hybrid, the more wacky the timing of rest can get.

...and mine are about the only ones that aren't waking up. Actually also my Fdk after dark are still snoring.

Roberta · #6 02-14-2018, 05:15 PM

I had one Fdk After Dark wake up 'way early - it is in full growth now and I have started watering it. Many of the other Catasetinae (but not all) are showing signs of breaking dormancy, but that is the only one that is even close to ready for water. I have long wondered what is the trigger, since these grow near the equator and so day length is not likely to be a factor. Also warm areas, so temperature is questionable. They likely start to wake up in anticipation of rainy season... but how do they know? The season is likely to be different in different habitats. We mere humans just have to wait and let the plants tell us when they're ready.

orchidsarefun · #7 07-09-2018, 08:03 PM

Growth is in full swing all around.
My macroglossum has been amazing - it had 3 spikes bloom within 3 weeks and is growing a 4th. It was one I watered weekly and used osmocote extended release granules.

camille1585 · #8 07-10-2018, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

Growth is in full swing all around.
My macroglossum has been amazing - it had 3 spikes bloom within 3 weeks and is growing a 4th. It was one I watered weekly and used osmocote extended release granules.

Osmocote sounds like a good idea, I didn't know it could be used on these plants. I'm growing a few Catasetinae for the first time this season, and remembering to fertilize more often and at a much higher dosage than the rest of the orchids has been a challenge. What sort of formulation/NPK are you using?

isurus79 · #9 07-10-2018, 01:49 PM

George Hatfield came to our society and spoke recently. He uses time release capsules and time release cal-mag on all his plants. A lot of people in the society (including myself) changed our fertilization to time release capsules as well. Fertilization happens once a year and is now hassle free. Plus, the slow release of fertilizer means more nutrients getting to the plants rather than the tiny proportion that is actually absorbed by the roots when using dissolved fertilizer (1% of the fert is absorbed the roots using dissolved fertilizer, according to George).

He recommends low phosphorus time release or a balanced fertilizer. He also says that osmocote has a tendency to dissolve very rapidly at high temperature so he uses nutricote (made by Florikan) instead. The time release is cal-mag is called Mag-I-Cal and is used for soil. It can be purchased at True Value hardward stores here in the US. I purchased the time release fertilizer online. A little bit of the stuff goes a long way.

orchidsarefun · #10 07-10-2018, 02:25 PM

The formulation here in the USA is 15-9-12.
The manufacturer claims release for a full 6 months.
I also top dress roughly a teaspoon of bone meal and a teaspoon of blood meal when they are placed outdoors.
I've tried nutricote, dynagro and prefer osmocote because it's cheap, easily obtainable and changes colour when "spent" - the granules turn clear. I then add a few more.