Fdk After Dark "Sunset Valley Orchids"

[isurus79]

I cut all my leaves off a few weeks back and the affected plants are quickly dropping the leaf stubs. Forcing dormancy really does work to make them "sleep." Most of my plants showed no inclination to rest before cutting the leaves.

[JScott]

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I only have that one Catasetum type (Fdk After Dark 'Black Pearl') and I didn't have any trouble getting it to enter into dormancy. I left it outside even when the weather started to cool off (days in the 60s or 70s, and nights in the mid 50s), and the leaves just turned yellow and fell off. It actually happened kind of suddenly. I was surprised how fast they went, and I was a little worried, but the plant seems fine now, with two spikes.

[orchidsarefun]

2 spikes, all leaves still present. Darn!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

2 spikes, all leaves still present. Darn!

Go with the flow... it is well worth the extra space that it may take for a little while. It'll drop those leaves in awhile... if it hasn't done so by the end of December you can push dormancy by stopping the water, but for now, it looks wide awake.