What are best Catasetums to grow in the home?

[cloudforest]

Hi everyone! I am thinking about buying a catasetum and growing it under flourescent lights in my apartment. What would be the best species to get? Also, are there any that would not require a lot of warmth?
Cloudforest

[nancy]

You ask a difficult question...do you keep a pony in your apartment?
Same problem.

[Gwallogwyn]

I grow a mix of a bout 150 stanhopeas and twenty five or so catasetums both species and hybrids under flouresent light on light carts. They are in a spair bedroom about 10'X10' in size. The temp. ranges from about 58* to 72*. The stanhopeas are moved outside and hung in trees during the summer. I havent had any problems blooming any of the catasetums. There are pictures of some of the stanhopeas and castasetums on my photo gallery that were grown under these lights.

[cloudforest]

Hello Gwallogwyn,
Thank you for the response! You have some nice pictures there. How large are the catasetums you grow? I also noticed you had some nice Mormodes species. How hard are they to grow for you? What Catasetums grow best for you? I am thinking about getting Catasetum tenebrosum, but size is my chief concern. It looks like you do not need hot temps though, from the temperature range you have.

[Gwallogwyn]

Hi Cloudforest
I have been growing stanhopeas and catasetums for the past 30 years. The first castasetum I grew
was integerrimum and that was on a south east facing window sill. The only problem was it’s
size, it grew well and flowered but was rather large.
I have never had a greenhouse. Every orchid I have is grown together under fluorescent
lights on four lights carts. These all have 3 shelves with four 40 watt bulbs to a shelf. The lights
are positioned agents the bottom of the shelf above. The ballasts are electronic and gently warm the
water in the trays above. The bottom of each tray on the shelf has two layers of plastic egg crate
material on the bottom to raise the pots or baskets above the water. The warm water helps provide
humidity for the plants.
Since most of my orchids originate from close to the equator, the lights are timed to be on 12 hours
a day. I also have a fogger on a timer that is on every half hour while the lights are on. The shelves
are spaced 18” from the lights at the top and bottom with the center shelf 15” from the lights.
The pseudobulbs on my catasetums range from about 6” to 10”in high when dormant. When growing
The leaves can add another 12“ to 24”. I have only had male flowers on my plants.
After flowering catasetums drop there leaves and go dormant at which point I stop watering and
leave them in there pots until new growth starts. When the roots on the new growth are at least 1 ½” to 2” in length I remove any dead roots and pseudobulbs and then repot them and again start watering them.
Most of my mormodes are slightly smaller than the catasetums but grow about the same.
The only catasetum that I found difficult to keep alive was Ctsm.schmidtianum which died
during dormancy

I have included some photos of my setup for what its worth.

[nancy]

I am impressed and absolutely staggered that you both can grow both stanhopea and catasetinae indoors!
Growing out-of-doors in the deep south has its limits (if they aren't heat-tolerant, they croak), but size, at least in catasetums, is a manageable one.
One of the truly fine characteristics of the catasetinae (aside from spectacular flowers and intoxicating fragrance) is their deciduous habit - if the foliage is burned, chewed, broken, shredded, etc., it's still all good, because they will grow new leaves next season.
Regards - Nancy

[irrka]

Gwallogwyn-- i'm speachless

[isurus79]

Wow!! Thats an amazing setup!! How do you flower the Stanhopeas if the baskets are sittin on the "ground?"

[Gwallogwyn]

Hi isurus79
Most of my stanhopeas bloom during the Summer and Fall
while they are out hanging in the tree. Those few that flower
after they come back inside are hung off the side of the trays on the light carts. I allso have a wrought iron plant hanger attached to the end of one of the light carts. You can see it in one of the photo in my last Thread. Most of the leaf damage occurs out side in the spruce tree. The tree is about 40' tall and has cones near the top,which the red squirrel eats. In the process many are droped and tropedo the leaves on the stanhopeas. I allways battle spider mites during the winter months.

[isurus79]

Very cool! I hope to have a Stan collection like that some day. So far Ive got 7 or 8 hanging on bamboo poles and using the trees as shade (I use a mango and mesquite tree though), not unlike yours.