Fredclarkeara after dark dormancy and growth issues
 

Hi everyone,

I purchased this fdk back around March and I'm confused on what to do with it.

Now it's halfway through winter down here and I was just wondering what to do. It hasn't gone into dormancy even though I've stopped all watering and fertilizing so should I just leave it as is?

The second issue I have is that I decided to repot it from the sphagnum it was in into Kiwi bark and found that quite a bit of it was growing beneath the media. So my question is does it look fine? because the part of the growth above the media looks okay but the bits beneath look a bit skinny.

Thanks for the help

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For this one - if it keeps growing, then just keep providing it warm conditions ----- it will eventually lose its leaves ---- eventually.

As long as the roots don't remain relatively cold plus wet all the time, and as long as the orchid looks like it isn't going into dormancy ------ then just keep looking after it as usual.

I agree, just keep on doing what you are doing with regard to water (none). It may or may not lose all its leaves, but just ignore it until the new growth is well on its way (like 8-10 cm!) As for medium, how big is it? When these are in rapid growth, they need to be quite wet - so a small plant (2 or 3 pseudobulbs) will be easier to keep that way in sphagnum. I go for bark (small) only on the larger plants where it would take too much sphagnum. And don't worry about roots... Last year's roots are still functional, any older than that are dead. It is the new roots with the new growth that will really sustain the plant. Catasetinae basically re-invent themselves every year.

Hi!

That's the thing! I haven't noticed any growth for the last few weeks. Some bottom leaves dropped a while back so I initially thought it was going into dormancy but it hasn't done anything since sadly. The sheath bits are also starting to split!


I see, that's great to hear then!

The medium I used was the 3 to 8mm Bio Leaf Premium Orchid Potting Mix from the same people who make Kiwi Bark.

I guess I'll repot it once the new growth kicks in with some sphagnum and perlite! Is it possible for new growths to kick in from the older pseuldobulb?

Thanks!

The time to repot, actually, is now or fairly soon - you want to get it done BEFORE the new growth and new roots. And the plant will grow roots before growth, so you want it in its new home before that. New growth will come from the base of the old pseudobulbs. (Occasionally you can also get growths on the side of a pseudobulb, but the main ones are from the base) It's too soon yet to think about it... You are still in winter. In a month or two you'll start to see the new growth. Don't start watering, though, until those new growths (and new roots) get to that 8-10 cm range. It is really tempting to water as soon as you see it... don't. Put your hands in your pockets so that you can't reach for the watering can. :biggrin: There are lots of notes within this Catasetum sub-forum on the subject. (Most of the notes are from people in the northern hemisphere, so add or subtract 6 months accordingly... it's the seasons that govern the process)

It does look, from your photo, like you got a somewhat out-of-season growth. If your weather is warm you could give it a little bit of water around the edges of the pot, especially if you see any sign of shriveling of pseudobulbs. But not much... it's still early.

You actually could dispense with the repot... once you get active growth, you could just sit the pot in a dish with some water in it. The whole concept is, when in active growth it needs lots of water and fertilizer (I use some time-release fertilizer in the pot for an extra boost) There is certainly more than one way to accomplish that.

Okay! Yeah I got it in the middle of autumn here, I'll keep my hands to myself and try not to water, It'll be a challenge of self-control! I'll be sure to have a look through the subforum!

I think I might just repot it into sphagnum hehe, better to be on the safe side

Thank you so much for the help!

Hi Roberta, just wanted to check up on one of my seedling catasetums, it doesn't seem to be fairing well. A black spot has appeared on it and some bits of the pseudobulb is turning orange/brown. Water might have fallen into it when I was watering my other plants but besides that I have no idea why this is happening.Would you happen to have any advice? I haven't watered it at all even though it's past mid spring here. Should I just start watering it? Thanks!

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I wouldn't worry about the old pseudobulb, you do have a new growth starting. But actually the one whose advice is better than mine is isurus79 ... I grow these, but he grows a lot more of them and has seen more "variations on the growth theme" than I have. You might want to PM him.

Okay, thank you!

I wouldn't worry about the black spot. You might want to drench that one before the new roots come out of the new growth. Soak it once and then leave it be until the new roots are 3-4 inches long.

Just check to see if the regions of the bulb that is turning brownish is soft/mushy.

With Fdk type orchids, these appear to be pretty much indestructable in tropical North Queensland when we keep spider-mites at bay - or under control. I just keep a bottle of "yates anti-rot phosacid" if I spot any signs of rotting activity. And - for spidermites - natra soap spray ..... or natra soap with some pyrethrum added to the mix does the job for me ----- packed into a 'atomiser' type spray bottle --- and I spray the leaves (under and over), bulbs and all.

Is your fdk growing indoors or outdoors? I find that good gentle air-circulation cuts down on the chances of rot. In fact, I've only seen some menacing - and quite concerning leaf rot - that all started with a spidermite attack - not quite sure what happened yet - but which got dealt with very effectively with yates anti-rot phosacid ----- which happened to work on whatever it was causing that. I've never had serious bulb rot before on any of my catasetum type orchids. There was one time only when one bulb (of a relatively new arrival fdk) developed some yellow round patch - getting soft. And then I sprayed yates anti-rot onto it ..... and the patch turned black coloured and remained that way permanently. The bulb had no issue after that. No problem.

The leaf rot came after a spidermite attack, and was affecting my whole set of catasetum type orchids. But ----- as mentioned --- it (the rot) got dealt with very effectively (from the treatment). The spidermites got deal with nicely as well.

Hi! That yates product sounds good, I don't think we have that available here though unless it goes under a different name :_(

The brown bits are pretty hard, I grow them indoors in a cabinet with fans going 24/7, I had spidermites on my outdoor plants.

Whew! thank god! I've drenched it and everything! Thank you for the advice

Leareu ----- it's just under the category of phosphorous acid fungicide ----- so I think anything equivalent to that should be ok. Just optional in case you ever look for anything like that.

Hi everyone,

I got some bad news, so a week ago, my grandma came to visit us and she wanted to take a look at my orchid (I owe my orchid obsession to her and she knew how much I loved this particular orchid)

Anyways, she wanted to take a look so I gave the pot to her and well... She accidentally dropped it, I was screaming on the inside but thought maybe it won't affect the new growth, it was just an accident after all. Well, skip to the present and some spots just aren't look so well (there's browning on one side of the new growth). Another note is that when I was scooping all the dirt back into the pot, I noticed the one root the new growth had had a black tip and so just wondering, should I do anything or just let it do its thing?

Sorry to be a nuisance, this is just a really special orchid to me and I don't know to see it die
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Dropping it generally won't be fatal for the orchid.

The main thing is to just provide and maintain the suitable growing conditions. Also - just watch out for those that can't be trusted to hold something firmly and reliably. But ----- for the case of your grandmother --- we will excuse her for that.

Hopefully that little shoot will keep growing and developing nicely. Just keep an eye on it. If it remains nice and green, and keeps getting larger, then that will very nice.

I don’t think there’s much you can do for that one. Looks like it won’t last for much longer. Hopefully I’m wrong though.

I do think that it is safe to say that the problem in the old pseudobulb was not caused by the accident - when these are dormant, they are dry and don't have any particular relationship with the pot.

Learu - for future usage (if needed) ----- keep a bottle of copper treatment, which is not systematic - but can be effective for some cases where some attacking organism (eg. fungus or bacteria) is causing or contributing to rotting issues. LINK

Eg. Yates Liquid Copper

Thanks for the advice everyone, damn, sucks to see that I'm probably going to lose this one. But you live and learn, I'll definitely be on the lookout for copper treatment @southpark!

Just keep monitoring Leareu. If the new sprout doesn't change completely to yellow for a long time, then there may be chances of recovery. And also providing that the existing bulb doesn't deteriorate further and goes all soft/mushy.

With the copper treatment - I just normally pop some of the blue liquid into a spray bottle, and then add the appropriate amount of water - then spray onto the whole plant - avoiding the roots if I can help it. I don't know whether it impacts the roots negatively. At least bunnings NZ has 'liquid copper'.

can't add anything to this. Doesn't look strong enough, Dropping it won/'t have effected it much.

I don't grow catasetums to be able to advise anyway, I have methods to try to strengthen orchids but if one isn't allowed to water these then my remedies would not be allowed.

It does interest me but not enough to get a Catasetum to grow myself. I thought they were easy but this situation looks far from that

Dropping it adds stress to a plant that is barely hanging on. Therefore, dropping will have major effects to this plant.

Totally agree about dropping ----- wouldn't have affected it much. Catasetums are pretty darn tough. They can handle it.

Hey guys! Some good news, I just found out it made a new growth today (or perhaps it had been making it for some time and I just didn't notice it?). Is there any chances of this growth making it?

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The bad news (or maybe good news?) is that in my sad state after figuring my catasetum might die, I bought another fredclarkeara and well, I don't think I'm doing it right. I did email the seller beforehand about if it was time to water and she said that I could regularly water and fertilize. However I realized as soon as I got it that there was a bruise forming (from transport unfortunately) and that recently a few of the new roots starting to form died (that little black thing at the base was unfortunately a root :( ). I'm just confused, should I hold back on the watering till more roots grow? I was waiting till the top roots were dry/white but maybe I shouldn't have. Any help would be appreciated!

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That is good news. About the new growth.

Now ----- regarding watering. I know for a fact that --- at least for Fdk. plants ----- as long as the temperature is nice --- relatively warm, and not 'cold' ----- then keeping the media moist ---- as you are doing right now ----- is absolutely fine.

Issues just generally arise if the temperature is like winter cold ----- such as NZ winter cold. That is cold plus wet can be problematic when the orchid is developing new roots.

But right now - NZ should be fine maybe. And also - not enough gentle air-movement in a growing area can lead to issues too. Eg. still-air environments can be an issue. So if you have good temperature etc ------ then it will be just fine.

Fdk plants are really tough in tropical conditions. I know they're pretty much indestructible in the tropics here - that's if we help the plant to defend against the nasty spider-mites.

On the old plant, I hope it springs back! Is the new growth about halfway up the bulb?

On the new plant, I would keep it dry for a month or so in order to give the new roots time to stretch out and look for water. Here's a care guide that might come in handy: Sunset Valley Orchids - Superior Hybrids for Orchid Enthusiasts

What is the media they're growing in?

I keep it in my display cabinet with fans on 24/7 on a heat mat, so hopefully it's enough to keep it happy!

Speaking of spider mites though, I found some on some of my bonsai earlier yesterday! A travesty!

Yep! it is, I'm kinda worried about whether I should repot it or something since it's kinda high up above the medium.


Okay, will keep it dry for a month then! I'll be looking into that guide today too!

When the plant arrived, a bunch of the bark had fallen out, so I put some fern fibre in it since it was all I had on me. It's basically a top layer fern fibre with the middle and bottom being just bark I think.

When the roots start to pop out, you can pull the plant out of the pot and place it sideways so the new growth is close to the media. Be sure to secure the plant in the pot so it doesn't wiggle.

Ah, interesting! I haven't seen fern fiber in a long time!

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I made this post so I figured I'd give an update!

Unfortunately, the kelly longley died (well, it was probably already on it's way out but the shelf falling on it probably didn't help)

But thankfully I can give updates on the FDK after dark NOID and SVO Black Pearl!

The Fdk. noid is doing great! The new pseudobulb is about 15-16cm tall and gorgeous (although haven't been able to fertilize it as much due to moving recently and still getting my gears sorted). Just wondering if I should try inducing it into dormancy as it is winter here.

https://scontent-akl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net..._Q&oe=62D61DFD


As for the Fdk. After Dark SVO Black Pearl, it's doing super good! Something was growing underneath the sheath of this years growth and to my surprise it was a new pseudobulb! Trying to put it into dormancy, but the leaves refuse to drop even though I haven't watered it for like 2 weeks.

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So yes, although sadly one died as a result of my failure, the others have been doing great! Would like to thank everyone here who helped with special thanks to Stephen! Your advice and videos have been a TREMENDOUS help!

But also, haha looking for some advice on some of my other catasetinae

This is a Fdk. after dark SVO Black pearl and I'm just wondering if I should give it a little water to plump the pseudobulbs back up (it came to me in its dormancy) as it has shriveled quite a lot. I did give it one pump from my mister in the hopes that would be enough, but it didn't really do anything haha. Another issue is the base of this years growth being brown. When I removed some of the sheath I found it a be a bit too brown for my liking so just wanting some advice on that. Any opinion would be great!

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The next plant is the Monnierara Millennium Magic 'Witchcraft', the last leaf fell off about 3 weeks ago and I thought that's great, dormancy so I don't have to do anything with it for the next few months. But I peeped a look at it and I saw a new growth (or at least that's what I think it is, I feel like it's way too small to produce flower spikes). So yeah, bit confused on what to do with that.

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Glad you're getting this group figured out! You can help trigger dormancy with exposure to natural sunlight or by reducing daylength with artificial lights. Increasing the length between watering helps as well.

The brown at the base of the dormant bulb is troubling, so I recommend keeping an eye on it. You can soak that dormant one, just keep it warm until it dries.

Thanks haha, I just love them so much!

So I soaked it, but it hasn't really plumped back up or changed in any way from what I've noticed sadly. I don't want to risk anything else without checking with you guys first. It's still shriveled sadly

So the browning seems to have spread a little bit from the last picture I posted and now I'm a bit more concerned

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Hi Learu,
I came on this thread last week and I have gone back to the beginning and worked forward til today's. In one of them you asked for ideas on what to do. Here's an idea: get a plant lightm or two, for each of your windows. I'm pretty sure you do not already have any.

Ya, the base of that bulb might be dying. Most likely won't spread to the rest of the plant, but keep an eye on it. If the base is clearly shriveling, you'll end up cutting the bulb and starting a new plant with the cut bulb. Frustrating, but nothing too concerning.

Quick update on the Fdk. after dark NOID

It's blooming! Apologies for the large photos!

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wow, great!! wish ours would do the same now....