Potting bare-root Catasetum arrivals
 

I need some potting suggestions. I received 3 bare-root Catasetum species from Ecuagenera on Friday: expansum, macroglossum and saccatum. I was a little surprised they are nowhere near going dormant; it's winter in Ecuador. Each has a large mature new growth with nice green leaves that don't look anywhere near going dormant. The macroglossum has 10 buds that will open within a week. The saccatum has a half-mature new growth.

Ecuagenera ships bare root. Roots are wrapped in barely moist sphagnum, then put into a tightly sealed plastic baggie. I opened each baggie and soaked the sphagnum with a Kelpak-Inocucor solution with a tiny amount of sugar. But now what?

My first instinct is to leave them in the baggies in the moss they came in. They've already been uprooted and disturbed; this way I don't need to do it again. The bundle of moss is similar in proportion to the plant size as the pots Fred Clarke uses for seedlings. Does this seem reasonable? Or would you suggest something else?

Can you post some photos of the plants and current pots?

For what it's worth, if they're growing and not dormant, I'd pot them up in whatever fashion you intend to grow them, and just treat as a non-dormant plant. Leaving intact whatever sphag they're already in and filling in around them. Why leave in a baggie?

This would be my suggestion as well. This will get them in tune with the change of seasons sequence you want them to get on. It just gives them a prolonged growing season.

FWIW- I pot them each spring, after the new growth has reached appropriate size, in a paph/phrag mix with time release nuticote layered in as I add media. I use clay pots and hangers. I learned that method from Fred and I've never lost one.

As most of you know I grow in the Florida Keys but they are on their own all summer when I'm up north. There are years where the new growth may be barely starting on 1 or 2 plants when I leave but I unpot it, prune the roots (maybe divide it), pot it up and stick it in the shade house and wish it good luck. I've never lost one of those either.

Remember, Ecuador is squarely on the Equator. So it's not really "southern hemisphere", half the country is in the northern hemisphere - Go with whatever the plants are doing - they are not firmly in an "opposite" growth pattern the way those from further south would be.

My concern isn't the seasonality, it's the risk of disturbing roots during the growing season.

Group photo. L-R expansum, macroglossum, saccatum

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Roots: expansum

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Roots: macroglossum

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Roots: saccatum

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Plant: saccatum

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Trying to redo the photo upload.

I think I'd just stuff them into pots without disturbing the sphagnum, maybe add a bit more and keep on watering.

I'd do exactly as Roberta says. Sure wouldn't leave them "as is." Just be gentle with the extra stuffing around them.

---------- Post added at 12:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 PM ----------

PS When I got the five I started with, they were growing and in tiny little pots. There were more roots in the tiny pots than anything else. Immediately put them into larger pots the way I wanted to grow them, put stuff under and around them, and they didn't skip a beat.

Thanks all. That's what I'll do.

I potted my Cynodes by just holding it in the new pot and putting fresh moss around it. No need to disturb the roots. Did that with the Zygos, too. Good luck with all of them!