new catasetum with a full set of leaves in spring!!
 

Hello all!!

I lost my Monnierara Millennium Magic 'Witchcraft' seedling to a hungry monkey last year. So , naturally I couldn't resist the temptation to get another one, and finally bought one.

As I had placed the order in early spring, I was expecting a naked pseudobulb, maybe with a new growth. However I was shocked to find that the orchid was not only NOT dormant, it was also mounted!!

I have read that these are very thirsty orchids in their growing season, and people grow them in semi hydroponic type setups to keep up with the watering. So a mounted catasetum was a shock to me.

Also, my other two catasetums are now fully dormant, and have not even put out new growths . However, this one has not even shed its leaves, and is even producing new leaves from the top.

What should I do? Will this continue to grow? Should I shove the whole mount in a pot? Should I induce dormancy?

I live in central India, the winter has ended more or less , and the day temperature goes as high as 30 degrees celsius, while the night temps are about 15-20 celsius.

unable to add pictures T-T . Pls use these links

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Is it possible you bought it from a vendor in the southern hemisphere? Or that the vendor resold you a plant coming from the southern hemisphere? In any case, it seems to be out of sync with the seasons.

The most recent bulb looks mature, so I think it would be safe to encourage dormancy at this moment.

Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis (isurus79 on OrchidBoard) has a video about importing orchids that might be applicable to your situation: https://youtu.be/O5dtzuVAemA

The way it is mounted, the plant probably needs to be watered multiple times a day. The nursery where it is coming from probably had a watering system that was appropriate for the way it is planted, but I think it will be very difficult to keep up with the watering needs at home. I wouldn't disturb the roots until it is dormant, but while you wait to repot it at an appropriate time, maybe you can add a some sphagnum moss to help keep water around the roots.

thank you StephaneL!

the nursery itself is located in India too. but i am unsure if it has been imported or not.

isurus79 did give me very good advice on reddit, but i am scared to cut off the leaves, as i will not be able to give it cold nights for much longer. that is my main worry regarding cutting the leaves off.

I have read that, when these grow in places where nights are never below 12C/55 F and days are warmer, they may not go dormant yet still grow well. I seem to recall Stephen has lived in such a climate in Hawaii. Perhaps ask him about that.

ahhh okk! will do that !
thanks!!

I have all my Catasetums growing outside, nights it might drop down to 17C and during the day in the upper 20's. It's still raining nearly every day and most of them went dormant quite a while ago. But a couple are actually producing new growths at the moment. At least here in the tropics it's not that unusual. I think a lot of the fuss about making sure they get a dry rest is because people are overwintering them at temps that are far colder than where they are native.