Cattleya Dowiana - Winter Rest

[Shadeflower]

I'm a bit confused by the question because you make it sounds like you are desperate to finish fertilizing once the new lead has finished growing.

I know lots have their theories on the matter but to me it's very simple, plants do what they want to do. You want it to flower? You want it to produce several leads, not your decision. Then some will say ah but you can influence what it does by fertilizing and that is where your question comes in to play.
See I do not believe this. I believe a plant will do what a plant will do and it will only not do so if it lacks fertilizer or is being grown wrong.
There have been endless trials to see if feeding differently during flowering will affect the outcome and the bottom line is no it doesn't. It's the overall care for several months leading up to it flowering.

So the notion to change things drastically from one day to the next doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe someone who does believe this can advise you more.

My belief is that if you fertilize strong during summer then you need to give them a few months rest or a break before you commence it all again.

Can't really advise how that works out long term. I fertilize whenever my orchids are growing, some times a bit less, sometimes a bit more.

I still have to test out if fertilzing too much can inhibit flowering which is a project for next year. Probably does but for a seedling that is of no concern as long as you are not fertilzing so strong to burn root tips.

[mopwr]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

I'm a bit confused by the question because you make it sounds like you are desperate to finish fertilizing once the new lead has finished growing...

So my only concern is not killing the plant. Dowiana was / is considered finicky to grow in non-s/h culture because they have a defined dry rest phase in nature and need to be kept drier and without fertilizer (according to all the sources I've read, and there's many out there). Most people who kill this plant, do so by fertilizing and / or keeping it too wet during it's resting phase... which starts rot that consumes the whole plant.

Traditional culture of this species in bark, scoria, etc., is well documented - what I've not found is what changes (if any) are needed for this rest phase when it's kept in semi-hydro. All of my other semi-hydro plants that don't have a winter rest requirement all get 25ppm nitrogen at each watering year round. I'd heard that for plants requiring a winter rest, you still water the same, but use pure water instead of adding any fertilizers. I was curious if others had experience here they can share with regards to how to manage the "rest period" or if there's any change needed at all - since I know semi hydro culture does flip a few ideas on their head.

For reference, a quote on culture of this species from Sonoma Orchids - a sentiment that is mirrored on many other sites:
"Cattleya dowiana also likes to be kept dry when it is not actively growing and the easiest way to retard its growth or kill it is to overwater it during the cool winter months when it is dormant...

Ignoring C. dowiana’s need to dry out will cause the roots to rot and eventually the pseudobulbs will decay. Unlike black rot of cattleyas, which begins on the youngest, softest growths, C. dowiana pseudobulb rot begins at the base of the oldest pseudobulb and progresses through the rhizome and kills the youngest pseudobulb last. Pseudobulb rot is always fatal, and it is the main reason virtually all of the fine old clones of C. dowiana from the turn of the century are no longer in existence...

After [it's done flowering], do not apply any fertilizer until the plant begins growing again in the spring. Never use a slow-release fertilizer because this may continue to feed during dormancy, which can contribute to pseudobulb rot."

My plant has grown all of it's roots adapted to semi-hydro (it may have had one or two tiny nubs, but it came to me essentially rootless). So the roots are used to being constantly wet. I'm assuming that the "need to dry out" is moot now, but the warning on fertilizing when not growing still feels valid... But that's purely an assumption based on reading about semi-hydro culture and how some have dealt with winter rests; I'm simply curious to hear about others successes or failures in this area.

Tangent: I also have a Cattleya Rex and if I can grow it successfully enough / big enough to one day divide, I'd like to experiment with putting one division in semi-hydro, but not until I'm sure I can manage through it's winter rest phase - as losing that plant would be devastating.