very nice one!! Mine is in spike now for teh first time
I was supposed to be a "Black Pearl" but the flowers look more like SVO or any other of the spotted ones... By The Way, the black ones are not really BLACK, they are indeed very dark, but it is more a dark purple, and if not grown under teh right conditions they can be lighter than expected and look actually a bit purple/brown...
sorry for this, but I have seen some question on how to grow these plants here
Hope you don't mind...
Growing Catasetinaes... dormancy or not dormancy... hhhmm.. my experience: Just let the plant tell you! Most plants will normally go into dormancy automatically (Depending on species, dormancy can last for few weeks to several months!), however, some plants refuse to do it if they are continually receiving water and nutriens (Old leave will indeed become yellow and die off, but a new growth will start just before this...)
However, I know of a grower in Germany who keeps all her Catasetum pileatum and its hybrids on windowsills (all windows of the house should be full, as she is supposed to have over 30 different clones!) continually growing in S/H (potted in standard bark miy, in clay pots sitting on a 2-3 cm layer of water). She does not allow them to go into dormancy and is very succesfull growing these plants!
Many Catasetinae are adapted to bloom while "dormant" and do not need any "external" water or nutrients for the blooming process, as they take all what they need from the Pseudobulb. As per Fredclarkeara, I am not 100% sure when they normally bloom. I have seen plants blooming after gone into "vegetative dormancy"
So, the general procedure would be:
1.- as soon as you have an active growth (wait until the roots are at least 5 cm long, as in culture you could have the risk of rot!) you should start watering and feeding like mad. In South America, when catasetinae are grown in pots, some slow release fertilizer is given to the substrat and they are also fed with almost each watering. I give my plants the same treatment and teh fertilizer in the water goes to double the recommended concentration without any visible problems (key: don't let them dry out!).. Note: some species are more susceptible to rot than others, therefore you should keep an eye on the base of the PBs. For Mormodes and Cycnoches it is important not to leave water between the leave!! These are the most susceptible genus to rot! On the other hand, if you detect rot in one PB, don't panic. Just cut it off inmediately, even if it means you stay with only one single PB. The plant will most probably recover! They are adapted to it, as in nature, as mentioned in another thread, they mostly grow on rotting material and if the delicate balance of water is gone, they get PB rot easily, but somehow they manage to recover very qick. Keep in mind that it is easier to keep a Cattleya or Paphiopedilum with perfect healthy leave and PBs than a Catasetinae!
As soon as the pseudobulb is mature, stop heavy feeding and slowly change to use only water. You should also reduce watering a bit, as the plant will not need that much water anymore. It is not very actively growing, but just more a sort of maintenance! at some point the leave will start yellowing and you should stop watering at this point. HOWEVER, if you have a new growth started, forget dormancy.. the plant decided to continue without sleep!
During vegetative dormancy if you have your plants in a very hot and dry place, the PBs will shrivel... that's normal! BUT, if they shrivel too much, you could quickly water them and let them dry again.
During vegetative dormancy (and after blooming, of course) you can either unpott your plant and keep it bare-root until next season, or you leave it in the pot... now, my experience, and that of all my friend gowing Catasetiane in south america: Catasetiane do better if not repotted every year! We have seen that they like staying in the same substart for up to 3 or 5 years, and love it when the substrat is rotting. You need to be carefull at this point as the risk of rot is very high in normal artificial condition in greenhouses or indoors! Personally, I just leave my plants (those not growing in traditional S/H) for 2 or 3 years in the same pot, allowing them to enjoy rotting material only for one season!
Mormodes, especially those coming from South America or from the rain forest of Central America, need more water than the other Catasetinae (on the other hand they are more susceptible to rot than all other Catasetiane as well!).
The grade of difficulty to grow classical Catasetiane from easier to more difficult: Catasetum, Cycnoches, Clowesia, Mormodes... (cannot say much of Dressleria as I am very new growing this Genus)
AOS has a series about culture of Catasetinae, which are very helpfull:
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm1.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm2.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm3.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm4.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm5.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm6.pdf
http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/pdf/Beginners_Series-Ctsm7.pdf
One last word: If you have never had problems with spider mites, get a Catasetinae in your collection and you will! They are magnets to these creeters!! My only recommendation here: preventive treatment!! treat them even if you do not see signs of mites anywhere!! They can kill or damage your plants easier than rot!
P.S.- Sorry for
