Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike - Orchid Board

SouthPark · #1 05-07-2019, 06:20 PM

Hi all. Has anyone got photos of the very earliest of early stages of flower spike development of a catasetum type plant?

I haven't got any photos. I'm currently waiting for spike development.

I can see on one of my Fdk plants a stub flake thing, which I don't know what it is, or what it's going to do (eg. do nothing, or maybe turn into something). It's probably not a juvenile spike. Although, I'm interested in seeing photos of very early stages of spikes - to see what they might look like.

There are plenty of photos of whitish swollen flower spike nodes on the internet, but no photos of very early stage of visible spike development seen on the internet.

Anyone got pics of early stage development? Do they start off as small bumps or something? Thanks!

Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike-fdk_sunsetridge_bakers_wine_sunset-jpg

Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike-fdk_sunsetridge_bakers_wine_sunset-jpg

Photo1: Little stub 3/4 of way up on pseudobulb (relative to the actual base of the bulb) - seen at the centre of the image here.

Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike-fdk_afterdark_sunsetridge_bakers_wine_sunset_img_0839-jpg

Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike-fdk_afterdark_sunsetridge_bakers_wine_sunset_img_0839-jpg

Photo2: Showing plant - appears to be close to 'rest' period as temperature is dropping for winter.

mere_dog · #2 05-07-2019, 07:29 PM

Your photo is broken for me. I used to grow lots of ctsms. I have no early stage photos, but I'm pretty sure that I could judge a pic. Can you try uploading it again?

SouthPark · #3 05-07-2019, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mere_dog

Your photo is broken for me. I used to grow lots of ctsms. I have no early stage photos, but I'm pretty sure that I could judge a pic. Can you try uploading it again?

Thanks so much for letting me know. This morning, the image was right there on the page. I've loaded it again now, and seems stable now. The image link code-words were still there when I did the post re-edit. Some internal linking issue must have occurred today. Thanks once again!

camille1585 · #4 05-08-2019, 01:53 AM

I don't have a reply, and just want to follow the replies in this thread because I'm curious to know if anyone has photos! Cats are new to me, and I have no clue what beginning spikes look like...

SouthPark · #5 05-09-2019, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

I don't have a reply, and just want to follow the replies in this thread because I'm curious to know if anyone has photos! Cats are new to me, and I have no clue what beginning spikes look like...

I'm relatively new too to catasetum type plants. But toward the end of a growing season - with no losses out of a bunch of plants purchased last year ... and nice growing conditions ... I figured that I should start looking for signs of flower spike formation. No rush at all though ..... as they'll certainly get flowers eventually.

Just very surprised in that there's not even one website that shows photos of super early stages of spike formation. I was expecting to find at least one set of photos, showing a sequence of spike development beginning from the very first hint of formation --- and then extending to visible/unmistakable spike growth.

WaterWitchin · #6 05-09-2019, 09:46 AM

Isurus79 here on OB is very knowledgeable. Maybe you could PM him and ask him to reply here?

isurus79 · #7 05-10-2019, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Isurus79 here on OB is very knowledgeable. Maybe you could PM him and ask him to reply here?

Thanks for the kind words!

I honestly don't have any small spike photos. Its pretty tough to tell whether a new growth will be a growth or spike. Generally, spikes have a rounded tip and growths are pointed. You won't know which is which for a few weeks after growth commences.

SouthPark · #8 05-10-2019, 05:32 PM

Thanks WW and Steve. Absolutely no problem at all. We can probably all get together in this forum and can later get around to getting some photos of earliest visible stage of spike development. I didn't expect to find no photos at all (from 'google' searches on the internet). So when we capture some photos later, then that should be really great.

WaterWitchin · #9 05-11-2019, 09:09 AM

Well, I've never grown a catasetum. What y'all need to do is start taking a picture every time there's a new growth. Sooner or later one will be a spike, and then we'll have the picture. Voila!

camille1585 · #10 05-11-2019, 10:25 AM

And stupid me thought, for some reason, that spikes started on the bulb itself and not at the base like a new growth. 12 years growing orchids and I'm still learning lots of things all the time! Venturing into a new orchid alliance is always an adventure given the sometimes huge differences between different types of orchids.