Fredclarkeara After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl' early stage care

[estación seca]

70%. You can also use liquid dish soap 1 tablespoon / 30 ml per quart / liter of water. The kind of soap you put in the sink, not the automatic dishwasher. I use that for preventive spraying and small infestations, but I use the alcohol for serious problems.

[derv88]

[estación seca]

Those are like crime scene photos. You will lose all the leaves.

[derv88]

So then will the plant be ok? Will it go into dormancy forcing an early watering change in routine?

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

Honestly, this took me by surprise. I've never had bugs before. I bought this guy from Hausermans about 6 weeks ago. It already had leaves when I bought it.

[fishmom]

I lost the whole growth to rot on a catasetum last year and I kept watering. The plant sent out a new growth and kept going. No blooms this spring, but it looks healthy now, so maybe next year.

I wouldn't force a premature dormancy for fear that the p-bulb might not have enough resources to get through another dry period. If this happened in the "wild" there would be more rain at this season.

[estación seca]

The plant will almost certainly make a new growth and keep going. Your task will be to keep the new growth from having this happen again.

They're really vigorous when in growth. They need a lot of water, as much sun as you can give in Illinois and a lot of fertilizer. You can read about how to care for them on the Web site of Sunset Valley Orchids.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by derv88

So then will the plant be ok? Will it go into dormancy forcing an early watering change in routine?

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------

Honestly, this took me by surprise. I've never had bugs before. I bought this guy from Hausermans about 6 weeks ago. It already had leaves when I bought it.

This time of the year the pests can find their way in windows and doors. If the plant had mites when you got it...you would've seen damage weeks ago. They love heat and dry. The above suggestions were good but the only true way to eradicate them is with a miticide. You don't want to spray that in the house though.

Catasetum do best when you can hose them down...foliage and all...on a regular basis.

I should add that when my plants come inside in the fall I tend to battle mites...weeks after they are inside. They do get in via windows. When inside I don't spray any pesticides so I do keep them knocked back by using washing the leaves w/a soapy solution every few days. But once they are inside...it's an ongoing thing until I cut the leaves back. I continue using soapy water in the pots for a couple/few weeks after that in order to kill any of the newly hatched mites that might still be around. It's a lot of work. If I see mites when they are outside...it's miticide right away. A spray or two of the miticide and they are gone. Well, until more move in down the line. If it's a hot and dry year I do see them periodically but during our wet years I rarely see them...until the catasetum come inside. Hot and dry conditions are a spider mite magnet.

If you're going to grow under lights through the summer then I suggest you put all catasetum in the shower and hose them down at least once a week. You'll have less trouble w/mites if you do. Actually, all your orchids/plants would benefit from an occasional shower.



FWIW - I've never lost a catasetum to mites...even when I had a heavy infestation. They were ugly...but I never lost one.

[derv88]

New developments on my Cat. True to
estación seca's comment, all leaves were gone in a couple of weeks. Since then, I've kept up with fert and water aggressively, and 2 new growths have emerged and something popping up from the bark also. Any suggestions on what to do with the emerging growths? Any ideas on what is growing from beneath? See pics, and thanks in advance!

[Helene]

Those are all new growth.
But you are watering to much. Those tiny new growth can easily rot, and you should wait until new roots are pretty long before watering.

One of the bulbs looks rotten already- and the biggest bulb I cant see if its good or not. Is it mushy?

I would repot and split them, leaving the healthy ones with the growths on in a pot, and take the rotten parts away- maybe cut it and see if the new growth survive.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[derv88]

I thought these needed nearly daily watering, yes the image does make that one bulb look rotten at the bottom, I'll cut back on the water.