I have been growing orchids in the Houston area for about thirty seven years and I have had good success as well as many disappointments through the years. I have grown just about every type of orchid at one time or the other. Catasetums and their hybrids have become my favorite orchids. Ninety percent of my collection is devoted to these fascinating plants. Their ease of culture and huge diversity is a big factor in my decision to concentrate on this group of orchids. Catasetum, Clowesia, Cycnoches, & Mormodes are the primary Genus that compos these plants. They can be grown easily without the necessity of a greenhouse. They can grow in just about every kind of medium that you can imagine. I have seen them grown in rock, lava rock, rock wool, and all of the other orchid potting materials that are on the market. I use a mix of one part large sponge rock, one part medium charcoal, and one part peat moss. I grow all of my plants outside under a large shade house covered with 60% shade. I bring them into the greenhouse only when the weather turns cold in October. By this time most of the plants have begun to shed their leaves and begun their dormant period. At this time I do not water or feed them unless they are still in an active growing stage. Many of them will also be in spike and will be blooming for the second and third time. The plants should not be exposed to temperatures below 55 for an extended time. They can be kept on a window sill or somewhere in the house in the winter without any water or sun light. In the spring they will send up a new growth and start the growth cycle all over again. This is the time to repot the plants. Remove the plant from the pot and cut most of the old roots off. Leave enough of the old dead roots on to stabilize the plant. Repot the plant slightly below the top of last year’s growth and position the new growth in the center of the pot. Move the plant to a warm growing area where it will get moderate light. DO NOT WATER AT THIS TIME! Wait until the new growth opens up with a leaf span of ½ to 1 inch across. Only then do you start to water and feed the plant. Any old back bulbs can be cut from the plant and repotted in a dry mix. They will send up a new growth in a month or so.
Catasetums are heavy feeders and like a lot of water during the spring and summer. However, they do not like to be kept wet for an extended period of time. Since I grow outside under shade cloth I pot all my Catasetums in clay pots. They dry out faster and I do not loose any plants to rot whenever we have those months of rain every day for weeks at a time. Another significant advantage to growing Catasetums is that scale does not seem to favor these orchids. I have some trouble occasionally with mealy bugs and s spider mites. Spider mites are mostly a problem in the greenhouse on some of the plants that are reluctant to loose their leaves in the fall. I use a cotton swab and 91% isopropyl alcohol to control these pests.
You can view pictures of
most of my plants on MySpace. myspace.com/srmoffitt ,

Stephen Moffitt

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