Help with orchid dormancy

[Nicolasdperez]

Hello,

I have a catasetum and a dendrobium parishii which I believe go dormant. I have been waiting for leaves to begin yellowing so I can lay off watering. However, I have only lost 1 or 2 leaves on both plants and both are still very green. What am I doing wrong? Should I just stop watering comepletely?

Thank you for your time and help

[Louis_W]

I can't speak from experience with the Dendrobium but for Catasetums you just need to force it. It will follow your lead if you just taper off watering until you stop altogether. Then, you follow its lead when it's time to start up again

[SouthPark]

True. It's ok to just cut off all the leaves for the catasetum, and stop watering.

[Roberta]

I would not cut the leaves off the Catasetum, just stop watering to push dormancy. It will drop its leaves naturally. For the Dendrobium, again just reduce watering. I have found that most of the deciduous Dens do fine if they don't dry out completely, but you should also back off the water, not necessarily as severely as with Catasetinae.

[Nicolasdperez]

Ok, thank you all for your help. I will cut out water completely for my catasetum and slow down for my dendrobium. Do catasetums bloom before or after dormancy? I am not sure which is why I haven’t stopped watering completely yet.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Nicolasdperez

Do catasetums bloom before or after dormancy? I am not sure which is why I haven’t stopped watering completely yet.

The answer to "before or after" is "yes".... it depends on which one. I have a Catamodes (catasetum x mormodes) that has been blooming for a month, with two pathetic leaves... definitely well into dormancy, and Ctsm. lucis which is blooming on completely bare pseudobulbs. Neither is getting any water. Now, some with Clowesia in them (Clowesetum, or straight Clowesia) tend to bloom in winter, completely dormant. My Clowesia Rebecca Northen is now in bud, completely dormant. It will start to put out new growth about the time of full blooming (a month or so from now) but will not be ready for water for two months or so after that. Why you haven't stopped watering? You know better than I do, but probably because you were waiting for the plant to tell you to stop by losing leaves. Sometimes, if they don't go dormant by themselves, they have to be pushed (especially some of the more complex hybrids)... Fred Clarke says that if they haven't gone dormant by the end of December, force the issue. So, that is now... (Like a little kid who says at bedtime, "But I'm not sleepy".... sometimes a parent just has to say "It's bedtime, anyway".

[Louis_W]

Originally Posted by Roberta

.. sometimes a parent just has to say "It's bedtime, anyway".

Hahaha!

Ya it's strange that they can fully grow a spike and grow with no leaves and no water. They are so good at storing everything they need. You have to have some faith that they can handle it. One reason the catasetinae are so fun is it is usually very clear what you are supposed to do. The aren't mysterious about their needs. All you need to do is learn to read their growth stages.

If you are asking about a catasetum and not any kind of hybrid they usually bloom in the spring shortly after they start growing

[Roberta]

I have had Catasetums (including species) that may bloom in the spring, and then again in the late summer. (Ctsm. expansum is especially robust that way) I'll take flowers any time that these great plants want to produce them. Sometimes I'll get an early spike that is female and the later one male. Or get both at the same time. Even occasionally both on the same inflorescence, No end to the surprises that they can provide.

[SouthPark]

Nicolas ..... for one catasetum hybrid .... Fdk type .... it developed a flower spike from a bulb that had gone dormant for approximately one year.

[Nicolasdperez]

Thank you all for your help. I have since stopped watering and two leaves are already starting to drop. My catasetum is a new 2021 hybrid from SVO so I look forward to seeing when it finally blooms