Fdk After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl'

[JScott]

This is my first Catasetum type plant ever. I bought it last winter while it was dormant. It started growing in about February, and once the roots started growing, I potted it in the same mix I use for my Cattleyas (medium pine back, charcoal, stalite, LECA). Over the summer, I grew it standing in a tray of water. That seemed like a bad idea to me, but my best friend in Brazil grows his standing in water (he uses empty soda bottles and plants the plants in there, and then cuts some holes a few inches up from the bottom so that the bottom few inches of the bottle holds water, but doesn't overflow), and he said that is the way to go, so I did it. It grew beautifully, and the new bulb is much bigger and fatter than the last one.

A few weeks ago, the leaves started to yellow, so I cut back on the watering. I took it out of the tray of water it was standing in, and watered it by hand from time to time. Lately, I've been watering it maybe about every 10 days (remember, I have it potted in a mix that dries out fast, and within about two days after I water, it is completely bone dry, as I still have it outside and it has been pretty warm, but I probably will bring it in and put it under my T5 light setup here in the next few days). It has two spikes started now, and as you can see from the pictures, the final three leaves are yellow, and I expect them to drop any day now.

My question is when should I start withholding water entirely. Once all the leaves are gone? Or should I continue to give it an occasional watering while the spikes are developing? I certainly don't want to overdo it with the water and rot the plant, but I want to make sure it has what it needs as the flowers develop. What do you guys think?