Warm Winter
 

With this warm Winter we've been having, over half of my Catasetinae still have some leaves. I was wondering how common that was. I guess I'll be following Fred Clark's advice and with hold all water at the first of the year.
Merry Christmas everyone.

After mine are through blooming in the fall, I quit fertilizing and only water them once a week. They are slowly starting to drop their leaves.

We had a cold snap, then came the warmth. Mine are breaking dormancy. They are very confused. The new growths are in for a shock. Winter is back. We'll see how this plays out...

Some of mine seem to want to hang onto their leaves regardless of what's going on outside. Warm or cold...some just seem to need the push to move in that direction by a reduction in watering. And, yes, I always have a few that need a push to move toward dormancy.

I typically being reducing water in late Oct/Nov...except for seedlings. If the plant is mature and the growths have matured sufficiently then I first start letting them go dry between waterings and as time goes on I increase the length of time they are allowed to be dry. By late December I am barely giving them much water all all. A little "sip" about once a week or so.

One little issue I have due to the dryness of the lights is that the sticky sap of the flowers in this group can become a problem so even if I'm not watering the plant much, I do take them to the sink (about once a week-10 days) and rinse off the buds carefully w/tepid water. I find I'm losing less buds since I started dong this. Plus, I try to rinse the leaves and it helps get rid of some of the sappiness that comes w/those as they age. I've even been known to wash the leaves w/some soapy water...again, being very careful not to soak the medium when I do this. It's helping w/my bud loss this time of the year. OR...maybe my buds are just doing better and my washing them isn't helping at all...and it's all in my head. But, at least I don't have sticky sap all over my floor and shelves like I have in previous years. And, I haven't been losing as many buds this year. :roll:

Back to watering...my HO T5's are very drying so I will continue to drizzle water around the edges of the pots (or putting a little water in the bottom of the saucers) throughout the rest of the winter about every week or two. Be very careful when doing this (if you do) because some will rot if too much water is left to sit for long-ish period on the pbulbs. Some are more fussy than others about this. I water only enough to keep the pbulbs from shriveling too much. It works for me but I know some people who don't water at all until they see new green in the spring.

The small seedlings/compots I water through the winter w/no dormancy.

Hmmmmm. Interesting. All my 'mature' Catasetinae have dropped their leaves and have new growths beginning except for the Fdk. The ones with leaves are divisions/seedings I got this Summer. Perhaps I shouldn't force them into dormancy? I did notice when I ordered seedlings from H&R last winter they all had leaves. It seems the Fredclarkara babies have new buds developing with no hint of leaf drop.

I thought I remember reading a thread on not forcing Catasetinae into dormancy. I looked for it this past weekend but couldn't find it. If I remember correctly (which isn't likely) it involved keeping the plants warm. I wonder if they will grow new pseudobulbs like this.

---------- Post added at 10:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 AM ----------

Katrina,
I never would have thought about growing Catasetum under lights. Some get soooo big the light wouldn't reach the lower leaves. lol Is that just a winter thing?

The sap thing is something I haven't thought about either. It does amaze me how much sap/nectar these plants can exude. I have one plant the bottom of the leaves are covered in sap. I was concerned something was biting the leaves or dew was condensing on the leaves.

I grow under lights about 8 months of the year (too cold to be outside) and that's usually from late sept thru late may. When the ctsm are outside they are under 30% shade cloth and they sit under a narrow "awning". The awning is the shade cloth on a frame. When they first go outside they are small enough that the shade cloth covers them completely but as they grow and get larger and I space them farther and farther apart many of their leaves end up being exposed to the full sun most of the day. So, when they go outside they are just getting started...spend the majority of their real growth outside in excellent light...and then by the time they come back inside they have pretty much grown their leaves as big as they will get for the year. Under the HO T5 (they have their own table w/an 8 bulb unit) they finish maturing so the timing of it all works out perfectly.

Watch the sap on the leaves. Even if you don't have spider mites anywhere around...you might find some on the plants as the leaves are heading into dormancy. Dry + warmth + dust on leaves = spider mite paradise. Trust me...I get them every fall and I treat w/a miticide before bringing everything inside (2x!). They must float in through the windows or something because I know I don't carry them in but they always show up. It may sound unconventional but when the plants are inside I don't like to spray miticide so I just soap up the leaves and let it sit for a little bit and then I rinse them and put them back in their spot. I have to stay on top of it but it seems to do the trick until they finally go dormant and then I don't seem them anymore. I've never had them escape to anything else and even w/other plants sitting fairly close they never seem to bother anything but the Ctms. [knocks on wood!]

Hope that helps.

Need to clarify...when I say seedlings I'm talking those that are really young...mainly compots. Anything around a year or so away from blooming gets a dormancy in my space. The really little ones will lose some leaves but they keep making new growths...they want to grow.

Katrina,
It's amazing what we do to grow these plants. Have you thought about a HID lighting? If you had a spare room it might be more efficient.
Fortunately I have not noticed any spider mites on my Cats and I've been looking. I have noticed something that looks like spider mite damage but I think it was just dying leaves. I grow Adenium which are mite magnets. It's probably all the rain we've had. They thrive in dry/low humidity areas.
Where do you get your Catasetum compots? The seedlings I've gotten from H&R in winter all had their leaves.
So here is the root of my inquiries. Is there any harm in growing Catasetum year around (if they choose to)? It seems seedlings and some clones will. Does it impede pseudobulb develpment or flowering? I did find the thread where this was discussed but there were no data just queries.

I don't know if the mature ones would be harmed or not. I know w/deciduous trees/shrubs they need the rest or they will go into decline but does that transfer to orchids, I'm not sure.

Personally, I've never had any of the mature ones that didn't go dormant for at least a few weeks so I've never even thought about it. If you have some that are refusing to go into dormancy you could give it a try and see what happens...it might be the only way to find out. Keep in mind though...if it does turn out to be a bad thing the plant(s) likely won't show it right away but more likely a couple/few years down the road.

One thing to keep in mind, if you opt to keep them going...be very careful w/new growths as any water getting into the top of a newly sprouting growth can rot some of them pretty quickly. I learned that one the hard way. :blushing:

I've gotten some really young seedlings from other OS members and the 2 compots I have were given to me by a friend. The 2 compots I'm growing right now were just out of flask earlier this year and they still have leaves...I'm keeping them moist and bright. A couple have lost leaves but they are growing new, bigger growths so I continue to keep the moisture. A friend has grown compots w/great success so I'm just following what she's always done in the past.