When to start watering Catasetum orchids

[@freuleinwunder393]

Vielen Dank für erklären und zeigen ihrer Cataseten! Es ist jedes Jahr das gleiche Rätsel, ab wann der richtige Zeitpunkt ist um mit dem Gießen anzufangen!! Jetzt bin ich etwas sicherer! Lg aus Niedersachsen in Deutschland! 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@orchidhouse]

Ich hoffe daß Sie in diesem Jahr erfolgreich sein wird und viele Blumen haben :) Grüßsen nach Niedersachsen. Ich bin in Belgien geboren. Wir waren je Nachbarn LOL

[@freuleinwunder393]

@@orchidhouse Na das ist ja cool!! Aus Belgien! Ich schaue weiter fleißig ihre Videos! Cataseten sind auch meine Lieblinge. Vielen Dank!!

[@patriciabardon]

Les Catasetums sont un grand mystère pour moi mais cela semble beaucoup plus clair maintenant. Merci infiniment pour ces informations. Je vous souhaite un beau dimanche depuis Bordeaux… sous le soleil ! Patricia

[@orchidhouse]

J'en suis bien heureux! Merci! J'ai encore plusieurs autres videos sur les Catasetums, notamment quand les rempoter www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6Up...

[@orchidhouse]

2 clarifications: you are supposed to repot your catasetums every year. Some of the ones you see in my presentation have obviously NOT been repotted. I have given it a try this year to see how they behave. After a few months, I can now say that those that have not been repotted tend to be ahead of schedule but their growth is somewhat disappointing. So you should preferably stick to repotting every year. Also I misspoke at 3:35 when I said that all female flowers are pretty much the same "across all GENERA". I meant "across all SPECIES".

[@claire2470]

...Thank you SIR! Your Cat vid is one of the easiest and simplest to understand. . . My catasetum is starting to leaf. . .excited here🤗...

[@orchidhouse]

Very happy to be able to help! Good luck!

[@babymargret7631]

Super orchids

[@rupamukherjee8758]

Beautiful catasetums. This tree stem stand also look interesting. Can I have a full view?

[@orchidhouse]

There are many other videos with those stands on them

[@naosoudecriticar]

Olá, São catacetos lindíssimos, como eles ficam assim, tão grandes? Abraço 🇧🇷🤗💐🍀🇧🇷

[@orchidhouse]

Siga minhas explicações nos vídeos a seguir e as suas também ficarão populares! Abraços kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5-ZhqNtfdh2sKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/garRgIerZrVsZrM kzbin.info/www/bejne/g37CgGl4fb2dpZI

[@jbarlak]

So important this time of year

[@orchidhouse]

Yes!!!

[@soniacristinadutragoncalve609]

Lindos nesses vasinho de barro 🤩

[@dsiegel22]

I just saw these two female flowers open on my Catasetum. They are totally different from the first spike which opened April 22,2024. How can I share my pictures with you?

[@orchidhouse]

They are probably hermaphrodites: semi male, semi female (various degrees). It happens a lot

[@NicoleDeanna]

Lovely Catasetums. I recently got a few and just as I thought one was going into dormancy, it started growing a new bulb, leaves never dropped. I'm so confused as to stop watering till it gets bigger and let the original bulb force dormancy, or keep watering as normal. It's definitely out of season, the only one of my 8 that did it. Nice collection you have here!

[@orchidhouse]

Thank you very much! And yes.....Catasetums don't always follow the rules... Forget about the old leaves and being out of season; I would refrain from watering until the new growth is 3" to 5" tall and the roots 3" to 5" long. If you water too quickly, the plant will get lazy and make less roots = disappointing growing season. As to being out of season, at this point, I have catasetums growing year round because there have been several which are totally not following their expected cycle. I just observe the plant and respect its own rhythm. I hope this helps and good luck!

[@NicoleDeanna]

@@orchidhouse thank you for this! I will stop watering. Hope I didn't rot the new roots out.. Hey one more for you - how do you handle when a spike forms after the leaves all drop and you've tapered watering off. Do you stick to your guns and gradually stop, or do you increase water to help the spike till it's bloomed? I like these orchids, find them easy except for when they don't follow typical growing pattern, then I'm so conflicted on what's best. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge here. Been growing orchids 7 years, and Catasetums only this year so still learning this one!

[@orchidhouse]

@@NicoleDeanna I agree they are easy to grow because they are a lot more predictable than most orchids.... but the predictability only goes so far LOL. Your new roots will not rot; it is the new growth that could rot. Even if the new growth does not rot, forcing the plant to grow roots to look for moisture gives you a stronger growth down the road, hence withholding water as long as possible. If a spike forms after the leaves have fallen off, I will resume watering but at much more moderate levels. The fat bulbs are a water reservoir and they typically contain all the plant needs. Good growing! Catasetums are beautiful!

[@NicoleDeanna]

@@orchidhouse Extremely helpful, thank you! ☺️

[@valeriavalencia3556]

Me gusta yo tengo algunas de esas

[@marcfareri2106]

Average for the fern fiber how ofthen your water thank you

[@orchidhouse]

When actively growing : every day. When start having yellow leaves twice per week on average. You cannot overwater a catasetum in tree fern fiber when in full growth mode

[@jehamymedinafinch1515]

I love your videos, I live in FL also and see your recommendations works great! I have a question: why my catasetums deshidrates a lot when the new growth is growing, and I can’t water it. I already lost 5😢😢

[@orchidhouse]

Thank you Jehamy. Sorry to hear about you losing 5 catasetums. To avoid the problem you mention, you should try and make sure they go dormant with very hard bulbs. It is not always possible but this a video that covers that subject: kzbin.info/www/bejne/garRgIerZrVsZrM Else if the plant is very dehydrated while dormant, you can give it ONE single good soaking to try and rehydrate it. Observe the plant and see if it plumps up. Watering when you have a small new growth is really dangerous as they rot in a heartbeat.

[@debopambiswas3862]

Sir, thanks a lot for such an informative video. But I am still confused in one point, that is when to stop watering. In my place, winter has arrived, a new flower spike has emerged but still there is no sign of yellowing of leaves till now. Please suggest what to do with watering.

[@orchidhouse]

Thank you! You are supposed to reduce watering in half when the leaves start yellowing and then stop when the leaves have fallen off. Your plant seems to be still in full activity and it seems to be disregarding the signs of winter: shorter days, lower temperatures (although you may not have a drop in temperatures if you live near the Equator). The advice you hear most is that you should force dormancy by withholding water completely when winter arrives even if the plant is still active (December for me in the northern hemisphere > not sure where you live?). Personally I let some of my plants live their life and tell me what they want: if they are still active I keep watering them although much less so in winter because our temperatures at night are lower and I don't want wet plants when the temperatures drop below 60 F or 15 C (which is not often here). I have catasetums growing year round at this stage because I am not very strict with them but they seem to be doing fine. In short: there is no ironclad answer to your question. I would advise that you reduce watering quite a bit and see what happens. You hsoudl stop fertilzing for sure as they have stopped growing at this point in time.

[@shafeeqm5752]

Sr super elthy plants 👍👍👍👏

[@rothschildianum]

Olivier, during dormancy, do you treat catasetum the same by totally not watering them? Or you treat younger plants differently since their pseudobulb is still small and weak? I mean do you pay attention to their bulbs? If the bulbs shrivel too much, you water them a bit?

[@orchidhouse]

Hi Selmer! 95% of my catasetums get zero water during dormancy but I do monitor them. If the bulb shrivels too much and the plant is obviously struggling, I will give it a bit of water and keep a daily watch, then water some more if needed until it improves. You are right to say that this is mostly an issue for younger plants that are not yet well established. A key to good dormancy is proper hardening of the bulbs BEFORE going dormant, by reducing the water schedule progressively. I monitor all those pre-dormant bulbs; ideally they should all be very hard and plump by the time they go dormant. This way you will not have any issues during the dormancy.

[@rothschildianum]

@@orchidhouse How long is the typical dormancy period? 2 months, 3 months, 4 months? Thank you for the tips!

[@orchidhouse]

@@rothschildianum There is no rule for a "typical" dormancy. Ctsm. pileatum e.g. has little to no dormancy. I would say on average 1 to 2 months is the most common but some plants do not go dormant at all and some remain dormant for 4 months (rare). I have noticed that cycnoches and cycnodes stay dormant usually at least 2 months.

[@rothschildianum]

@@orchidhouse Hi Oliver, I am new in this catasetum world. I am just afraid over dehydrate my plants, all of my plants are young plants bought from Sunset Valley Orchid.

[@orchidhouse]

@@rothschildianum I understand. Keep a close eye on your dormant babies and you can water a bit if you are concerned but remember that they are strong. They tend to rot faster than they die of dehydration....

[@lourdesrogers806]

Where did you purchase your clowesia?

[@orchidhouse]

Stephen Moffitt in Houston, Tx. That is a plant that is readily available in the US

[@mesandz2623]

My catasitum pilestum main bulb is very withered but the new growing bulb is about 4 inches with little roots. Should I water?

[@orchidhouse]

If the back bulb is really weak, I would give it one big soaking and monitor the back bulb. If it plumps up some, go back to let the plant rest and wait until the roots are long enough.

[@eenratnengsih2569]

Wow 😍😍 beautyfull

[@michelleslifeonrepeat]

Why do they need such shallow pots for their huge bulbs?

[@orchidhouse]

Some growers use bigger pots. Since rot is a potential concern, I prefer narrow pots. In my experience they grow great like this. I also believe they "harden" better in the Fall before dormancy because the medium dries out faster. In my opinion, it is very important to have the bulbs as hard as possible before dormancy and I achieve this by alternating dry spells with heavy watering during the Fall when they start preparing for dormancy.

[@demapa19ga]

Beautiful Catasetum. Do you sell them? Do you have a website? Thanks!

[@orchidhouse]

No sorry but thanks for your interest in my channel.

[@AnimalLover-ei8md]

What type of potting mix you use for them ?

[@orchidhouse]

For the Catasetum proper, I use sphagnum moss with inert material at the bottom (1/3 of pot). By inert I mean charcoal and sponge rock. The Cynoches and Mormodes I use medium bark as they rot so easily.

[@AnimalLover-ei8md]

ORCHID HOUSE - FORT LAUDERDALE, FL thanks heaps.And also what type of fertiliser you using ?

[@orchidhouse]

@@AnimalLover-ei8md Regular 20/20 diluted in water. I fertilize every other watering (catasetums are very hungry) once growing season starts until leaves start yellowing

[@rothschildianum]

Can Catasetum handle full sun?

[@orchidhouse]

@@rothschildianum I give them high FILTERED light all day long but some Catasetum will take full sun. You have to take it easy if you do that though, and put them in full sun early on in the season, so they get used to it. Also, the dried sheaths on back bulbs help protect against sun burns. I give 2 hours of direct afternoon sunlight in the winter when dormant and I have had back bulbs burn. If that happens the bulb almost always rots. Also too much light favors female flowers which are less desirable. So my advice would be to avoid too much direct sunlight. It is not necessary and has many drawbacks.