How I grow these orchids...

I break many of the rules with these. Well, there really aren't any set rules, I've discovered. Everybody says to do something a little different with these orchids. Anyway, I have had good success with these doing the following:

In my greenhouse:

Cattleya conditions extra water... moister than Cattleyas but let them approach dryness. Smaller sized pots than the plant size might imply. Mix of medium fir bark and fine tree fern. Intermediate temperatures, down to 50 F and lower at times in winter....my heater could never hack the Kentucky winters.

At home on a window sill in north Idaho:

Dry air...horrible dry air that makes your nose bleed. Seems to have no detrimental affect on the Catasetinae. Various mixes.... straight fir bark for larger plants, New Zealand sphagnum, gravel, terraflor, bark mixes. All get the same good results (however, I distrust sphagnum, thinking that it can suddenly and quickly deteriorate... keep an eye on it.) Frequent watering (Every 3rd day for small 4" pots, every day in hot weather for small pots) As much light as I can give them, short of burning. All of them seem fond of light, but watch for bleaching of the leaf sheaths around the bulbs to tell you if they have too much light, or watch for actual leaf burn.

Ok, with that down, other things to do generally is feed them a ton of fertilizer...more than other orchids, and don't let them go dry while in active growth. However, when they begin to drop their leaves (which they never did do during the 2003-2004 winter season, for some odd reason) hold back on watering until they get no water at all. I have kept some dry for 2-3 months. On the other hand, a very infrequent watering on certain species is ok when done judiciously. But generally, don't begin to water again on any kind of regular basis until new growths are fanning out their leaves and new roots are plunging into the mix. If you are tempted to water them earlier than that stage, you risk having the new growths abort, or killing the plant outright. Rots can spread through a plant in just a few days, decimating them. Catasetums are pretty resistant to this, but watch out for rots especially in Mormodes and Cycnoches.

Do NOT mist these plants. Especially do not mist them in winter while dormant. Don't believe what the books tell you on this score. Holst says that it is abnormal or unnatural to let the plants go so dry, or to avoid watering over the tops of the plants. Well, I do sometimes dowse them in warm summer days, in the morning, to clean them up and whatnot, but as for 'normal', I don't think that growing these plants in a greenhouse or in a home is very 'normal' either, so you have to go with what works and not really try to emulate their exact natural conditions. We humans can't really get a feel for what their natural environment is, really, up here in the far northern temperate zones. I'm sure my plants would mature more quickly and probably grow better if given more humidity...that's the only thing I regret not being able to provide here growing them in my home.

They can go cooler in their dormant season, but they like warm nights (60-65) when growing.

Pests: The only pest I have really worried about are red spiders, which LOVE these plants as a group. I get good control with insecticidal soaps. Sometimes using miticides or malathion while the plants are putting up new heads results in minor chemical 'burns', appearing as bleached areas that seem to form down in the crowns, to appear a few days to a week later as the leaves grow up out of the young crown. These are mostly just unsightly, but I can't seem to prevent it. The insecticidal soaps do not do this, however, insecticidal soaps may not be effective enough against massive infestations. I have never had a 'massive infestation' of red spider, and the best advice here is don't let things go that far. Your plants might drop all their leaves and end up getting behind in their growth.

Pot every other year in bark, but maybe yearly in sphagnum (another reason I don't like sphagnum). Put moderately hard in smallish clay pots. Read Holst's book 'The World of Catasetums' for other potting methods. I have never felt the need to use the baskets, mounts, and other methods Holst calls for, but I can see it for certain species in the genus, such as longifolium.

Clip off or break off the thorns....they can be very very nasty if you get stabbed by them!

If a plant develops a rot, which you should keep an eye out for, surgically remove the black, mushy parts immediately. I have successfully saved Cycnoches doing this, as it is easy to carve out the bad spots, which may appear like bruises on apples. I am not happy when these rots appear at the base of the plants, which kills the eyes. Then, you can sometimes still save the clone by chopping off the bottom and waiting for sprouts to come from old eyes higher up on the bulbs. Don't toss them! I just did a surgery on a Cycnoches that arrived from a firm that had given the plant-- which was totally dormant-- a deep soaking, then packed it up in the carton. That's a no no!! Well, I can't say I got it to rot by watering it, because it started to rot before I ever had a chance to water it. But it formed its rot deep inside its newest bulb, about 3/4 up. I sliced out a good long vertical strip, cutting well into healthy non-black tissue. I covered the cut with some fungicidal powder. The plant responded perfectly, and is putting up a good growth. Do not fool yourself into thinking these rots will stop on their own, or that you can spray for them. They are too fast at progressing! Get out the scalpel right away. I have managed to maintain individual Cycnoches clones for a good number of years, and they seem easy to maintain this way once they get adjusted to your growing environment.My experience with rots suggests that the plants are more prone to rot when stressed, such as during the first month or two after receiving them. In fact, that's how I killed my first Cycnoches warscewiczii many many years ago. I admired my plant for a couple of days; the plant was perfectly healthy and in full growth, growing in osmunda fiber. After a suitable period, I gave it a perfectly normal watering, only watering the pot, not the top parts. The plant died the next day. Go figure.

Posted by Robert Dickow on 11/20/05 10:15:13

Catasetinae

Hello - Very fine photos of spectacular plants! Regards - Nancy

Posted by Guest on 12/08/05 11:25:19

To Mister Dickow

Mister Dickow, Nice plants do you show on your website. Do you also sell bulbs when you repot them; I am interested in a few. Please let me know. M. Aalbers maalbers@tiscali.nl

Posted by Guest on 02/19/06 13:56:45

cultural question

Very nice plants you have, Mr. Dickow. Got a question for you, if you wouldn't mind providing some feedback, please. Do you have any experience growing catasetinae orchids in coconut husk chips? Although I've read both positive and negative commentary from growers regarding the use of this medium for a variety of orchid genera, I haven't found anything relating to its use with catasetinaes (or cycnoches, clowesia, mormodes, etc.). If you have any experience with the stuff, I'd be interested to hear your views. Thanks in advance for your help--and again, those are some awesome pictures you have of some wonderfully grown plants. Steve Weaver Indianpolis, IN

Posted by Guest on 04/24/06 17:12:06

On Coconut Husk Chips

I have grown these plants in mixes that contain CHC (Coconut Husk Chips) but have not yet tried pure CHC. They hold quite a bit of water, which is good in a mix with stones or gravel such as Aliflor or Diatomite. I think you'll find that the CHC may break down quickly because of all that moisture, but CHC is fine if you water carefully. Really, I'd prefer them mixed in with gravel, bark, or something that keeps the mix a little drier. The Cycnoches and Catasetums really like water, but I like to make sure they don't stay too wet. Frankly, these plants will grow in just about anything it seems. I've had them in every imaginable mix. Check out www.sunsetvalleyorchids.com for Fred Clarke's recipe that includes bark, CHC, and Diatomite. This is a nice recipe and it stays light and well-drained. I just can't get the Diatomite without incurring high shipping costs, so I don't use this myself. Steve Weaver's comments: >Very nice plants you have, Mr. Dickow. Got a question for >you, if you wouldn't mind providing some feedback, >please. Do you have any experience growing catasetinae >orchids in coconut husk chips?

Posted by Guest on 05/14/06 00:00:00