Catasetine - The winter rest of species and hybrids

The subtribe Catasetinae includes species of the genera Catasetum, Cycnoches, Clowesia, Mormodes and their intergeneric hybrids , being otherwise perhaps the most famous examples of hibernation in the world of orchid breeders. The changes undergone by plants during the rest period are so visibly dramatic that uninformed people could confuse the initiation of this moment with the appearance of a fungal or bacterial disease. The loss of leaves in Catasetinae is strictly correlated with the time of flowering, as some species bloom from summer to late autumn, before the initiation of the rest period, and the rest bloom after the loss of leaves, on naked bulbs.

Starting with the yellowing and drying of the leaves, followed by their fall, breeders will resort to stopping fertilization and reducing the frequency of irrigation, the approximate moment being represented by the second half of autumn, when both the temperatures and the photoperiod will be decreasing. Irrigation, although less frequent, will be administered until mid-winter, as long as there are still leaves attached to the pseudobulbs. Dormancy can be induced, if necessary, by completely stopping irrigation, if the plants have not naturally entered dormancy at the beginning of winter, resorting to occasional irrigation, ideally by spraying, only if excessive wilting of the pseudobulbs is noticed, which normally it has sufficient reserves of water and nutrients to survive the winter and to the same extent to provide energy for the development of new growth. Transplants and divisions will also be carried out during this period of rest, but avoiding these operations once the new roots have penetrated the culture medium. The new growths will not be irrigated until they exceed 8-15 cm in height, when the degrouping of the leaves will also be noticed. As long as the leaves are tight, grouped, there is a risk that the administered water will penetrate between them and generate fungal and bacterial diseases.

Once the resting period is completed, the amount of water administered will be gradually increased, adding fertilizers to every second irrigation, in order to satisfy the accelerated rate of growth for which these plants are known.

To remember:

During the rest period, plants can still remain in areas with good natural or artificial light - in nature, this factor does not change.
If a pronounced dehydration of the bulb is found, hydration by fine spraying is recommended - you can spray both the bulb, provided that it is well cleaned of debris left after the leaves fall, as well as the substrate.

Fredclarkeara After Dark 'SVO Black Pearl' at rest

Cycnodes - you can observe the rapid degradation of the leaves upon entering dormancy

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