Shriveled P-Bulbs on catts...

[Becky15349]

I'm reposting this question as a thread because I'd really love to get some feedback on this, I hope you all don't mind I've been dealing with this awful situation on some of my catts since moving into our new apartment with southern windows.

Many of my catts' pbulbs are shriveling like crazy...and I'm watering about 1x every 4-5 days, and this ought to be enough. Just a note - some of these catts where repotted into S&H and were trying to adjust to the new media, but the southern light might've just been to strong for them to grow new roots and recover from repotting... Some of them are so shriveled that they have begun to bend over. The roots are average on most of them....I think that the transfer to S&H in combination with the harsh environment was tough on them.

My question is, will this set them back years? If so, I will probably get rid of them and get new ones - I never intended to hurt them like this, but i guess they just weren't ready for these southern windows!! What do the more experienced catt growers think - will plants with shriveled pbulbs bloom? Or should i start over and buy new ones? I don't mind buying new ones (it was a learning experience!!) if these shriveled ones will take years to recover.

Thanks for any advice!
~Becky

[Nordic]

I'll take pics for you tommorrow... if you saw those beatifull cats of mine, you saw shrivleville...


What found one...
See that pic with the snail eaten flower.. thyat is the cat with the two large flowers I have been posting... look at the stages of decay on some of those bulbs...

[cherublace]

yikes. i am not a pro and very new at this in fact. however there are two different threads about this that i have posted two. i had about half of my catts get very dehydrated. pbulbs looked like some of yours, not browning however. after months of more regular watering (2x wkly), many of the bulbs have fattened up and even have several new pbulbs per plant. some remain dehydrated but not decaying like that. hope the upcoming replies prove fruitful. ( i will try, again, to post some comparison pics but i havent had any luck with the resizer).

[clintdawley]

The old growth on catts dies after a few years. The old yellowing back-bulbs are not necessarily cause for alarm.

Those catts just look like they need to be repotted when new growth starts.

[Cjcorner]

I have trouble sometimes with some of the floofies. They are used to being spoiled in a greenhouse and when I get them...no more sprinklers/drippers and perfect conditions. So usually when I get mine I have to regrow roots and after repotting them, alot of times I get the same shriveled p-bulbs. If you are patient you will get new growths more used to your environment and amazingly it should only take about a year to get them to recover from the baking in the strong sun. Be patient. Some of them may come through this with no problems. Also, you may need to be spritzing them during the afternoons to help them cool off a little. That helps replace the water that evaporates to fast in a hot window.
Good Luck....Floofies are amazing to have but can be difficult outside of a greenhouse I've found.
Connie

[Becky15349]

I agree with you connie...I'm hoping that regular watering will help them plump back up! Once they reestablish their roots, they should be able to draw more water and fatten up again...although, some people say that pbulbs won't plump up again after they have shrivleled. I don't know if this is true, because I have a small mini catt that quite literally goes through a shrivel, water, plump back up cycle every time I water it!! I guess I should just give my catts some time, I won't trash them just yet

[clintdawley]

Once the old p-bulbs are yellow or brown..they are gone and won't plump at all. The old p-bulbs in the pic are goners.

I agree with you connie...I'm hoping that regular watering will help them plump back up! Once they reestablish their roots, they should be able to draw more water and fatten up again...although, some people say that pbulbs won't plump up again after they have shrivleled. I don't know if this is true, because I have a small mini catt that quite literally goes through a shrivel, water, plump back up cycle every time I water it!! I guess I should just give my catts some time, I won't trash them just yet

[Becky15349]

Yeah, mine aren't yellow or brown at all, so I'm hoping they will fatten up again. They look so awful all shriveled up!! It makes me sad, like I did them some irreversible harm...

[Phyrex]

I've never really had it happen with Catts but I did rescue an Onc intergeneric that has shrivelled and bend after moving it from a dark store front to a east/south window and potting it in S/H. It is slowly trying to get straighter I think (or it at least looks like it).

As part of the survival they will probably throw out some new growths to ensure that they can stay alive.

[Becky15349]

Thats good to hear about the oncid - I actually have one that I won at the IOS mini-show a couple weeks ago, and I accidentally left it on the windowsill with the catts and oh man, it looks like walking death!!! I just pulled it off the windowsill the other day and am trying to revive it...but it has some pretty bad blanching on one of the pbulbs from being in sun that was too strong, poor thing! I hope it comes back.