Mo. Painted Desert x Ctsm. Fimbriatum

[scottmc]

Greetings All,
A friend of mine whos not real savy on orchids aquired this orchid with 6 bulbs, I believe she is over watering it. She admits she has no clue what it is or how to take care of it, so shes giving it to me for over the winter here in winter springs,fl. Does anybody have a pic of what this flower looks like and suggestions on what I should do. A brief history , she got it free , she transplanted it in orchid bark, it started growing, but now is looking sad? I dont want to see this plant die, open to any and all suggestions. Thanx

---------- Post Merged at 03:09 PM ----------

Im not tech savy, seems hard to post a pic.

[78Terp]

This orchid is approaching its yearly winter dormancy. Leaves should be browning as expected for dormancy. They will drop off.

Stop watering it completely until it has 2 inch long roots in the spring coming off new growth. NO WATER or it will rot!

For posting pictures you need to resize to 700 pixels x 700 pixels max.

[78Terp]

Fred Clarke, a known expert in Catasetum and relatives, sent this info in a newsletter----------.

"Now that winter has clearly arrived, your Catasetums should have matured growths and be mostly done flowering, Cycnoches will be finishing their blooming, Mormodes should be flowering now, and Clowesia should be starting soon.

Those of you in Florida and southern states may already have dormant plants. Those in more temperate areas like here in California should be seeing the starts of dormancy with the lower leaves starting to turn light brown and drop off.

The first indications of leaf yellowing and leaf drop signal the beginning of dormancy. This is when you should stop fertilizing and cut back on watering frequency. You want to simulate the end of the wet season, as it happens in nature. This change in culture will cause the pseudobulbs to harden of, in preparation for dormancy. When most leaves are yellow/brown and have dropped off, cease watering altogether. This marks the start of the dormant period.

The onset of dormancy is caused by several factors: the maturity of the pseudobulb, shortening day length, cooler day/night temperatures and a reduction of root zone moisture. Generally, this process occurs naturally; however, when the plants are cultivated in warm growing areas such as in the home or under lights, dormancy sometimes needs to be encouraged. I have found that stopping watering in late December, regardless of the number of green leaves, will trigger dormancy in plants that are resisting the necessary transition.

By late December, it's important to get your Catasetinae into the dormant stage; to provide them with an adequate rest period so that they will 'wake up' early in the spring to a long growing season. "

[scottmc]

Thank You so much for this info, recieving this plant this morning, its my postal lady thats having me take care of it over the winter, I did find a pic of the flower , its black with a frizzled lip. I know exactly what to do now, Thank You