Well... I can see bud which will become new bulb. It is big. And, in it's base there are little bumps! I do not understand English very good, so forgive me if I didn't understood you!
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Forgive me for asking, but how do you spot a viable foliar bud before you remove the p-bulb?
Well... I can see bud which will become new bulb. It is big. And, in it's base there are little bumps! I do not understand English very good, so forgive me if I didn't understood you!
You are right Aleksa.
Of course, different languages may call them different things. In my part of the world they are called "eyes" or buds but what ever you call them locally is considered correct
Phyrex
For cattleyas, the buds will exist along the bottom 2 or 3 segments of the pseudobulb. If you look closely along those segment lines, you should see some bumps that contain a small bud cover that looks like a fish scale.
Depending on how large the cattleya is, some are easy to spot, some are difficult to find. A magnifying glass may be needed in some cases.
Again, this is where it is beneficial to make sure a division contains at least 3 or more pseudobulbs. That way, even if one pseudobulb already used up all its buds, the other two may still have some left. If all three pseudobulbs in the division have already used up all their buds, then that is one very old division and should be allowed to retire.
I recently posted this in the Articles section.
Check it out if you are interested in backbulbs and root growth.
http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchidtalk/bd/article/29
Nice work on the article!
Cheers,
BD
Hi all,
Thanks for the article reference it is very helpful.
So I guess the things I circled are the foliar buds I'd be looking for in older p-bulbs? My catt has 8 p-bulbs now, the smallest is 2cm with a 10cm leaf and the two biggest ones are 10cm bulbs with 20cm leaf, and 11cm bulb with 23cm leaf.
Some p-bulbs are long and skinny and other are shorter but plumper is this normal?
I've just repotted it when I bought it so I won't be doing any splitting for a while anyway, but how do I decide where to split it 3&5 or 4&4 for example since the old p-bulbs are quite tiny?
Thanks.
PS Any article reference are welcome.
That is normal for cattleyas - specially if they started out as seedlings.Some p-bulbs are long and skinny and other are shorter but plumper is this normal?
The first pseudobulbs will be small, and the newer ones that grow will be bigger than the previous one. This keeps going until the plant has reached its maximum pseudobulb size. After which, all new pseudobulbs will be the same size. This usually happens after 3 or 4 years if it started as a seedling.
The objects you circled are the foliar buds - yes. Typically, each new pseudobulb will have at least one active foliar bud that is usually already swelling even as the pseudobulb is still growing. That is what is happening in your orchid. Once the current pseudobulb matures, energy will be focused either on blooming, or making the new buds grow. The new buds will in turn, have their own foliar buds - and the cycle continues.So I guess the things I circled are the foliar buds
Now keep in mind that the foliar buds in the older pseudobulbs may not be active and so they will not look as big as the ones on the new pseudobulbs.
Sometimes they even appear dried up or dead but are actually just dormant.
Now, when an old pseudobulb is cut away and it still has a dormant foliar bud, its energy can then be directed to its own foliar bud.
However, as I stated in the article, a single pseudobulb does not have a lot of energy compared to bigger clumps. So try to avoid cutting away single bulbs when dividing - unless absolutely necessary.
Regarding division, I usually only divide cattleyas when the pseudobulbs are already growing at full size (3 years or older). That way, I can divide the plant into clumps with "equal sized" pseudobulbs.but how do I decide where to split it 3&5 or 4&4 for example since the old p-bulbs are quite tiny?
The first few "small" pseudobulbs that were produced early in the life of the plant do not count. They will be included in the closest clump and counted as 0 - or they may have faded already by the time I am ready to divide.
Aleksa,
Regarding your fishbowl photo:
I suggest that you move the plants up some more so that the bottom of the pseudobulbs are at the middle of the fishbowl.
Then fill the fishbowl with water up to 1/4. This should provide more humidity to the plants.
I did it! New growth have started to make one new root! WOOOHOOOHOO!