A catasetum bulb was included with an order earlier in the summer. It
was tagged with a note thanking me for my order and here's a free gift.
I honestly had no idea what to do with it, and planted it into a small
pot and waited. It looks like new roots are forming at the top of the
bulb, I probably planted the darned thing upside down. It's hard to
identify green side up when the item is only a green bulb with no roots
or leaves. It's about 3" long 1/2" diameter with 3 rings where leaves
were previously.

Should I lay the bulb on it's side and let nature decide or replant it
with the end now at the top in the mix? Now that sounds like the punch
line in a joke I heard in the military, "Turn her over". What a
question, this will probably have all of you ROFL. I find it
hilarious. "Here's your free plant, I don't know what to do with it,
so someone, anyone can give it a try." But I am intrigued and would
like for it to have a chance.

Any suggestions? Don't hammer me too badly. I didn't order it. The
little elves just included it with some other stuff and I didn't have
an opportunity to research and plan for its arrival. I did try, but
probably got it 180 degrees out of phase.

Nancy

*G* Nancy, there is a song too, something like:-
"Roll me over, roll me over, lay me down & do it again."

If it were mine I would re pot it as the roots should be quite resilient.
I would also check on the type of mix which would be good for this orchid.

--
Cheers Wendy

No Spam Email Address Invalid

Nancy G. wrote:
A catasetum bulb was included with an order earlier in the summer. It
was tagged with a note thanking me for my order and here's a free
gift. I honestly had no idea what to do with it, and planted it into
a small pot and waited. It looks like new roots are forming at the
top of the bulb, I probably planted the darned thing upside down.
It's hard to identify green side up when the item is only a green
bulb with no roots or leaves. It's about 3" long 1/2" diameter with
3 rings where leaves were previously.

Should I lay the bulb on it's side and let nature decide or replant it
with the end now at the top in the mix? Now that sounds like the
punch line in a joke I heard in the military, "Turn her over". What a
question, this will probably have all of you ROFL. I find it
hilarious. "Here's your free plant, I don't know what to do with it,
so someone, anyone can give it a try." But I am intrigued and would
like for it to have a chance.

Any suggestions? Don't hammer me too badly. I didn't order it. The
little elves just included it with some other stuff and I didn't have
an opportunity to research and plan for its arrival. I did try, but
probably got it 180 degrees out of phase.

Nancy

When a catasetum starts growing, it thrives on plenty of moisture and
frequent fertilizing. Sphagnum is a good moisture retentive medium, so
is fine bark and peat moss. Arrange the plant so the new roots can
reach the medium, give it good light, water and fertilizer and let it
do its thing. When the leaves on the new growth drop, let the medium
dry out. It's a good idea to keep the bulbs bareroot while they are
dormant.

Catasetums can produce male or female flowers, depending on how much
light they get. They usually flower in the late summer and early fall.

www.carterandholmes.com has a very good Catasetum culture page.

Hope this helps.

J. Del Col

wendy7 wrote:
*G* Nancy, there is a song too, something like:-
"Roll me over, roll me over, lay me down & do it again."

If it were mine I would re pot it as the roots should be quite resilient.
I would also check on the type of mix which would be good for this orchid.

--
Cheers Wendy

I marched a few miles to that cadence. "Roll her over in the clover,
do it again"

I guess oxalis will have to do, can't keep the stuff out of anything.

wrote:
When a catasetum starts growing, it thrives on plenty of moisture and
frequent fertilizing. Sphagnum is a good moisture retentive medium, so
is fine bark and peat moss. Arrange the plant so the new roots can
reach the medium, give it good light, water and fertilizer and let it
do its thing. When the leaves on the new growth drop, let the medium
dry out. It's a good idea to keep the bulbs bareroot while they are
dormant.

Currently it's in a fine mix, downside up of course. Will reverse it
and richen the mix a little. Fortunately (or not) am in an
agricultural area and manure from cattle is in abundant supply. Since
I retired from the army, I just can't abide B.S.

www.carterandholmes.com has a very good Catasetum culture page.

I have their site book-marked. Tim cringes every time I look at their
orchids. Their Catt collections were birthday present to myself before
we together. A high percentage of my Catts were purchased there 8 or 9
years ago. Wonderful plants and blooms.

Thanks for your help.

Nancy

Hope this helps.

J. Del Col

You probably planted it rightside up, and the new growth is a keikei at the
top of the bulb instead of a new growth from the base. It's pretty obvious
which end is up, it will be pointy at the top of the bulb, the bottom of the
bulb will have a wound where it used to be attached to the rest of the
plant. I would lay the bulb on its side on top of the mix. Don't water it
much until the new roots are reaching down into the mix.
-danny

I was thinking the same thing: about a kiekie. I have several that have
done this while also growing a new growth and roots from the base. I have
one that has only grown a kiekie from near the top. It started out by
growing only roots from this location. I would be willing to bet it is
planted correctly too, but you knever know. If you think it's upside down,
maybe it is....

In this newsgroup we can only see it through your description and, as you
have said, you don't know for sure which end is up. :-)

If possible, post a picture to alt.binaries.pictures.orchids so we can get a
look at it for ourselves. If you can't post a picture maybe arrange to
email one to somebody who can post it for you.

"danny" wrote in message
...
You probably planted it rightside up, and the new growth is a keikei at
the top of the bulb instead of a new growth from the base. It's pretty
obvious which end is up, it will be pointy at the top of the bulb, the
bottom of the bulb will have a wound where it used to be attached to the
rest of the plant. I would lay the bulb on its side on top of the mix.
Don't water it much until the new roots are reaching down into the mix.
-danny

Be thankful you don't live just an hour away from C&H. I hit their major
sales 3 times a year and sometimes make up excuses (like needing more bark,
or something like that) for inbetween visits. Their sales are really good
but I'm hitting the problem of running out of space as they grow bigger. I
have a 2000sq ft gh and am already growing at multi-levels. I guess there's
really just one answer.
Gary

"Nancy G." wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
When a catasetum starts growing, it thrives on plenty of moisture and
frequent fertilizing. Sphagnum is a good moisture retentive medium, so
is fine bark and peat moss. Arrange the plant so the new roots can
reach the medium, give it good light, water and fertilizer and let it
do its thing. When the leaves on the new growth drop, let the medium
dry out. It's a good idea to keep the bulbs bareroot while they are
dormant.

Currently it's in a fine mix, downside up of course. Will reverse it
and richen the mix a little. Fortunately (or not) am in an
agricultural area and manure from cattle is in abundant supply. Since
I retired from the army, I just can't abide B.S.

www.carterandholmes.com has a very good Catasetum culture page.

I have their site book-marked. Tim cringes every time I look at their
orchids. Their Catt collections were birthday present to myself before
we together. A high percentage of my Catts were purchased there 8 or 9
years ago. Wonderful plants and blooms.

Thanks for your help.

Nancy

Hope this helps.

J. Del Col

danny wrote:
You probably planted it rightside up, and the new growth is a keikei at the
top of the bulb instead of a new growth from the base. It's pretty obvious
which end is up, it will be pointy at the top of the bulb, the bottom of the
bulb will have a wound where it used to be attached to the rest of the
plant. I would lay the bulb on its side on top of the mix. Don't water it
much until the new roots are reaching down into the mix.
-danny

It is a ctsm. Orchidglade x ctsm pileatum

I unpotted it to inspect. Oops, yes there were roots. I put it into a
pot that was too small, when there was no new root growth. The old
roots were either desicated and don't grow again, or I let them rot in
the new pot. The culture sheets advise against planting until the new
roots are 2" long.

It is growing now from the top of the bulb. The growth is still very
small, just a couple of bright green bumps. I can't tell whether it is
root or leaf. I will lay it on its side on top of the mix and let it
decide. Have no idea how it will react to the modified growing season.
I would have expected it to show growth in June and be ready to bloom
by now. Shipping and handling plays havoc with some of these beauties.

Thanks all for your help

Nancy