[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Button, some species are triggered by temperature, some to high temps, some to low, and some to day length. Hybrids can be any thing. Generally just don't worry about it, as almost all Catts bloom without any help.

For the culture notes, I know that some people recommend it, but I would definitely not repot by season, as Catts span the seasons for growth and rooting. The critical thing is to either not disturb the roots in repotting, such as repotting when all the mix just falls away when the rootball is being inspected, or always repot when the new growth is just starting its flush of new roots. This is different for each orchid. Some start rooting when the new growth is only a few inches long, and some start rooting when the new growth is fully mature and the plant has finished a resting period. In such a plant, new rooting occurs just about the time the new mature growth (which is just starting to root) starts its own new growth. Therefore, it is possible that two different species that produce a new growth at the same time, might have rooting take place 8 or 9 months apart, and it is the rooting that is the important factor in when to repot. Of course hybrids can have this same variation, but in an unpredictable pattern depending on which of the species are dominant.

On the subject of testing the moisture in a pot, I would highly recommend not using the freshly sharpend pencil, as sharpening is not really a method of sterilization. Anytime an object is poked into a pot with the attendent possibility of stabing roots, it should be sterile. So a new unhandled barbeque skewer is a better choice. There is a spectrum of things one can do to avoid the transfer of virus, and we each have to decide how far out on the gausian curve of effectiveness vs. effort we want to go and how important it is to us that any one plant be protected from acquiring virus. In my case, I could do better than I do, but I try to at least get the high probablility causes of virus in check with the obvious things.