Clowesia/Mormodes

[LouisW]

This is:
Clowesia Rebecca Northern 'Grapefruit pink' x
Mormodes Ignea Orange

I bought this plant from its creator Fred Clarke when he spoke at our society meeting in November(?). It was left totaly dry in its 2 in pot for the last three months and now it has just begun to wake up.

Photo #1
Here is the rousing bulb with its new home. A little ambitious I know, but i have seen how much the Fdk's have grown in one season. I am hoping for a new growth about double or even triple the size of the old one by the end of the growing season.

Photo #2
Another size shot. You can see the little green nub of a growth on the bulb.

Photo #3
A closeup of the growth. These guys are born with a set of teeth. There are already five roots heading out.

Photo #4
The orchid potted and in its new habitat. Obviously in S/H. I still will not begin watering or fill the resevouir untill the roots are a few inches long (probably about two weeks but we will see).

This is the first time I have grown one of the Catasetinae and we will see how it goes. Wish me luck!

[benetay]

Good luck! I'm sure you will succeed. This is one genes, i will like to try but due to insufficient light i'm still holding back my purchases. I'm already targeting at 5-6 of them but don't really dare try.

I love most of the clowesia, they are very cute!

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers!

[rcb]

Louis, I got one of these too from Fred in January. It should be a really pretty flower, it's a good first choice. Good Luck.

[LouisW]

Oh great! Im glad you have one too. Its fun because this, and another I got are both first generation (F1?) and they have not been bloomed yet. Fred was explaining what he hoped they will look like but even he is not sure. Makes it exiting.

I got the two hybrids and on the way out he Gave me one of his favorite Species Cyc.'s (Cyc. warscewiczii 'Giant Swan' x Cyc. warscewiczii 'SVO' AM/AOS). I guess he is trying to encourage me as a young grower, either that or he just liked the look of me.

[patticake]

How exciting! It's doing what it's supposed to, also! Keep us posted on the progress! I sure wish I could meet Fred. I also enjoyed seeing your picture in the picture thread! Now I know who I'm talking to!

[rcb]

Originally Posted by LouisW

Oh great! Im glad you have one too. Its fun because this, and another I got are both first generation (F1?) and they have not been bloomed yet. Fred was explaining what he hoped they will look like but even he is not sure. Makes it exiting.

I got the two hybrids and on the way out he Gave me one of his favorite Species Cyc.'s. I guess he is trying to encourage me as a young grower, either that or he just liked the look of me.

Louis, I don't think it's F1 (been a long time since college though) cause Rebeccca Northern is a hybrid. But you can still get a good idea what the flower should look like. Clowesias tend to be dominant in shape and Mormodes tend to be dominant in color. But anything could happen.

And as for the Ctsm complex, right now they are my favorites. I find them easy to grow and bloom for me. I hope this does well for you, and you will try more of them.

[kid a]

Cool! BTW way you have just given me a brilliant idea with the empty cd spool lid lol! I have a bajillion of those lying around at work. I might give s/h another try lol! Thanks for the inspiration

[LouisW]

Kid a, oh yeah that thing is a perfect S/H pot. I think one of Jays pics gave me the idea, so im not taking credit for that stroke of genius.

rcb, Ill check my bio notes. I am currently in genetics so I should know what the F1 generation is. Fred said the same thing about mormodes being dominant for color and recessive for shape. I cant wait for my other hybrid to bloom. Should have flowers the size and shape of Cyc. warscewiczii 'Giant Swan', and the scarlet petals and fuzzy black lip of the Mormodes hookerii 'Black fuzz'. (man, im fairly good with botanical names but i just cant seem to master "warscewiczii." war-sew-WIK-zee-eye. There now ill remember it)

Patti, Ill keep you posted for sure. I enjoyed seeing you as well, having faces really makes this forum a more friendly and intimate.
Fred is great, he is so responsive to questions and emails, (not to mention friendly in real life).

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! This genus is very intriguing to me and I really want to do well with them.

[jay]

Looking great. I swear by the S/H method, especially for the Catasetinae sub-tribe. They love the water and fertilizer, and this method lets them have all of it. I have at least half a dozen large bulbs in S/H and they go crazy. You are going to love the growth on this. Keep us updated.

[LouisW]

NOTE-edited in some botanical names into previous posts if you are interested in specifics.

Jay, after seeing your Fdk. grow, I have no doubt in the power of S/H on these guys. Your bulb was like 4 times bigger than the last growth. Bummer that you didnt get blooms this time round though. Perhaps ill get to join in the bloom party this fall!

[rcb]

Louis, Here is a pic of my Cyc. warscewiczii 'Giant Swan' x 'SVO' AM/AOS. The spread of the flower is 5.25 inches. I took this picture this morning. But it only gave me one flower, I got this from Fred in january also. It is the biggest of my three warscewicziis.

[LouisW]

One of the most impressive flowers I have ever seen. I would expect no less form 'SVO' x 'Giant Swan'. I cant wait till mine gets going.

One question though: why does it have leaves?
Oh and how long is it lasting(the flower)?

[rcb]

Louis, don't know why it still has it's leaves, but they are starting to go, if you look just behind the flower, you can see one leaf is drying up, and the others are starting to go a little yellow. My other two warscewicziis dropped their leaves before they started to bloom.

I know a lot of growers believe that if the Ctsm complex plants don't naturally drop their leaves by early to mid winter that you should force it into dormancy. I don't do this. I let them go as long as they want, and with some of my plants, new leads start in the spring before the previous season's leaves have dropped. When this happens, I just hold off watering from the time the new growth starts until it is ready.

this one opened about 5 days ago and is still going strong. The other ones I have bloomed for about 10 - 14 days or so. Also the fragrance is really strong, the whole greenhouse smells.

[LouisW]

Oh my word I didnt know they were fragrant!