Help with New Cycnoches

[LLW]

Hi!

Well my husband did it again! I have a new orchid I know NOTHING about and I am afraid it is doomed unless I get some help. This was my Christmas present and the pictures of it in bloom are beautiful, but I have never had a Cycnoches before.

I have done some research and I now understand that it is supposed to look like it does right now. When it first arrived with no leaves, only two pseudobulbs I thought it was dead. From what I have read it needs minimal attention until it comes out of hibernation sometime in May. This does not give me enough information to be confident I won't kill it. Can someone give me some kindergarten level care instructions for this orchid?

Lashelle

[arleneg]

Hi Lashelle,

I have a Cyc. that I bought last September when it was full of green leaves and with beautiful blooms (all of which have dried and fallen off...just have the two pseudobulbs), but don't have much experience with it. I just have some knowledge. As long as the pseudobulb is green, hard and not too wrinkled, it's fine. If the pseudobulb becomes too shriveled, you should water a little. With mine, I lightly mist the top of the potting medium and any exposed roots once a week since I live in a rather low humidity environment. Sometimes I even skip misting for the week!

That's all I can offer. I know it's not much help. I'm with you with the waiting for new growth and looking forward to hearing from someone with more experience with Cyc.

Oh, here's a link to the Cyc culture. It's easy to understand/follow.

http://www.taygeta.com/catasetum.html

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, I now have almost 2 years (2 winters for sure) experience with Cycnoches, about a half dozen of them. The most important thing, and you are not at that criticle stage yet, is to not start watering too early. Winter should be dry at the pot, completely. Misting the bulbs is not a problem, just so long as moisture does not set against any part of the bulb for any length of time. When you see new growth, and all of mine are just barely starting, you want to wait until the new growth is about 3" tall before making the mix wet. I have been putting a tablespoon or 2 of water into the pots, but this is a barely perceivable amount of moisture in the mix, and probably this isn't a good idea, just hard dry is probably better, but I like to experiment. My chlorochilon was the first to go dormant in the fall and it is almost to the 3" point already. Actually, it is probably better to judge the best point to water on how long the roots are for the new growth, and I would guess that 2" to 3" is about right, but I repotted my Cycs, and I can't see the roots to judge length. If moisture sits against the bulb before the plant is ready for it, rot will start in the bulb. Since the part of the bulb touching the wet mix is the base of the plant with the entire world's supply of eyes, rot there can be very catastrophic. Saving such a plant, besides surgery, requires placing the remaining piece of bulb on its side and hoping for a keiki up near the top.

[jerrymeola]

My Cycnochoes loddegessi started growing recently and I get about an inch a week.

Each species or hybrid starts about the same time each year. My hybrid Wine Delight will not start to grow for another month or two.

I start watering as soon as I see growth, it is little time from start to 2-3 inches. If you worry just be sure it dries out before the second watering. Mine grow very fast. When they are growing they take a lot of water and fertilizer.

[LLW]

WOW THANKS Cynthia! That is the best and clearest information I have gotten on the care of this orchid. I actually think it MIGHT have a chance of survival in my house.

I am just sorta watching it right now although I did panic when I first got it and watered it, but it is in a small pot with very loose medium so I think it dried out pretty quickly. Then of course I read about it and found out I should let it dry out. It does look like it has new roots from what I can see through the bark pieces so I think it is fine. Should I give it any water at all? It is in my house so the environment is kinda dry right now.

Lashelle

[arleneg]

Cynthia, did you repot when they went dormant or when they start showing new growth? I'm asking because mine is still in its original potting mix and plan to repot when I see new growth. Or should I repot it now?

Regarding watering and fertilizing (that is, when new growth is evident), do you water every day? Do you fertilize at full strength each week or every day? I'm asking now so I'll be prepared.

[arleneg]

Jerry, I have the Wine Delight, too. Growing it in my home, I hope mine will show some new growth within two months. (fingers crossed)

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I repot when I see new growth. I doubt that it is all that important which way you go. It is just that I procrastinate in most things, and when I see new growth just starting, I know I can procrastinate no longer. I grow in very small pots, so my observation is that the plants manage to empty their pots of water every day, so they get watered every day. If I say don't let them dry out completely, what do you do if the pot is nearly dry every day. No decision to be made for me, but for you, it might be different. Fertilize? What's that? Well, I have a problem fertilizing enough (procrastination again?). So mine could certainly use more than I do. I think Jerry is the one to ask.

By this way, while looking over my Cycs hanging up hard dry, I decided to remove all the old dried up sheathing. That was when I noticed that all had at least a swelling of one or more eyes. I had to remove 3 or 4 started eyes on one plant, a hybrid, leaving the largest swelled eye, to keep it from spreading its energy too thinly. It grew 2 growths last year, each smaller than the bulb I started with. Need to get progress, not regression.

[jerrymeola]

A few other things about Cycs. They are recommended to be re-potted in new medium ever year, but I usually procrastinate and have gone two years most times.

Cycs will normally only flower from one bulb. A pot with more than one flowering is actually growing as if were multiple plants.

It is very common for the third oldest bulb to die if the plant is not separated. When they go dormant they can be divided to single bulbs and grown separately. My loddigessi was divided this year to single bulbs and I have two excellent new growing plants

An interesting aside Cycnoches like loddigessi have distinctively male and female flowers although not necessarily both the same year.

[arleneg]

A little while ago, I decided to remove some of the sheath on the 'youngest' bulb. Low and behold, there's a new growth, about 1/8"! Woohoo! Now, my question...

Do I fertilize every time I water or just once a week at full strength??

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Don't fertilize until that growth gets up a ways (3"?) and keep the water to just barely perceptable dampness till same point.

[diamondsword]

I would like to weigh in in this discussion. I am the inexperienced owner of a Cycnodes Wine Delight and a Mormodes hookerae. I got these plants from two different sources. I was told to water the Cycnodes once a month. It was time to water yesterday and I noticed a new growth so I will up the watering a bit. I was told to NOT water the Mormodes at all until there is new growth. The Cycnodes seems to be in a relatively new potting mix but the Mormodes will need to be repotted. The current mix is completely bone dry sphagnum moss. Is this recomended or is it better to use an orchid bark mix?

[jerrymeola]

Diamondsword

your watering is fine to avoid dehydration during dormancy but it will take a lot more water once it is growing.

This plant has to grow to full size, flower and die back in 6-9 months. It does everything at an accelerated pace.

[LLW]

Sorry to be so slow in rejoining a discussion I started, but work sure gets in the way of more important things, like my orchid discussion. I now know a whole lot more than I did. You can all be glad that you have now given a poor defenseless orchid a chance to live. (Maybe ).

A couple of other questions, this orchid is in a very small 2-3" pot with two bulbs, one larger than the other. Do I need to separate them? Also, the potting mix appears to be a strange combination of medium to large bark pieces and the clay agregate pieces like I use for my semi-hydro potting. Is that OK?
Lashelle

[LLW]

Another question. I see the name "Cycnodes" used here and the name on my orchid is a "Cycnoches". What is/are the difference? How are these two species(?) related? Lashelle

[jaxz]

Hi. I'm fairly new to Cycnoches myself - my first plants were acquired only a few weeks ago in Dec over Christmas. They are doing well (I think) after I diligently read up on the watering / fertilising cycles off articles on the net.

If I may contribute:
Cycnodes = Cycnoches x Mormodes, and they are all part of the catesetum alliance

jaxz

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Might want to leave these together this season, so your plant will maybe have a little extra energy for your experimenting with a new genera. I say maybe, because the plant may start a new growth from each of the bulbs. Then you can searate them or leave them together, as you choose, to have 2 plants or a bigger display. But never leave the plant with three bulbs when they go dormant, as the 3rd one will most probably wither away, so try for an extra plant with that one.

I grow all of mine in very small pots, but you have to water very often, and fertilize often. If the plant is drying too fast to keep up with, move to a bigger pot. Assuming the mix was good at the start of growth, just move the undisturbed roots to a larger pot and fill around with the same mix.