Catasetum cernuum is native to Brazil. It is often found in the southern states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. The plants grow in quite shady locations on the slopes of wooded hills, at heights of 200-1500 m in regions where winter nights are chilly...
Catasetum cernuum also called as The Nodding Catasetum, Catasetum cernuum var revolutum, Catasetum cernuum var. typum, Catasetum cernuum var umbrosum, Catasetum trifidum, Catasetum umbrosum, Catasetum viride, Monachanthus viridis, Myanthus cernuus, is a species of the genus Catasetum. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1863.
IDENTIFY CATASETUM CERNUUM
Catasetum cernuum is native to Brazil. It is often found in the southern states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. The plants grow in quite shady locations on the slopes of wooded hills, at heights of 200-1500 m in regions where winter nights are chilly.
It is a medium sized, hot to cool growing epiphytic plant, which reaching up to 45 cm tall, with clustered, fusiform, 11 cm long and 3 cm in diameter pseudobulbs carrying 6 to 8, medium green, oblanceolate, up to 34 cm long and 6.5 cm wide leaves.
The Nodding Catasetum blooms in the late spring and summer on a basal, 30 cm long, 10 to 15 nodding flowered, arching to pendant raceme arising on a newly forming pseudobulb. The flowers have a size of 5 cm by 7 cm along the folded, diagonally downward side flakes. The outer whorls are brown and brown, the inner green with clear light and dark spots, the lip has a beige middle plot with a whitish top, and the side plots are strongly dotted. The spine is green and its processes are greenish-brown. Some clones may have a reddish color.
CATASETUM CERNUUM CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Catasetum cernuum needs a light level of 15000-23000 lux. The plants should be moderately shaded and light filtered or dispersed. They should not be exposed to the direct rays of the midday sun. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time. These plants grow well in shady places.
Temperature:
It is a thermophilic plant undergoing a cool resting period. In summer, the average day temperature is 24-26 ° C, at 17-18 ° C at night, with a daily amplitude of 7-8 ° C. In winter, the average day temperature is 19 ° C, night 12 ° C, with an amplitude of daily fluctuations around 7-8 ° C.
Humidity:
The Nodding Catasetum needs the humidity of 80-85% from spring to autumn, drops to almost 75% during 2-3 winter months.
Substrate, growing media:
Catasetum cernuum grow well attached to pieces of tree ferns, if during the summer they will be irrigated at least once a day. In the period of extremely hot and dry weather, attached plants may require even several waterings during the day.
They can also grown in pots or baskets with perfect drainage, filled with loose, quickly drying ground. The substrate must be well aerated, but it must also contain materials that retain some of the moisture, such as sphagnum moss and perlite. Wood charcoal is also often added to ensure the air permeability of the substrate and protection against acidification. In addition to the standard fir bark substrate, growers successfully apply tightly packed roots of Osmund ferns, tree fern fiber, sphagnum moss, pumice, cork shards, and even a mixture of equal parts of composted and fresh horse manure and charcoal.
Repotting:
The Nodding Catasetum does not tolerate root acidification, which is why annual repotting is recommend. Repotting is carried out when a new growth appears at the base of the pseudobulb. The plant is left only 1-2 youngest pseudobulbs, and all others should be removed.
Because old roots die after repotting, most of them can be cut off. Several can be left to facilitate fixing the plant in a new substrate until new roots develop. After repotting, the plants are not watered at all until the new growth releases the roots into a new substrate and its height reaches 10-12 cm; only then a normal watering pattern is undertaken.
After repotting the first 1-2 pseudobulbs, the remaining can be used as the beginnings of new plants. First, remove the old roots, and put the pseudobulbs flat or set up vertically, until new growths appear from the bottom or sides of the pseudobulb. Some recommend that in the waiting period older tubers should be placed in an upright position in empty pots. Be patient, because you will have to wait up to several months for the new increments to appear. When a new growth appears, place the pseudobulb in the pot with the substrate so that the new growth is on the surface or slightly below. If there are several increments along the sides of the pseudobulb, simply place it on the surface of the substrate.
Watering:
In natural habitats, rainfall is relatively abundant for most of the year with a slightly drier period of 2-3 winter months, although this is not actually a dry season. Catasetum cernuum should be abundantly watered for most of the year, but the substrate should not be allowed to settle or become damp. When new growths reach maturity in the autumn, the amount of water should be slightly reduced.
Fertilizer:
This species require strong fertilization, so during active growth, they should be fertilized with a full dose of balanced fertilizer every week. You can use high-nitrogen fertilizer from spring to mid-summer, then switching to high-phosphorus in late summer and autumn.
Rest period:
In the autumn, after the leaves have fallen, the Catasetum cernuum plants should remain dry; the amount of water supplied should be such as to prevent excessive pseudobulb wrapping. Fertilization should be eliminated until new growths appear and more watering begins in the spring.
You can force the plants to sleep, cutting off all other leaves in November. More of these plants die of excess water in winter than for any other reason. Normal watering and fertilization should be resumed when new increments begin to appear and new roots are 2-4 cm long. However, water that accumulates in funnel-like new growths can cause them to rot, so be careful with water. You can also place a little powdered fungicide in the leaf funnel to reduce the risk of their rotting.
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