Catasetum aripuanense is found in Brazil, Mato Grosso State, municipality of Aripuana, also near the town of Costa Rica in Mato Grosso do Sul State. It grows on trees overhanging the Juruena River at elevations between 500 and 1000 meters.
Catasetum aripuanense also called as The Aripuana Catasetum, is a species of the genus Catasetum. This species was described by Hamilton Dias Bicalho in 1963.
IDENTIFY CATASETUM AIRPUANENSE ORCHID PLANT
Catasetum aripuanense is found in Brazil, Mato Grosso State, municipality of Aripuana, also near the town of Costa Rica in Mato Grosso do Sul State. It grows on trees overhanging the Juruena River at elevations between 500 and 1000 meters.
It is a medium sized, warm growing epiphyte with thick, fleshy, and white roots and subconical, 12 x 3.5 cm pseudobulbs carrying 4, linear-lanceolate, medium green, 24 x 4 cm leaves.
The Aripuana Catasetum blooms in the fall on a basal, 20 cm long, arching, to 4 flowered inflorescence. The described flowers are green with heavy red-brown spots and transverse bars; lip calli and midlobe fringes whitish. It is an interesting species, if that is what it is, that makes a small plant with appealing flowers. The plants from the small area near the town of Costa Rica display 56 different color forms.
CATASETUM AIRPUANENSE ORCHID PLANT 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 aripuanense are sun-loving plant and needs a light level of 30000-60000 lux. Unless the strong air movement found in the natural habitat can be duplicated, however, the grower should provide some shade (40-60 % shade). This species can be grown under lights if sufficient light intensity can be provided, and the plant certainly can be summered outdoors if their moisture requirements can be met.
Temperature:
The climate in their natural habitat is essentially continental. The dry season is long and the humidity is very low throughout much of the year. Days are hot and dry, while nights are fairly cool. The terrain is typically tropical to subtropical savannah country, with the surface soil shallow and incapable of sustaining large trees. Temperatures range from a maximum 40°C to a minimum 10°C. In cultivation, 18°C is the ideal minimum night temperature.
Humidity:
The Aripuana Catasetum tolerate an environment with 40 - 60 % relative humidity during their growing season, but for optimal development of new growth and flowering, 70 % is recommended.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Catasetum aripuanense can be grown in pot, container or wooden basket with fir bark, osmunda, tree fern fiber, charcoal, and sphagnum, in various proportions or combined with still other ingredients such as sponge rock, perlite, leaf mold, peat, and bark screenings as substrate. This plant can also mounted on wood. This option presupposes that the plant is sufficiently strong, that it is not so large as to be unwieldy when hanging from its mount, that the grower can provide adequate humidity for it during the growing season, that the conversion to mounting is done at the very beginning of the growth cycle, and that the species is known to adapt readily to this cultural practice.
It is recommended to repot every year and never wait more than two years. The optimal time for potting or repotting is when new growth on a plant emerging from dormancy is about 5 cm tall and the nubs have developed into new roots that are reaching for support.
Watering:
Mounted, basket-grown, and unconventionally potted plant may be watered every sunny day during the growing season, provided conditions are such that they dry off relatively quickly. In the case of conventionally potted adult plants, it should not be necessary to water more than once or, at most, twice a week. This species like to dry out at least slightly between waterings.
Fertilizer:
Fertilize with an appropriate formulation at least every week during the growing season, or fertilize with a weak formula every time the plants are watered. It is important to begin regular applications of high-nitrogen fertilizer (such as 10-5-5) with a full range of trace elements. As the leaves begin to unfurl, and well before flowering, add a high-phosphorus formula to develop big, strong pseudobulbs capable of producing robust inflorescences. Any of the soluble products with a large second-digit number (for example, 3-12-6) constitute a good source of phosphorus.
Rest period:
When Catasetum aripuanense are leafless and no new growths are visible, the grower must respect their state of dormancy. Watering frequency should be reduced during dormancy. Fertilization should stop completely during this period.
In the springtime, at the beginning of the growth cycle, water should not be made regularly available for the newly developing roots until the new growth is at least 5 cm tall.
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