Catasetum viridiflavum is found in Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It grows in hot lowlands, usually close to water.
Catasetum viridiflavum also called as The Green Yellow Catasetum, Catasetum serratum, is a species of the genus Catasetum. This species was described by William Jackson Hooker in 1843.
IDENTIFY CATASETUM VIRIDIFLAVUM ORCHID PLANT
Catasetum viridiflavum is found in Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It grows in hot lowlands, usually close to water.
It is a large sized, hot growing epiphyte with slightly compressed, fusiform, clustered, to 17 cm long and 4 cm wide pseudobulbs that are completely enveloped by basal leaf sheaths when young and become papery with age carrying deciduous, linear-lanceolate, plicate, to 45 cm long and 5.5 cm wide leaves.
The Green Yellow Catasetum blooms in the summer with a many flowered, 33 cm long, racemose inflorescence. The male flowers are 58 x 31 mm with coloration of segments yellow-green, in varying nuances; inside of lip pouch with heavy blotches of burnt umber; base of petals with tiny spots of the same color; sepals and petals faintly veined. The green female flowers rarely seen.
This plant robust and identical in growth habit to Catasetum maculatum. Prominent veins on leaf underside turn into sharp spines when pseudobulbs lose leaves. Pneumatophorous root system massive. Easily identified when in flower by the large flower size, coloration, and unique shape of the non-resupinate lip (globose with small conical cap). Male and female flowers borne on separate inflorescences. Dorsal sepal and petals form a concave trough beneath the column.
CATASETUM VIRIDIFLAVUM 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 viridiflavum 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 (20 % shade).
Temperature:
In their natural habitat, the climate is evenly hot, moist, and tropical. This climate is almost the same year-round, with high humidity at night, even in the dry season, which is relatively short. The nighttime temperatures rarely fall below 18°C, with daytime highs generally from 29 to 35°C. The important thing is to maintain evenly warm conditions, and for this orchid the closer the night minimum is to 21°C, the better the plants will respond.
Humidity:
The Green Yellow 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 viridiflavum can be grown in pot or 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.
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:
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:
Catasetum viridiflavum have a relatively short dormant period between leaf fall and new growth. When the plants 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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