Plant of interest
Catasetum fimbriatum.
Photos courtesy of Gary Yong Gee.
This unusual looking flowered plant is endemic to South America’s Tropical regions.
The fringed blooms flower in late Spring an early Summer from the Pseudo bulb on a raceme about forty centimeters in length.
It flowers both male and female blooms (as pictured above) which is quite unusual.
It is a very hardy plant but just takes a little understanding of its cultural requirements.
It enjoys warm conditions of tropical to temperate climate and medium to high humidity and good light conditions.
It has a dormant period after losing its leaves leading up to and during winter where water should be given if there is signs of acute dehydration.
The plant becomes active again in early Spring where new growths appear and develop quite quickly, normal watering should commence when the new bulbs are actively in growth.
Potting should be done at least every two years when the plant is at the stage where the new shoots are about six centimetres in length.
A mix of medium bark and charcoal is satisfactory as the plants don’t mind drying out a little between watering.
Any well balanced fertiliser is suitable.