# Ctsm. Ten Dragons 'Night Wasp'



## Kavanaru (May 20, 2011)

First time bloom! This is the second of two Ctsm. Ten Dragons I have. 




Catasetum Ten Dragons 'Night Wasp' by kavanaru, on Flickr



Catasetum Ten Dragons 'Night Wasp' by kavanaru, on Flickr



Catasetum Ten Dragons 'Night Wasp' by kavanaru, on Flickr

my other plant of this hybrid for comparison (last year bloom):



Catasetum Ten Dragons 'Fledermaus Sonriente' by kavanaru, on Flickr


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## JeanLux (May 20, 2011)

Great blooms, on both, and interesting diff. of color on the lip!!! Jean


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## mormodes (May 20, 2011)

You grow these in inverted soda bottles, don't you? Clever idea!


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## Marc (May 20, 2011)

It's so dark, nice!!!!!


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## Bolero (May 20, 2011)

Oh wow! What colour!


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## Yoyo_Jo (May 20, 2011)

Yes, fantastic color for sure! :clap:


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## goldenrose (May 20, 2011)

:drool::drool: OHHHH GEEZ don't get me started on these! :drool::drool:
I already love my Frdckra. After Dark, wouldn't take much arm twisting!


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## tocarmar (May 20, 2011)

Very Very Nice!!! I don't have one of these yet!! I do have 3 FDK's, that I am hoping to bloom this year.


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## etex (May 20, 2011)

Very cool,intense blooms!


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## Jorch (May 20, 2011)

ooo... nice color! I love it


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## Shiva (May 20, 2011)

Super cat, dark. I like it.


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## SlipperFan (May 20, 2011)

Wow! You should show these to Fred Clark.


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## Hera (May 20, 2011)

Love the dark color. They look like little bats. Good job.


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## goldenrose (May 21, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Wow! You should show these to Fred Clark.


He's probably seen plenty - Didn't Fred originate this cross?


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## John Boy (May 21, 2011)

Here's a thought....:
Given that I work 5 miles from the swiss border every few weeks, given that I have a little lab,.... given that rather few people in Europe have plants like you do (and not for killing as most people seem to do), and given that you really know what you're doing....:
*Why don't you start pollinating your plants?*
I'll do your sowing for free, and I'll drop off the flasks on your doorstep as well!


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## Kavanaru (May 21, 2011)

John Boy said:


> Here's a thought....:
> Given that I work 5 miles from the swiss border every few weeks, given that I have a little lab,.... given that rather few people in Europe have plants like you do (and not for killing as most people seem to do), and given that you really know what you're doing....:
> *Why don't you start pollinating your plants?*
> I'll do your sowing for free, and I'll drop of the flasks on your doorstep as well!



simple... because all my catasetinae refuse to produce female flowers  I hope this year with the greenhouse they change their minds... and the only two producing females (Clowesia russeliana and Rebecca Northen) reject most pollen I use... ok, there is currently a nice pod (Cl. Rebecca Northen x Ctsm pileatum growing here :drool


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## John Boy (May 21, 2011)

Okay, cool!
*Well, here’s the truth:*
You seem to be the ultimate source for flowering Catasetinae within (known) Europe. 

I don’t know a lot about Catasetinae, but what I do know is: If you’re able to produce male flowers like you do….., female flowers are just not really an issue getting a hold of!!! Why would any plant produce male flowers, but refusing to do female? I know that in the wild it is the exact same issue, but: it does work there as well. My ultimate feeling right now is: *You’ve got a new greenhouse, so getting the conditions right takes very little effort. *

Besides your answer sounding sort of cheap for someone of your expertise, (down the road of an excuse, though I know you know better), and given your recent „female results“ and achievements, which are nothing but sort of outrageously impressive, :
Here is what I know, and I’m more than sure you will have known before me:
If you can produce male flowers, like one (you) does (do)… and this is simple theoretical knowledge, since I myself seem to be unable to grow plants like you do on a daily basis…: it’s a very simple, (theoretical again!) issue of temperature management. As far as my knowledge about your plants goes: all you need to achieve (for a happily ever after hermaphrodite flowering environment) is greater temperature gaps. Right? As I said: I have never managed to get any Catasetum or it’s relatives to flower for me on my own account, but I do feel that if you juggled or messed with you temperature regime to the extend of the ultimate greatest differences: you should be fine. 
Agreed?, or is that just not going to work that way for whatever (practical) reason?


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## Kavanaru (May 21, 2011)

John Boy, if Catasetum and Cycnoches would produce female flowers that easily, I am sure there would be a lot more selected plants than what you can find. Even Fred Clarke, who is one of the best catasetinae growers outside of the tropics, has admitted once that he has difficulties to get female flowers. I know many excellent Catasetinae growers, who has never seen a female flower on their plants... that's the difficult part when growing this group... 

There are several hypothesis on how to obtain female flowers: (1) high light levels - not always true! (2) very healthy and strong plants - This is a very important factor, and a decisive one, but not the only one!, e.g. weak plant in high light will normally not produce females, a strong plant under strong light is more likely to produce female flowers - but also not always. (3) Stress - there are some evidences that sometimes plants under stress produce female flowers - this not always happens! and on teh other hand, would you put your plants under stress to test this?
Sunlight is a limiting factor in Northern hemisphere, and I hope that now with the greenhouse my plants get the amounts needed to change their mind.


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## John Boy (May 21, 2011)

I learnt something today! (which I do love)!!!
Thanks for that.
*
It sort of sounds like there’s no such thing, as the ultimate factor then*?! In my world things are normally kept quite simple if possible. There are plants, which are excluded from such patterns such as: Paph. violasecens, or Cattleya dormaniana.
If what you’re saying is true (or a fact), would you venture a guess how these plants could ever make it in the wild? From an orchid grower perceptive I always found 2sex- flower plants difficult, because (it does make things difficult, and nature seems to avoid “difficult” if possible)….what would be the point of producing one of a kind (flowers) without making sure there’s variety to promote the “survival of the fittest” idea (through, or by means) of bringing together the “material” that is deemed to be of the environmentally fittest quality at any one time!?
Basically, and (I guess) that’s what I’m interested in is:
to find out: are these plants the problem, or are we (in our western hemisphere) unable, to provide what it would take, to vegetatively grow these plants to their full potential. I guess this it very hypothetical asking, but one has to start somewhere, to gain insight.


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## Kavanaru (May 21, 2011)

hehe... ofcourse this has a benefit too... it is a way to avoid self-pollination, which is known to reduce variability and species "fitness"... in Nature you can find female flowers more often, but still the male ones are dominats... on the other side, once you have a female, it pollinated almost inmediatelly and the pod of Catasetinae belong to the largest pods in the orchid world... this ensures also a quite high number of seeds to be dispersed..


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## W. Beetus (May 21, 2011)

Great, dark color!


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## biothanasis (May 22, 2011)

Impressive...!!!! Why do I struggle to grow the 2-3 catasetinae I have...??   They are putting new growths now.... My problem is that they do not flattten the psblbs. They only get long and slim and sometimes they die...lol.... there must be a problem with the dormancy...not until recently did they start yellowing the leaves and there are some nice green leaves on the plants...

This time I will give them more water, fertiliser and light...!! Fingers crossed...


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## Kavanaru (May 22, 2011)

biothanasis said:


> This time I will give them more water, fertiliser and light...!! Fingers crossed...



Water (can be grown with th epot in a 2-3 cm deep water plate!) and fertilise them as much as you can during the growing season, give them Cattleya light (whatever it means ) and keep them warm (they can tolerate very high temps! - actually they normally like that!)

and protect them with insecticides and acaricide! They are a magnet for spider mites, and respond very bad if infected during growing season!


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## biothanasis (May 22, 2011)

Thank you very very much Ramon...! Spider mites is the reason why I lost a couple of them in the past.... (nasty things...lol).


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## raymond (May 29, 2011)

wow very nice


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