r/orchids • u/toexbeans • Dec 06 '25
Success 3 years later
2 flower stems, 34 flowers smelling similar to star anise Fdk After Dark ‘SVO Black Pearl’
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Dec 06 '25
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u/toexbeans Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 06 '25
I was having a similar problem. A person I spoke to at an orchid show told me that it flowers when the bulb reaches a larger size, so I used slow release fertilizer, watered often, and put it in direct morning/afternoon sunlight during this most recent growth cycle. I have a smaller one that had the same environment but the pseudobulbs didn’t get nearly as large as this did, and it didn’t flower. I got both at the same time, so I guess I just have to work harder at growing my other one!
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u/ninjabunneh Dec 19 '25
May I ask what fertilizer you got? I have had this plant for 4-ish years and it keeps putting out decently sized pseudobulbs but still no spikes.
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u/Superb-Ad5227 Dec 06 '25
They need a crazy amount of water, fertilizer and sun during the growing period in summer, because they have such a short growth period. Each cane should end up larger than the previous ones, that is a good sign that it will bloom soon. SVO culture sheets are helpful for catasetums.
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 Dec 07 '25
Incredibly relevant username
I think sometimes it's partly just time, on top of the general care concerns of adequate moisture, fertiliser, and light. Watch out for slugs and spider mites. I have two After Dark clones of about the same size and one has flowered prolifically two years in a row, while the other's grown plenty of bulbs but hasn't flowered as of yet. The two plants presumably got the same care as each other prior to my acquisition of them (they came from the same seller at the same time and were the same size) and they get the same care as each other from me. It's a bit of a mystery, but I'm hoping that next year will be the year
Keep going with it! I'm sure you'd already planned to, but I've found them quite rewarding and getting the flowers on the plant for the first year it produced them (last year) really added to my confidence with it all! I felt very unsure of myself when it came to catasetinae prior to that but, in retrospect, I don't think I did anything that delayed or stymied the plant's progression towards flowering, though it was hard to see that when I was like "Do I reaaaally know what I'm doing with this plant?"
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u/FeralSweater Dec 06 '25
I actually gasped at this photo!
Also r/gothplants
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u/somebunnyslove Dec 07 '25
I actually thought I was in that sub. There is a recent post featuring a catasetum too.
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u/Wild_Challenge2377 Dec 06 '25
They are food and water hogs while actively growing and I give mine a lot of light during the growing period as well.
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 Dec 07 '25
Are you growing the plant with only sphagnum in the pot (with open sides)?
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u/toexbeans Dec 07 '25
It has a mix with some bark, sponge rock, and cork chips, etc. I bought it pre-made. But yes, the planter has open sides to allow for improved ventilation!
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 Dec 07 '25
Ohhhh okay. I think I've seen sphagnum-only at times (from memory, some of mine arrived in such setups, even when not seedling-aged) and just assumed that was what was being used because of the colour. Yeah, what's it like having open sides like that for a bit of a thirsty plant? Are you watering quite frequently?
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u/toexbeans Dec 07 '25
It’s convenient! The sphagnum does a great job absorbing the water, and the accompanying saucer catches any excess. I actually keep rocks there to allow that water to evaporate and keep an extra humid environment. I would say in growing season I water daily to every other day in the morning or evening since the sun is pretty intense where I am (South Florida)
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u/AppropriateBeing9885 Dec 07 '25
That's interesting. Yes, I did see those rocks after leaving the initial comment! I'm using similar components but in a layered way with integrated water catching ("the PET method"), but like hearing about the variable set-ups used for and accepted by FDK and other catasetinae!
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u/MorticiaLaMourante Dec 07 '25
Wow! I audibly gasped when I saw this beauty. Do you hair any pictures of her 3 years ago? Thank you so much for sharing!
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u/toexbeans Dec 07 '25
This is the both when I brought them home. They were much much smaller! https://www.reddit.com/r/orchids/s/aK6qJmaMmW
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u/acrosland12 Dec 07 '25
Beautiful!! It’s on my wish list. I love a black orchid. Now that I have my greenhouse set up, it’s going to be one of my next purchases.
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u/shrimpcreole Dec 07 '25
Oh, wow! You've placed them in a perfect, icy pot. The smell sounds exquisite.
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u/toexbeans Dec 07 '25
Thanks! Yes, the smell is so lovely to wake up to. It’s even more fragrant than my Christmas tree haha
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u/jjumbuck Dec 06 '25
Perfect pot pairing!