Dry Winter Rest and Dormancy for Orchids

Dry Winter Rest

Dry winter rest is something that happens every winter in order for certain types of orchids to stay healthy and provide blooms in the coming spring. Usually it takes place from Halloween till Valentines day where we do not water these orchids unless it shows sign of shriveling (should be at least once or twice, if not none.)

The orchids that needs these dry winter rest are to my knowledge the Dendrobium Nobile. The rest of the rest of the other Dendrobiums as far as I know are allowed to be waters throughout the season without any problems. There are some people out there that does provide dry winter rest for these orchids, but it is absolutely not necessary.

Dormancy

Dormancy is when an orchid drops all it's leaves and goes dormant for a couple of months if not longer or shorter. In this period orchids does not need any water or sunlight so it is possible to just toss them in a dark closet and forget about them unless they show signs of shriveling bulbs or new growths.

Orchids that has these dormancy period are known as the Catasetum Alliance (Only orchids I know that goes through dormancy.). To know when a Catasetum Alliances is going into it's dormant stage is by seeing the leaves yellowing and dropping, which is a normal process. This is when you slowly reduce watering and stop. There are some types of Catasetum that drops their leaves first and bloom. So make sure you know which type of Alliance of Catasetums you have before you claim it to be dormant.

Breaking Out of Dormancy

For the Catasetum Alliances, breaking out of Dormancy is noticeable. They will start growing new growth. This doesn't mean you have to start watering yet. Once seeing this new growth, some people has a habit to start re-potting Catasetums into new media to relief the old one. During this process, they also cut off all the old roots from the previous pseudo-bulbs since they are no longer necessary as the new growth will provide substance for the older bulbs. Once the new growth starts sprouting out roots to about 1-3 inches would be a good time to start giving these Catasetums water at regular basis.

Happy Thanksgiving!!