Catasetum arietinum

Also known as: The Ram's Horn Catasetum in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: Pernambuco - Brazil

General Information

The Ram's Horn Catasetum is a sympodial warm to hot growing epiphytic orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to Brazil. The name refers to the curved pseudobulbs being like a rams horn.

Plant Description

Sympodial. Grows to 0.3cm. Each new growth has numerous lance shaped leaves that grow to 3-25cm long. Pseudobulbs grow to 2.5-10cm. The plant forms pendant or arching growths

Flowers

Numerous fragrant blossoms appear during Summer and Spring

Fragrance

The orchid is fragrant.

Blooming Season

• Spring
• Summer

Substrate(s)

• Coarse
• Bark
• Charcoal
• Treefern
• Spaghnum Moss
• Perlite

Care Notes

These orchids like to be kept on the dry side, but may need to be watered daily during warm weather, and prefer a well draining mix or also do well mounted, provided they can be watered regularly.

These are quite a forgiving orchid, there are no special requirements to get this orchid to flower, just good care and consistent conditions. Larger plants may be more fussy and can react poorly to change; a poorly timed repotting, a pest infection or an unusually hot day can set them back for a couple of years. However, even plants that have been treated poorly can thrive, and if they are set back they often recover much stronger then they would otherwise be.

Fragrant:

• IsFragrant

Climate

Grows at low elevations. Rainfall ranges from 25mm to 277mm per day, heaviest in December and lightest in April. Humidity ranges from 71% to 80%, highest in December and lowest in April. Temperature ranges from 21C to 29C, highest in July (24C to 29C) and lowest in January (21C to 26C).

Watering

Keep moisture levels up during hot weather as the plant is prone to dehydration

Fertiliser

These plants thrive on fertiliser, especially during periods of growth. Liquid fertiliser can be applied year round at the recommended strength, augmented with manure pellets or other quickly degradable fertiliser, applied away from the base of the plant, during periods of strong growth. Slow release pellets can also be applied year round at the rate of 2-3 pellets per cup (250ml) of media.

They can benefit from a high phosphate fertiliser leading up to flowering season, and by a high nitrogen fertiliser when new growth appears. 

Use balanced fertiliser year round. This plant is a heavy feeder year round, full strength fertiliser can be used. Fertiliser can be applied heavily year round. Use a high Nitrogen fertiliser during Spring and Summer. Use a high Phosphorous fertiliser during Summer.

Potting

Due to the growth nature of these plants they are best mounted onto cork, tree fern slabs, or even trees if the climate suits. Water regularly especially in hot weather.

Use water retentive media such as moss to prevent roots from drying out quickly This plant does very well in baskets or suspended pots This plant does well mounted. Repotting is best done annually.