Hi everyone

Sheila, without seeing a pic showing the size of the pups on your plant it is difficult to give a definitive answer about the pups, but as a general rule, some growers prefer to remove pups when they are 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the mother plant either with or without roots. This gives the mother plant the chance to grow more pups thereby increasing the number of plants she produces for you. It is also commonly accepted that it is better to remove pups only during the warmer months as they tend to just sulk and not grow well during the colder periods.

I personally like to allow the pups to grow to about 3/4 the size of the mother and not remove them until they have roots of their own, or follow the other option of not removing the pups and leaving multiple plants in the pot to form a nice specimen and talking piece. As the mother plant ages and deteriorates she will eventually die and can be removed,the choice is up to you.

The mother plant will nourish the pups, that's the reason it's called the mother plant; and because the pups are taking nourishment from the mother during this period, it is also advisable to give the her a bit of fertilizer to compensate for the nourishment she is losing.

As for your other question; "Will they grow to maturity in one season & bloom?" I personally have found this not to be the case. Mine usually require at least two seasons to make up into a flowering size plant, but having said that, I use very little fertilizer. Other growers will grow their plants much quicker than I and probably can achieve flowering in the first year, and hopefully someone with more experience than I will add to these comments.

I hope this helps in some way.

All the best, Nev.

Thank you Nev. I'll leave the pups on the mother plant. Since our danger of frost is finally past, I've moved the plant outdoors. I've put it with my orchids under the shade of a large tree. I assume I can fertilize it as I do the orchid plants; a weakened solution once a week.

This plant was originally given at a Memorial Service, then passed on to me becaus "I have a green thumb & wouldn't let it die". Hah, she's no idea how many orchid plants have DIMP! Again, thx for the answer to my query.

Sheila :)