Growing in the house, sunroom. Got light and I can rig up something to give it good humidity. Can I sphagnum and bag or do they need air movement?

Here’s a photo. has this larger bulb bloomed?

Can’t get it to upload my photo. I’ll try

later. Yippee, it finally worked!

sheila

I’m not an expert, especially with unpotted bulbs. If they were mine, I’d find a pot that would stand the bulbs up – hopefully small enough that you can drop the whole shebang into a gallon-sized ziplock. I’d put sphagnum around the outside of the pot holding the bulbs (but not the inside) and keep it moist, not wet. Then you can slip a second zip-lock over the top to contain the atmosphere. Neither bag would have to be sealed. If you feel like it, and if nights are cool, you might take the top bag off to allow some fresh air in and replace it the next morning after re-moistening the sphag. Some folks might consider all this overkill, but an arrangement of this sort is working wonders with a mounted Phal parishii of mine with a minimum of fuss. Good luck. That second pseudobulb looks very good!

Will that second bulb bloom again, or must it grow a new bulb and have it’s first bloom for me next year?

No, I don’t think the existing bulb will bloom – it may have bloomed last season. But it will provide great support for the new growth if all goes well. Be ready to pot it up and stake it firmly when you see it the new growth start. Sphagnum would be my choice, not too large a pot. Some of this type of orchid bloom as the growth is maturing and some bloom from leafless pseudobulbs. Try to find some culture information about it. If you can’t find much on Clowesia, look up Catesetum and Cycnoches. You can also research the parentage of C. Rebecca Northen. Try to get back to the species involved and you may gain an idea of how it will bloom. The AOS has a pretty good article on Clowesia and mentions your plant specifically. Here’s a link that may be helpful. (“Catesetum” Rebecca Northen is synonymous with your plant.)

AOS Clowesia

PS: I'd love if you keep me/us posted on how you decided to handle your Clowesia and how it works out. This Catesetum (similar habit) decided to do wonderful things for me, and it wasn't hard, once I got past my own amazement. Damn, I'm still impressed (this was a few years ago). Under HID light, in my kitchen in NYC. So it's really not hard.

Hi John. I haven’t done much with the Clowesia yet. We live in the country and I can only get to a nursery or HD once a week. This past weekend, house guests and Tuesday Repair people arrived after a lonnng wait. We’re finally getting repair work done on water damage by a hurricane almost two yrs ago. So now that’s a priority this week. They should finish tomorrow. Right now its just sitting in a 4” clay pot on a humidity tray with a variety of other intermediate growers, cool room, cooler windowsill. It should be catching some mist as I lightly mist the other plants first thing in the a. m.. once I have a smaller pot and more sphagnum i’ll Set up what you described.....it sounds perfect. I can see eyes at the base of the newest bulb, eyes that almost look to be pulling open on theshrivelled bulb too. will that bulb put out another growth?

Oh, I forgot....your plant and it’s blooms is beautiful. What is its name? I didn’t know they’d bloom while still with leaves. I like that!

Thanks Sheila. Some do and some wait until leaves are gone. Just depends. I'll have to jog my memory on that one. For some reason I remember it being a Cycnoches, not a Catesetum as I originally said.