FDK. After Dark 'Bakers Black Hole' AM/AOS
Fdk. After Dark 'Bakers Black Hole' AM/AOS is an award winning orchid. Stunning hybrid with burgundy and black flowers and fragrant flowers. These are awarded clones and will produce beautiful cascading blooms in optimal conditions.
General Culture and Care Information (Catasetinae Intergenerics)
New to Catasetinae? Learn to recognize the different cycle of Catasetina. Check out our quick beginner guide here
*Cultural and care information is based on average Catasetinae care, use it as guide and should be adapted to suit your environment. Some Catasetinae intergeneric hybrids may have more specific care. Always do thorough research for your planties.
🌸 Flowering: The blooming season for Catasetinae occurs at the end of their growth period. To determine if your plants are growing well, check if the new bulb is larger than the previous one. The larger the bulb, the higher the chances of inflorescence. (flowering) and the number of flowers.
Note: If the flower is touched after blooming, it may activate the pollinia, causing the flower to expire immediately.
🌡 Temp: General Catasetinae intergeneric hybrids are Intermediate to Hot (☀️20-33°C/🌑18-26°C) during growth. Keep mid-range with 4-6°C difference day to night.
During dormancy can be intermediate to warm.
💧 Water: Based on growth stage (see tutorial video) During growth season, increase watering based on root length until peak growth period. Have a water reservoir and do not allow dryout, increase watering fertilizer and light during peak growth season to grow the bulb to maximum potential. During dormancy, if you choose to water, allow dryout within 2-3 days or there may be risk of bulb rotting. Water the roots, not the bulb.
☁️Humidity: 50-60% or more during growth season. 40%min is doable if watered correctly. In low humidity homes, a stick sap may build up on the leaves. Rinse with warm water to wash off sap, reduces pest attraction. During dormancy 25%+ is ok. If bulb starts to shrivel, allow light watering and dry within 2-3 days. Water root tips not the bulb.
💡 Light:
🇨🇦 Summer Bright indirect to Medium direct, SouthEast or West exposure. Avoid the brightest 1-2 hours of the days during peak summer months. Direct sun exposure for 4-6 hours in the morning or evening best. Can be grown outdoors.
🇨🇦 Winter: During dormancy, very low but still have some light available.
🌰 Media: Flexible. Suggestions:
- RoeOrchid Quick Drain Mix
- Sphagnum Moss with LECA combo.
- Bark, perlite, charcoal leca mix
- Firbark, Coconut husk mix, or any combination listed above.
Best time to repot is during dormancy, just before signs of a new growth would be best to center the new growth in the pot. The plant should be positioned in the pot so that the newest growth is farthest away from the edge of the pot, allowing the maximum number of new growths before crowding the pot. Keep humidity high, quick wet to dry cycles in the medium until roots are rooted into the media. When roots are abundance, keep water reservoir in the roots. If it's new bark, make sure to soak heavily.
🧪: Fertilize: HEAVY during active growing vegetative stage. Increase as the bulb gets more mature to maximize growth potential in the bulb to get highest chance of inflorescence (flowering). We recommend MSU & Marphyll These can go as heavy as double the recommended dose on the bottle from our personal experience, but be cautious, experiment and flush out excess.
*Images are for reference purposes only and may differ from the actual product. Due to variations of each individual plant, differences in monitors, colours of products may also appear different to those shown on the site.