Frustrated with big Cattelya's

[ALToronto]

Yes, too much fert with every watering. Use 1/4 as much, and change the composition to much lower K. Also add calcium and magnesium. If you want a single product, either K-Lite or Dyna-Gro Grow are good. They both have less K than N and P, and both contain Cal and Mag.

[RJSquirrel]

I cant read any bad advice given. I can add that the most important thing I have recently discovered is being consistent with your culture. They need to settle down and be comfortable and moving around so much could very well have affected the internal clocks.
I have some older catts BIG ones that were actually not frustrating me but ticking me off that the sheaths were not budding. They had been moved several times and in all kinds of odd settings. Now that they have settled down in the heat and 70% shade morning till night for 3 months now almost all them old non bloomers are sheathed up. Ones that had bloomed this year are sheathing up again for round 2. I moved them outside from being in a cold dark garage for roughly 2 months.
Just keep it simple and easy for yourself. KISS..Keep it simple and stupid works for me
I Water them when they are dry.
I mist the leaves lightly a few times a day with the heat.
I Fertilize weakly weekly with peters cal mag.
I have them under 70% shade cloth.
I have lots of frogs and lizards combined with lady bugs and mantis's for pest control. I did treat the orchids initially with Orthene Fire Ant killer when I moved them into my hothouse. 1 tbsp per gallon used as a foliar spray.
I leave them in the pots they came in and NOT be in any hurry to re-pot them. Unless they really need it I leave them alone.
Dont get so tekky with them bec whats wrong is basically simple consistent culture.
Keep me in mind in the winter and next spring to see if My Simple and Stupid worked when it comes time for all of us to start posting fall and winter bloomers. And good luck you will be okey

[keithrs]

One thing Ill add is that you just can take a plant that been in shady conditions and throw it under bright light. You need to gradually introduce more light. You'll must likely burn the plant if not then you'll shock it for a little while.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by tucker85

That's about 132 ppm nitrogen which should be fine. In October you should cut back to half that amount. Since you're growing outdoors where the plants get a lot of rain water I would also recommend a calcium/magnesium supplement if you don't mind spending the extra money. You can buy it at hydroponics stores or online. I use one called Magical at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water twice a month. It's best to use it by itself, not mixed with fertilizer. Aside from that, I don't know why they won't bloom. Good luck.

I agree that supplementing with Ca and Mg is good. Here is an inexpensive source. Ca - purchase gypsum, about 1 teaspoon will dissolve per gallon of water; it will dissolve quite slowly (may take a day or 2). You can buy Epsoma brand, or similar, at many garden stores, especially those catering to organic gardeners. You can also use the pelleted gypsum meant for lawns (decant and use the liquid, which will turn brown; discard the organic residue, which is the pellet binder). Also, plaster of Paris is nothing but gypsum with some water driven off by heating - you can use that also, dissolved first in water (I know, sounds freaky; Plaster has a long history of agricultural use; ).

For Mg, Epsom salts are a good, cheap source. They are available in any pharmacy, very cheap. Be sure to use the ones without additives; some are scented, etc., I'd avoid those.

[edited: I had said "pelleted lime" when I meant "pelleted gypsum", sorry, coffee has not kicked in yet. Also, if trying the plaster, it must be plaster of Paris, not lime plaster]

[RJSquirrel]

I use Peters Excel Cal-Mag. 15 5 15 7 3. Hard to find in small quantities but its all in one and worth the searching.

Calcium and Magnesium is always good adding it to your generalized fertilizers as off the shelf they dont come with these ingredients and your orchids do need them.

[No-Pro-mwa]

If the fert has it in it do you need to add more?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

If the fert has it in it do you need to add more?

No. If you regularly use a fertilizer that has calcium and magnesium in it, then you don't need to add a supplement.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Thank you so much. I am really trying to get a handle on this all.

[euplusia]

I have just re -read all the posts. They give a lot of useful hints. Cattleyas not flowering is a problem that I never had with estimatad 200 Cats in my greenhouse, nor have I even heard about it from my friends around. I assume it is because the variation and changes of the seasons are really rough here, and for me as a grower one of the foremost tasks is to equalize the harsh changes.
That is exactly when HighSeas says that orchid culture changes from region to region.
For the flower induction of some Cattleyas more or less uniform conditions ( in India and eventually Florida) might be a problem that calls for a specific solution ( as the recommended shifting of fertilizer is).
It is known that Cattleya hybrids made in Taiwan or Hawaii for example might eventually not develop their full potential here in Central Europe.
And in general cultural advices given by one grower cannot simply be copied in other climatic areas or other greenhouse conditions. But despite of that they are excellent for my own considerations.

[withoutid]

Did you try to induce a "physical stress" to the plant? Stop watering the plant for a week or 2. Then "pumb" it with water and fertilizer. The logic behind: Cats often come from the region where there are only 2 season: the dry and rainy ones. By "water starving", you simulate physical stress during the dry season which may stimulate the bud formation within the sheath. My 2 cents