Why won't this Cat Walkeriana bloom?

[krienschmidt]

Hi all, enclosed is the link for my Cat Walkeriana plants. I have had them about 1 1/2 years. When I first got it, it was one plant with about 4 leaves and about 3 good roots. Over the past year it has grown well, new leaves and roots. When I repotted it and trimmed away dead roots it fell apart into 2 sections which is why I have 2 plants now. Anyway it will not bloom. I don't think light is an issues as the leaves have good color to me. Not enough water? I water every 4 or 5 days but I think some of these pseudobulbs look to wrinkled. These pots seem to dry out quickly. Maybe it's just not mature enough yet? All help welcome!
[IMG]/1801/medium/cattleya5.jpg[/IMG]

[Bohata]

How small is the pot?
I have as much luck opening the link as you have getting the plant to bloom.
Smaller Cats may need to be watered 2 or 3 times/week due to pot size. Also, it may be suffering some from root disturbance, from which it should recover in a few months.

[krienschmidt]

Finally got the picture to load! What do you think? Both plants are in a 4 inch pot, medium size bark, south window which is open a lot. Chicago summers and winters!

[Bohata]

Medium might be a tad coarse for a 4" pot. I prefer to use fine bark or even sphagnum in such a small pot. Or you could put one in fine bark and the other in sphag. to see which works better. Just let the sphag. dry completely between watering, then water immediately.

[krienschmidt]

Thank You for the suggestion. I think more moisture is certainly on the right track.

[Roberta]

I would not go any smaller with the medium... these plants need to dry out between waterings. C. walkeriana also wants cooler, drier winters. In winter, it is probably on the cool side near the window (house temperatures usually are more uniform than ideal, but I think it would manageable to get them a little cooler. ) When they are cooler, cut back on the water - the challenge will be getting them enough light in winter with short days. You might even supplement daylight with a fluorescent or LED light at that time. It is also important that they get darkness at night - a night light (or bright street lamp) can definitely inhibit blooming.

[krienschmidt]

Hmmmm, Oh my, they can definitely go in the other room where it is dark when the sun goes down. Right now they are in the family room where there is light till I'm ready for bed at 10, 11 or 12. thank you for another great suggestion.

[Orchid Whisperer]

The plants still look too small to bloom.

I would agree with the previous suggestion not to go with finer medium. C.w. seems to prefer dryness at the root between watering, evenn more than other Catts. I had 3, my best two are mounted on a bare wood mount and bare tree fern chunk. The only potted one I had was doing OK in coarse bark when I traded it away.

[katrina]

I also think the plants are too small for blooming. And, I agree w/not going any smaller w/the medium...these guys like a lot of water (especially during the warmer months!) but they also need to be in a set up that allows the roots to dry quickly. Fine medium and/or sphag in a pot could result in a lot of lost roots.

One thing that I would add...I do believe you need to increase the light level. Your south window might be fine for some orchids but for walkeriana, they like it very bright and even brighter in the winter. In it's native habitat, this orchid grows on trees that are deciduous and in the fall/winter they get little shading and are exposed to some very bright conditions. A Chicago south window in the winter would be sorely lacking in intensity and day length needed for good blooming of this species.

Lastly, yes, walkeriana comes from an area that gets little rain during the fall/winter but it's not w/out water. As a matter of fact, it gets water nearly every night during the cooler period...in the form of heavy night time fog/humidity that wet the roots well...but it dries quickly the next morning. It will grow better and be stronger if given regular watering in the winter...but, again, the key to success is being in a set-up that allows the roots to dry quickly. I grow mine in leca in clay pots. I water less in the winter but I still water (on average) 2x per week...sometimes 3x. I grow under lights (lots of them!) and the space gets quite warm and dry so you might not need to water as often as I do...gauge it by how fast everything is drying out.

Get a little more size on your plants...give them a better source of light...and you should have blooms before too long. They are usually a fall/winter blooming species but I find w/my larger plants that I actually get 2 flushes of blooms every year now.

[Mr Green]

Still young plants... Another couple years yet.