A question I have often heard but never really got a good answer to

[johnblagg]

The question we all ask as new orchid owners is when does the new sheath emerge on a cattleys type orchid....

Every one pretty much says in answer... well it emerges with the new leaf and yes it does but on my brassocattleya Star ruby 'Xanadu" it emerges just shortly after the new leaves not at the same time but after they had stopped growing.It appeared suddenly and grew quickly to a size that it coud be recognised as a sheath instead of a leaf.

One appeared a few days ago and then just a couple of days later two other new growths sent out what I assumed were their second leaves but they grew fast and now are 1 to 2 inches long and definatly not leaves as I assumed but sheaths.

On this one they actually do not emerge at the same time as the leaves develop but just after and much quicker than a leaf would.
I am still waiting to see how a blc and other types of hybrids behave but am going to assume the answer is not with the leaves but shortly after and now do not look for it to be tucked away inside a folded up leaf even before it unfolds...but I guess it could indeed happen this way in fact that is excatly what I was looking for before I saw how this one did.

The growth in the back grew this sheath in just the last two days.The one in the foreground is 4 or 5 days old