Lc. Puppy Love

[pjoeverett]

plant has at least 6 new growths since 2011...looks great ...hanging outside in Oh. no sheaths.......nothing
same with an Iwanagaara Apple Blossom 'Mendenhall' have 2 Apple Blossoms one blooms every spring ...the other just grows

[silken]

The most common reason for no blooms is not enough sunlight. A lot of Cattleyas can take quite a bit of sun. But introduce it gradually to avoid sunburn. Otherwise, you could try reducing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer it gets when new growths are under way. This is when they will decide to bloom or not and nitrogen encourages leafy green growth rather than blooms. Pictures would help.

[pjoeverett]

Will send pic later.
Plan to add more grow lights to sunrm this yr.

---------- Post added at 12:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

Forgot to thank-you for your time.....it is so helpful and so appreciated.
Am currently using MSU based fertilizer which is 17-9-18 and I am sure I made sure to fertilizer as soon as I saw the growths. I know I need more sun...hard in Oh. esp in winter

[tucker85]

How long have you had lc. Puppy Love? Two of the three species in it's ancestry are winter bloomers. It may bloom around Dec. or Jan.. Don't give it much fertilizer during the winter months but water and fertilize regularly during the spring and summer. Unfortunately some cattleyas occasionally skip a blooming cycle for some reason. I have one that stopped blooming for two years and now started blooming again. I have no idea why.

[pjoeverett]

Thank-you...actually I have had several plants
from '09' that have bloomed this yr or are in bud so here's hoping.
Purchased plant at an auction in Aug. 11 and it was blooming then

[silken]

I supplement my lighting with T5 fixtures. Here on the prairies days are short and cold in winter.

[pjoeverett]

Would you treat Apple Blossom and Puppy Love the same way and I am not sure I know T5....thanks again

[silken]

They are both considered cattleya type orchids and can be treated in similar conditions. T5's are fluorescent fixtures. They are much thinner than either the typical old style T12's or T8's and supposedly consume less energy. High Output (HO) T5's can be found quite easily and are often used for orchid or other plant growing. HO ones are supposed to give twice as much light as a regular T12 bulb so they work quite well for growing orchids indoors. Other light sources are fine too but these are small and light weight and easy to work with.

[pjoeverett]

Thanks again and we plan to look into more lighting for winter...just brought plants in last night due to weather.
Also was noticing on my Puppy Love some new growths have 1 leaf and others have 2 leaves???