Sheaths on cattelyas

[pjoeverett]

some of my cattleyas are blooming or have bloomed and the second sheath on the plant does not bloom but the sheath dries up. Is there any hope of getting a bloom there again or will I have to hope that new growth produces a new spike and eventually a sheath and bud??
do the only blooms come from the newest growth even if they did not bloom in the past??

[tucker85]

It all depends on the individual cattleya. Many cattleyas only bloom on the last pseudo-bulb, even though they produce sheaths on other pseudo-bulbs. That's just in the DNA of the plant and nothing you do will change it. All orchids of that particular hybrid will bloom the same way. It's not that you got a bad plant or did anything wrong. It's just the way that hybrid blooms. Other cattleyas will bloom on almost every new pseudo-bulb they produce. Those types of cattleyas can produce a lot of flowers. I have a few of these and they're spectacular performers when they get large.

[pjoeverett]

Thank-you so much for your very informative response. Since I am fairly new to this , I always get excited when I see a sheath and very disappointed when it dries up. Can you give me the names of just a few cattleyas that are easy to get to bloom. I have c. Apple Blossom. c.Puppy Love ,a percivaliana, lc Gold Digger 'Orglades Maandarin' and c. Chocolate Drop 'Volcano Queen'and lc. Robert Strait 'Blue Hawaii' that have bloomed for me

[tucker85]

Most of the cattleyas on your list are excellent choices and very reliable bloomers. Lc. Gold Digger is one of the most reliable bloomers I know of. I hesitate to recommend specific orchids because my growing conditions are very different than most people. I live in hot, humid South Florida and I grow all my cattleyas outdoors. So orchids that have done well for me, might not grow well for you. Also, mostly I grow huge standard cattleyas that take a lot of room and a lot of attention. Here are a couple smaller cattleyas that I like. Blc. Memoria Anna Balmores 'Convex' has been a really nice orchid for me and it's available from several growers. It blooms on every new growth if it's grown well. The flower stems are strong so you don't need to stake the flowers. It's not a huge plant but it still has nice size flowers. It's also fragrant. I really like Rlc. Lisa Taylor Gallis 'Nora'. It's a very pretty flower on a small plant and it blooms on every growth. Lc. Crystelle Smith 'Gold Throat' is a small cattleya with a small flower but it's cute and it can bloom on every new growth. It can bloom more than once a year. Those are all still available from vendors. Just look for orchids that the vendors describe as easy to grow or reliable bloomers.

[pjoeverett]

Thank-you again and I will put those on my list of desirable orchids. It is no fun when they don't bloom. We have had a very cold winter and I am anxious to buy a few blooming plants. Happy blooms to you and once again thank-you for your help. At our Home and Garden show there is a Gold Digger and I am tempted to buy another one My plant looks so cheerful now at neg. 10 degrees outside BrRRRrrrrr

[tucker85]

Keep your eye out for Lc. Gold Digger 'Orchid Jungle'. It's a little different than the one you have.

[pjoeverett]

Thank-you so much and I will be on the look-out. I do have another Gold Digger on hold. My new motto is why not stay with what works since I have limited resources.

[Lorraine]

Some advice about the sheaths...some catts bloom out of dry brown sheaths that may take almost a year to come through so don't trim away that dead looking sheath until you are for sure. I almost snipped off the very low top of a spike coming up. Other catts spike straight through green sheaths. You might want to make a notation on your tag if it is one to want to wait

[NYCorchidman]

I have mainly BLC (I know it is a old classification, but ...), and I find these most grow year around, but under my conditions, they only bloom on every other growth. The ones that develop during the winter and spring months seem to generate either no sheaths or sheaths that won't make flowers. I think it could be mostly due to lack of enough light during this particular time of the year because the seller's description says they are supposed flower off every single lead.

The leads that develop after spring or early summer will make flowers in late summer or fall. They all bloom out of green sheath and there seem to be no reasting. lead develops, sheath appears, then buds follow shortly after.

Tucker, and others in the southern area, do you have opinions on this??

Only my mini catt (also BLC) flower on each new growth and this one flowers twice a year.

Then I have LC, which grows two to three leads during the year. It seems to grow throughout the year. Every single new lead makes sheath, but they all just sit there forever (staying green or slightly yellowish the whole time), then in the spring they all flower together.

At first the wait was pain, but I like the big explosion of all the flowers together.

[james mickelso]

Genetic variability, cultural, environmental. All of these have an effect on flowering. Some catts take more stored energy to flower and flowering takes a lot of energy and the plant grows more vegetatively to compensate. Sheaths that grow out of season may not flower at all. I've a few. Blind sheaths usually show up on immature plants. Those whose number of pbulbs can't support flowering yet. Bot commercially GH grown plants will flower off almost every growth because the environment is conducive to maximum growth. Hence the "flowering size" we buy and then can't get to flower for a few seasons if at all and think we got a dud.