New growth on orchids

[SFLguy]

Hey, so I was wondering whether or not it was possible to tell what type of new growth was forming on orchids at the very beginning of the process such as on these two plants




Are they roots? Leaves? Flowers? Thanks in advance for the help!

[SFLguy]

Just for clarification I'm talking about the scale like thing on the first plant (maybe a root?) And the four purple growths on the middle stem in the second picture (leaves?)

[tucker85]

The tear drop shaped area in the first picture is called an 'eye'. Cattleyas can have two or three eyes at the base of each pseudo-bulb. The growth from the eye of a cattleya is always the same. It's always a new pseudo-bulb or technically a continuation of the rhizome that produces a new pseudo-bulb. With monopodial orchids, like phalaenopsis and vandas, you can get a growth from one area, at the base of the plant, that can possibly be a root, a flower spike or a basal keiki. That's not the case with sympodial orchids like cattleyas. Only new pseudo-bulbs grow from the eye.

[Optimist]

Catalyas need to have a leaf before they have a flower. They do not have spikes like an oncidium, and the roots come from the circlular root sone at the base of the plant. The trianngular shape in all these cases are new leaves/ pseudobulbs. The pbulb is a thickened leaf stem. In cattalyas the flower comes from the center of the leaf, At the top.

[SFLguy]

Thanks for the information I knew catts needed a new leaf before flowering but it was worth asking. And great so on the second plant I've got four pbulbs forming?

[Bulbofett]

Originally Posted by Optimist

Catalyas need to have a leaf before they have a flower. They do not have spikes like an oncidium, and the roots come from the circlular root sone at the base of the plant. The trianngular shape in all these cases are new leaves/ pseudobulbs. The pbulb is a thickened leaf stem. In cattalyas the flower comes from the center of the leaf, At the top.

Well, not all Cattleyas have spikes that comes from the center of the leaf, but most do.

[SFLguy]

Originally Posted by Bulbofett

Well, not all Cattleyas have spikes that comes from the center of the leaf, but most do.

Cool, didn't know that

[Bulbofett]

Originally Posted by SFLguy

Cool, didn't know that

Yup! One of the things that attracted me to C. nobilior in the first place. I like the oddballs

[silken]

The eyes on yours look slightly swollen and may all grow. But they usually don't all develop, even tho they are there. Often just one or two at the base of each mature pseudo bulb will grow and the others remain dormant. If something happens to a newly started one, then often the dormant one will grow.

[SFLguy]

We'll see as time goes on, hopefully I get four new growths on that