Unifoliate vs Bifoliate cattleya? any difference?

[Jeff214]

I hope iloveorchids doesn't mind me expanding her discussion. interesting topic.

In terms of growth of a bifoliate or its hybrids, is there a general relationship between leaf number and overall health / maturity of the plant? Or is it more of an idiosyncratic nature?

I've noticed that online photos of bifoliates tend to have two leaves on older, larger, and flowering psuedobulbs while younger, smaller ones have one leaf.

I have a Blc. golden chieftan that seems to alternate the number of leaves and flower regardless. And then there's a Blc. hawaiian passion that has been unifoliate to its 8th p-bulb (and never flowered), while online photos show them being bifoliate...

I guess as PaphMadMan advises, I shouldn't try making sweeping generalizations on these things. It's hard not to when starting off!