Photos of earliest observable stage of flower spike

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by camille1585

And stupid me thought, for some reason, that spikes started on the bulb itself and not at the base like a new growth.

Very very interestingly, there are definitely cases out there where spikes don't start at the base like a new growth. The link below has that particular title - but there's some details there from others that shows plants having spikes not coming from the base.

Cycnodes ‘Wine Delight’ Mutation

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Well, I've never grown a catasetum. What y'all need to do is start taking a picture every time there's a new growth. Sooner or later one will be a spike, and then we'll have the picture. Voila!

Totally agree! We'll definitely catch one in action!

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by camille1585

And stupid me thought, for some reason, that spikes started on the bulb itself and not at the base like a new growth. 12 years growing orchids and I'm still learning lots of things all the time! Venturing into a new orchid alliance is always an adventure given the sometimes huge differences between different types of orchids.

I misread the original post. While Catasetums start their spikes st the base, other Catasetinae will start higher up on the bulb, like Mormodes and Cycnoches. Clowesia have spikes at the base of the bulb, but are so strongly seasonal with blooms you can pretty much guess the spikes versus new growth despite similar appearance.