Cattleya Hybrid help - moscombe x nodosa

[Bean]

Hello!

About six years ago I got an orchid from a greenhouse which was labelled "cattleya moscombe x nodosa".... At the time it had two leaves/bulbs and what I think was a bad case of spider mites. I did not know much about it and still don't. However over time I got rid of the mite issue. For the next four years I had it under a high output t5 bulb. It grew one more bulb/leaves and didn't do much else.

Two years ago I decided it obviously wasn't thriving at all there. I moved it to a west window (all I have available) and reported it. Over the past two years it has grown a lot more from what it was and seems to really love the bright sun. I'd say its tripled in size at least and has grown a lot of roots as well from what it had. But still has never bloomed. I will end this with as much information as I can as well as pics.

Area: Toronto Ontario
Where plant is: west window
Substrate: bark with a base of clay balls
Water: twice a week soaking it for a half hour. If it's still wet only once per week. I use msu fertilizer.

I'm not even positive it was labelled correctly or if I'm taking care of it right. Would love to see it bloom.

I have attached pics. Hopefully that worked.

[Shadeflower]

Hi welcome to the forum Bean.
The plant is looking great. It must have been a small seedling when you got it. I'd ignore the 4 years it wasn't growing much - it probably grew a years worth in that time and then good growth in the past 2 years.

Interestingly it has 3 leaves on its latest pseudobulb.

The light level now looks good based on what you have reported and the leaf color.

To me it sounds like it just needed that repot. I doubt the T5 would have caused any issues but depends what lighting schedule was used and if it was just a regular shelving light or plant light and how dry the environment was. Maybe temperatures were different too. Cattleyas like to be warmed by the sun. Edit: I've checked the parents and they are all relatively hot growers. Looks like a great cross.

I'd say it will be flowering size next year but I honestly don't know how big it is meant to be, it depends a bit on the size of the pseudobulbs, they need to reach a certain maturity/size before they are able to bloom.

[SouthPark]

Totally agree with shade. Whatever you're doing right now in terms of how you're growing this orchid ----- just keep doing what you're doing. That looks really good.

[Bean]

Thank you both!

I will just keep going with my current care and patiently wait for it to reward me!

[estación seca]

It looks to me like a Dendrobium, not a Cattleya. Anything with one parent being Brassavola nodosa would have much narrower, firmer leaves, and probably only one of them.

[Shadeflower]

I actually found pictures of this cross online and it does look suspiciously different, not a dendrobium but maybe not what the label claims either:

Brassocattleya Air Mososa

[Fairorchids]

Cattleya Moscombe is an unifoliate, as is Brassavola nodosa.

There might be a bifoliate ancestor somewhere in Moscombe family tree, so the odd growth with two leaves is not totally out of the question. However, the photos show a plant, which is definitely NOT 50% Brassavola nodosa (BN hybrids have very short pseudobulbs).

What is it then? There is a good chance that it is a Dendrobium, probably with kingianum and/or speciosum in the background. To test this theory:
On 9/15, stop fertilizing.
On 10/15 reduce watering to once a month, and keep the plant as bright & cool as you can.

If it is a Dendrobium with Australian ancestry, it should then produce buds in January or February.

[MarinaDC]

I have that hybrid, and it is nothing exciting really. A picture of the flower on the internet is altered imo.Definitely looks different from your plant.