My first Lc. Coastal Concept bloom!

[Helen]

Happy New Year to everyone on the forum. This has been an extremely busy year for me so I haven't been on my computer much. I have really missed you guys! I have however been watering my orchids and I'm proud to say I now have my first cattleya in bloom...I've moved on from Phals... I acquired this orchid in Sept., so I was shocked to see the new sheath (my first time experiencing this) and not only has my first bloom opened, I have a second sheath....WOW!

I have a question about my first bloom. It just opened today so I should be patient I'm sure....The petal on the left side seems to be 'stuck' on the upper part of the lip - is this normal? Also the dorsal sepal is curled back a lot. Is this normal or is some cultural thing causing this? You can see these best in the 3rd picture.
Thanks, any input would be greatly appreciated!

[Gin]

Very Pretty bloom .... Congrats Gin

[Don Perusse]

It could be genetics but I think it could also be a cultural thing. Was the orchids moved from it's location when buds were forming? Or was it exposed to cold, or a draft? Sometimes those things will affect the blooms. And yet it could be some insect or no known cause for a defective bloom. Good luck, hope the other sheath opens with more perfectly formed buds.

[quiltergal]

Helen I had a Blc. do something similar last spring. The petal was partially fused to the lip so it never did open correctly. Funny thing is it was in bloom for a long time and the scent was heavenly. I'm hoping for a better bloom cycle this year. It hasn't sent up any new growth since being repotted in the spring. Maybe it's just pouting.

Anyway, well done! You can definitely see the potential for a beautiful flower.

[Helen]

Thanks everyone.
Don, now that you mention it I remember that the sheath was getting brown, so I had to split it open to let the spike come thru...the bud looked fine but it did have a lot of sap around it. Gin mentioned that L. anceps tend to do this and the sap makes them stickier when opening. I'm going to see how she looks in a few days...this is just day one...
Thanks for looking at my new baby!

[Virgil]

Yes wait a couple days for it to open completely, also some flowers get better on the second blooming.

[Helen]

Originally Posted by Virgil

Yes wait a couple days for it to open completely, also some flowers get better on the second blooming.

I thought you might want to see how my 1st bloom matured. Looks a lot better now. One more sheath I'm waiting for patiently, but it hasn't done much since I moved it to the Living Room....prob. less light, but I want to enjoy my 1st bloom! It has a fragrance too, although very slight during the late morning.

[Don Perusse]

She's a fine lady at that! Very nice this time.