I purchased this Schom. thomsoniana about 2 years ago. In the beginning it had 4 short pseudobulbs. It's one of the fastest growing chids I own. Last year it kept teasing me with unproductive sheaths, but this time it seems to be spiking. I can hardly wait.
As shown in the photo, the growth on the top pseudobulb looks most promising. Also, two of last years dried sheaths have become swollen. I hope this is an indication of more good things to come.
Smbna 'Firefly' seems to be spiking too...and all from last year's dried sheaths. This plant is a tremendously fast grower. The Smbna had outgrown her 4" pot when I purchased her in Feb. 2009. Half of the plant had aerial roots and was growing outside the pot. In April 2009 I divided the plant and attached both specimens to 2 different grapewood mounts. One half of the division had all aerial roots...the other specimen's roots had been growing in media. Notice the difference in the photo. The larger specimen is the one that started out with all aerial roots. It's almost twice as big as the specimen that had to adjust from media to mount. Both plants have received identical culture since being mounted and both are exibiting multiple active sheaths. I'm counting on some blooms this season.