New to Cattleyas

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

By the way, C. walkeriana is a difficult one to grow. what's your opinion?

Just looking at the pink flower you posted a picture of; coupled with the description of the scent, I would have to say that this plant has a lot of walkeriana already in it. Walkeriana tends to be a plant more suited for advanced growers, but it hybrids are pretty easy.

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

So here's my question. is this sheath going to sit for a while until if it finally make some flowers next season or is it going to be just an empty one and flowers are going to be found on the next new growth?

A sheath will typically send out blooms when the next flowering season comes up, which can be quite variable with complex hybrids.

Also, you alluded to learning this lesson in your first post, but dried sheaths do no mean they are dead (ie. no flowers). Some Catts bloom from dry sheaths, while some bloom from green ones. Don't throw them away!!

[NYCorchidman]

Thank you!

The little pink one does look a lot like walkeriana flower shape.

If the sheath is formed and not flowering until next spring, that will kill me!

By the way, the ones that flower from the dried sheath, does flower bud develop inside the nearly dead looking sheath eventually?
I did cut open inside just to see what's in it. It looked like nothing was ever going to happen. then again, I had no idea. It was growing another new lead that was nice and thick. maybe I should have kept it, but I bought something else that's nice to fill up that space.

[RJSquirrel]

C. walkeriana in my own growing circumstances likes to be kept cooler than my other catts. They also like to be kept a little moister around the root system. Unlike the C. aclandiae that likes it warmer and roots much dryer.
Everything else you have fits in somewhere in the same range. I say an aclandiae is more on the extreme side of dry and warm loving catts. Try one of those next
You can get by without growing the walkeriana cooler but I think as Tucker once said long ago his summer blooms on the walkeriana arent as nice as the cooler bloomed flowers.


No orchid is difficult to grow but some are hard to keep alive

[got ants]

I have a couple walkerianas, and it seems to me they grow best on mounts, which A) dry out faster than potted chids, and B) can handle daily waterings.

What I'm getting at, is though different cattleyas may require different environments, you can adjust them to fit a similar environment with other catts, by merely adjusting light, growing medium, watering, etc...

All my catts grow in the same conditions, but some get more water, some more light, just by where I place them in the pergola.

[NYCorchidman]

RJSquirrel- My mini catt is a hybrid, so maybe it is more tolerant of the warmth??
I just looked up the aclandiae and no offense, but I got intense allergic reaction to the flower image.
Thank you for being thoughful of my dry&warm growing condition though!

The mini catt has two pbs from the last pb and each of those two are growing one new lead each. I also see a few new roots growing out of them, which is nice to see.

Now I'll have to wait and see what happens to that growing sheath on the yellow LC. This is going to be a great patience test for me!

[tucker85]

I have two c. walkerianas and they both grow well and spike with buds several times a year but the buds never bloom. They always turn yellow and fall offf. I think Florida may be too warm for them. On the other hand I have hybrids that have walkeriana as one parent and they grow and bloom like crazy. That's a good example of what they call 'hybrid vigor'.

[NYCorchidman]

I hope my mini catt will grow and bloom like crazy. well, it is no Florida here, but at least they are growing well so far. I hope to see flower and enjoy their strong fragrance again.

Thanks for sharing info!

[NYCorchidman]

The new sheath is emerging from the leaf more and more everyday. It is a very exciting sight everytime I look at it!

[Call_Me_Bob]

nice!!! be ready for a LONG wait! sheaths like to show up and then take months before we actually see flowers!

[NYCorchidman]

OMG! That will kill me! lol