cattleya growing but not blooming

[isurus79]

Brooke is right, repotting won't help with flowering. You could try cutting a piece of the plant off and letting a friend grow it. They might have better luck and help find the key to getting it to bloom.

[silken]

I'm concerned about those white spots too. They look like possible scale as mentioned. I do think reducing the ratio of nitrogen would help. Your using 3 times as much as the phosphates which may explain all the leafy green growth.

[newone]

All the white spotting of the leaves is from hail damage two years ago.

[james mickelso]

This is a potinara and quite a beautiful flower. It pushes naked flower buds I think which means no sheaths. This orchid looks to have some snail damage and scale. It could use a little more sunlight too. As overgrown as it is it might be the cause of not flowering. And it probably isn't getting enough water by the looks of the roots and how the new pbulbs are growing. The wrinkling of the older pbulbs is normal. From the picture I would say this is the time to switch to a low N and higher P/K fertilizer if you want to try this approach. Not as a percentage but just as a ratio of N to P/K. I would repot this when the new growths have pushed new roots and those are about 1-2 inches long. Not before then. In the heat and dryness of Texas I would use a larger percentage of sponge rock and even incorporate some chopped up spagnum moss into the media. I would seaparte the newer pbulbs along with two back bulbs and pot each separately into 4 inch pots. I like clay pots and bust out the bottom holes to about twice the normal size but plastic is ok too. The older back bulbs that are not part of the three bulb groups I would wrap in spagnumk moss wrapped with fishing line and hung up in good light and kept wet. They will push new growth by the end of the summer if kept damp. If the older pbulbs have viable roots then just pot them up. This potinara has beautiful flowers. I might have to get one if I can find one in a dumpster or at an opportunity table. Good luck.

[CR7cristiano]

This one is not suffering from scale. Maaaybe a little snail damage, but what it needs is more light. You should aim for a apple green colour which suggests it is getting sufficient light. Until then it will just keep on pushing out new growths with no blooms. This is really a simple fix. Once you start giving it some light, also try to achieve warm culture in the days with a decent temperature drop at night. Once the leaves get light then you can start feeding it. Once or twice a week is great for Catts in warm climates.
No worries, all left to do after following these instructions is patience.

[newone]

Thank you all for your imputs. I have been asking many people at society meetings for help and getting no where. You have all been very informative and have given me hope with your sugestions which I will incorporate into my growing enviornment for this orchid. I have read on the background history that the two largest groups of species are C dowiana and C warscewiezii. C warscewiezii is known to have two major growth periods a year but only blooms on the first in the spring. I have been wanting to grow this pot as a speciman but now I will repot and divide it after new growths start the new roots soon.

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by newone

Thank you all for your imputs. I have been asking many people at society meetings for help and getting no where. You have all been very informative and have given me hope with your sugestions which I will incorporate into my growing enviornment for this orchid. I have read on the background history that the two largest groups of species are C dowiana and C warscewiezii. C warscewiezii is known to have two major growth periods a year but only blooms on the first in the spring. I have been wanting to grow this pot as a speciman but now I will repot and divide it after new growths start the new roots soon.

a repot to a larger pot sounds like a good idea, but please don't divide it. Let it flower first

[newone]

There is a limit as to how large a pot can be and moved around. Since this has never bloomed for the 4 years I have had it, that maybe a long time to wait for it to bloom before repotting it.

[CR7cristiano]

Sigh....thats always sad.....but if you must. lol

[james mickelso]

Those new growths won't push roots until it flowers or starts to push buds next season (pics included). Here is what it will look like when it pushes new roots on the new pbulbs. Also this won't get too much lighter even if given more sunlight. It's not the same as a catt. But it definately needs repotting if only to help straighten out it's tangled rizomes. Specimens are great but should be groomed to the appropriate shape. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a specimen but then there was Arnold Schwartzenagger. Bit of a difference. Also here is about the correct maturity of the pbulb when I switch to a low N and hgher P and K fertilizer. Notice in the pic of a pbulb with new bud pushing. Notice that the pbulb has already flowered last fall pushed a new bud and is just now pushing new roots.