Cattleya refusing to bloom

[Houston]

Growing conditions: Zone 9, Houston, high humidity, bright indirect light, constant air movement sitting on rack outside.

This Cattleya has had 3 new growths under my care since receiving it around September.


As you can see on the oldest growth capable of producing a bloom that the sheath looks as if it has died and aborted the bloom.



On the newest growth the sheath has done the same thing, the swelling in the pseudo bulb indicated that it may want to flower, but I have never bloomed a cat so i'm not sure what to expect.



I hope some of you Cattleya whisperer's out there find this thread.

As a side note, does anyone know of a good way to make them grow upright and try to contain its sprawl? It's turning into a monster!

[katrina]

While not a "cattleya whisperer"...I have and do bloom my share. Anyway...

As for the sprawl...some just do that and it's not worth trying to fight it. Might as well give in to it...OR, buy only those that do grow upright.

Dried sheaths...well...some bloom from dried sheaths so I wouldn't be too quick to give up on those and definitely don't cut them off. Some catts bloom from green sheaths...some from dried up brown sheaths...and some from no sheaths at all. It's not been a full year since you bought the plant so it's possible that it just isn't it's time yet. Many have seasonally distinctive blooming seasons. Hang in there...you might get blooms from both dried sheaths.

However, if you don't get blooms w/in this first year of having the plant then I would consider upping the light levels a bit more. If it's mature enough to produce sheaths than it's old enough to make flowers and if it's not then it's usually a light issue.

The swelling in the pbulb doesn't really mean anything when it comes to blooming...but it is strange that that one is short and fat and the others appear long and thin. This could tie into the plant being a recent division...maybe it was stunted if the division process was exceptionally damaging. Or, if the plant got damaged in some other way. Maybe. A better pic of the entire plant might tell us something that I've missed here.

[WhiteRabbit]

Does this have a name? (Might help to tell if it's a seasonal bloomer) Katrina is right, some bloom from dry sheaths.

Has it bloomed before?

Seems there are varying definitions of "indirect light" ... Big Catts often need a good amount of light to bloom ...

[silken]

I agree, if it doesn't bloom soon, than usually it is more light required. Another thing many orchids require is a day/night temperature difference of around 10 degrees. Does your plant have a name? Some Cattleya species have much higher light and different temperature requirements than others so it could depend on what species it consists of.

[Houston]

I am unsure of the name. It's on a wire rack on my balcony behind a white bed sheet to protect it from the direct Texas sun. The sun has since retreated onto the deck by about a foot. Day time highs have been in the mid to upper 70's with lows in the 50's and 60's. Humidity ranges from 60-90% outside. The pictures above are a good approximation of late daytime sunlight levels.

[silken]

It sounds like enough temp range and likely enough sun. You could try using some bloom booster fertilizer now that the new growth is a good size. find a fertilizer with a large amount of phosphate (middle number).

[NYCorchidman]

Behind a white bed sheet??? I'm afraird that will decrease the available light to your catt considerably unless your white bed sheet is more like a mosquito net type (very coarse to let lots of light through).

Many nice input has been given. I would wait on the dry sheaths also.

On a slightly depressing note, I had a cattleya that was sitting by south window with no protection or whatsoever. It grew like crazy but never flowered so I tossed it.
On the other hand, I have one large Lc and two minis that get the same condition as the one I tossed out, and they bloom on time.

Give more time as many catts bloom only once a year even if sheaths may have formed long ahead. They just sit there forever and eventually bloom at its time when all is right.

[tucker85]

I agree with most of what's been said already. I see there's a new pseudobulb and some new roots. That indicates that the plant is starting the summer growth cycle. Support the growth by regular watering and fertilizer. Hopefully the orchid will gain strength over the summer and bloom later in the year. There are some spring and summer blooming cattleyas but most of my cattleyas bloom in the fall and winter. So don't count on any blooms during the summer but there's always a chance. The dry sheaths don't mean anything. I agree with the earlier comments that buds can form in green sheaths, in brown sheaths or on pseudobulbs with no sheaths. There's nothing you can do to make the pseudobulbs grow upright. That's a result of the plants DNA. Only a few cattleyas have the upright growth that some people prefer. Your environment sounds pretty good. You have an advantage growing outdoors where the plant gets good air flow and light but I do agree that a bed sheet is too much shade. Shade cloth or plastic screen would be better. Good luck.