What is blooming size?

[Optimist]

In the "no stupid question department," how can I tell if a cattleya orchid is blooming size or not. Does it have to do with how many psuedobulbs it has? Does it have to do with plant size? How would you compare a mini catt with a standard or large size? I only have one that is obviously blooming, but one is putting out a sheath, and it is less than one half the size of the big one.

[Tabbyblack13]

From what I understand is that a bloom sheath comes from a new pseudobulb. So it's possible for a Catt to produce a flower with 2 bulbs as long as it's healthy and happy.


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[Optimist]

Ooooohhh!

[Leafmite]

Blooming size is very dependent upon what type of cattleya it is, as I think you probably already know. Soph/cattleya cernua blooms when the pseudobulb and leaf are about two inches while there are other cattleyas that are nearly two feet tall when they bloom. So, if you have a hybrid, the size will depend on what parent it favors.

[tucker85]

The term 'blooming size' is used as a sales tool so that growers can let customers know what to expect from an orchid purchase. It's specific to each orchid because some orchids can bloom on very small plants while others won't bloom until they're quite large. The growers are familiar with how large that specific plant needs to be, to start producing flowers. They usually are looking for certain size pseudo-bulbs for that particular orchid that will indicate a blooming size plant. They also buy flasks or flats of one particular orchid that has hundreds of the same size plants. If a few have already bloomed they know that that group is blooming size. Plants that growers describe as 'blooming size' or 'mature size' can be expected to bloom within the next year or so. Plants described as 'seedlings' or 'non-blooming size' or 'young plants' can often be 2-4 years away from producing flowers. Sometimes they will describe plants as 'previously bloomed' or 'in bud and bloom', which are self explantatory. Some vendors use initials like BS (blooming size) or NBS (non-blooming size). Unfortunately some vendors don't indicate the size of the plant at all.

[MattWoelfsen]

I thought NBS stood for "near blooming size". Another indicator of what constitutes the vendor's definition of "blooming size" plants is how much they will charge for a plant in bloom, versus the same variety plant that is not expected to bloom any time soon. Because of my environment, I do not buy any plants that are "bloom size" or in spike, as these plants are prone to blast. I buy "near bloom size" so that the plant acclimates in my environment. I get a very good idea what the flower will look like from searches on the Internet, this forum, and the vendor's images.

For what its worth, I buy plants based on what the plant looks like--does it have good form, are the leaves unique, is the plant easy to grow? Then I consider the flower it will produce. If the plant is attractive and will look good in my home, as a plant, the flower it produces is a bonus.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by MattWoelfsen

I thought NBS stood for "near blooming size". .

You're right, Matt. Some vendors use NBS to indicate 'near blooming size' and other vendors use NBS to indicate 'non-blooming size'. It's important to know the abbreviations that the particular vendor uses. There aren't any rules for the abbreviations they use.

[Leafmite]

The vendors usually have some place on their web page where they explain all of their abbreviations, thankfully. I've found some of them pretty confusing.
I wish all vendors would indicate the size that the orchid would get. Most places that sell other plants are very careful to tell how tall their trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers and, even, sometimes, vegetables get. With orchids, some vendors do and some sometimes do and some leave you guessing. Looking up the orchid online often doesn't help, even with a few of the species.

[plumania]

When a vendor says blooming size, it is not necessarily true.I bought a few dendros from a reputed vendor listed blooming size and after year and half They still have not bloomed yet. Some plants were too small to be blooming size and are growing better now and hopefully bloom this or next year. I avoid that vendor now .
I say blooming size is a rough estimate of plants ability to bloom in certain time and at times buyers get fooled.
I would buy biggest size available.

[Ray]

Plumania, while I completely concur that some vensors are a bit more "liberal" with their definition of blooming size, we cannot forget that in their environment, the plants may very well have been "blooming size", while in yours, they're not.

When a plant is "deciding" to bloom, it uses many variables, both internal and external, to make a "judgement call" about the viability of its actions. Let's compare a plant growing in ideal conditions to one that's not so ideal, as the simplest of examples:

Under great conditions, a plant doesn't need the extra leaf span to generate the fuel it will expend in living and blooming, and doesn't need to stockpile as much in the way of resources, as it will not utilize as much just surviving less-optimal conditions.

So in general, better conditions lead to faster growth rates, and faster growth rates can lead to earlier blooming, even if the plant hasn't gotten as large.

I will add that because of folks not understanding those differences, I have had complaints from my own customers that plants they got from me were not blooming size, when they were for me - as evidenced by old flower spikes!