Trouble blooming Chia Lin 'New City' Anyone else?

[Cattleya17]

Hello everyone! I have had this plant for quite some time now and it has never bloomed for me! I have tried everything. i have given it more sun this year in hopes that was the issue. it has one new growth that is maturing as we speak and the leaf is just beginning to split. so in a mater of weeks I will know for sure if it even try to bloom this fall/winter.

It got great sun this year and the leaves are a wonderful lime green. i also gave it more fet than normal. this new growth is a good size also.

long story short I was wondering if its just me! am i the only one who has had trouble blooming this hybrid? if not what have you done to get this plant to bloom? and if you don't have trouble how are you growing it? I am dying to see these flowers in person again please help!

[silken]

It's not just you! I have had a blooming or near blooming size one since Oct. 2010 and have yet to see a flower. It seems healthy and has good roots and growths. However for the first time, the latest mature growth does have a nice large sheath. I can't see any bud or plumpness yet but the sheath itself is a first for me.

You say yours has lighter coloured leaves. Mine tend to stay darker green, regardless of how much sun I give it. It does get a bit of dark red or purple pigment on the leaves so I think its getting ample sun.

I can't say why it finally grew a sheath but I have been adding more calcium/magnesium to my ferts than before because many of my Catts would get black spots. I have a number of never before bloomed Catts showing sheaths or spikes this summer, but it may just be time they finally bloomed. Hard to say.

[Cattleya17]

Yeah the leaves are a lighter green then they have been in the past. i get that pigment around the edges of the leaves. i just started using the green jungle fert from orchids limited. So far so good. this new growth looks promising so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. if it doesn't bloom this year i think I'm going to get rid of it.

I just don't understand! all my other catts, save a warneri concolor that is still recovering from a badly timed repot job, all bloom for me! just this one stubborn plant. so in my eyes its just wasted space...

[Leafmite]

When it does bloom, it should be spectacular! I have often admired it but I just do not have the space for too many large Cattleyas (not with everything else I am compelled to grow!). Good luck! I hope it will bloom for you, before you find another home for it.

[silken]

Many of my Catts bloom reliably too, including a few species ones. I have several stubborn ones that I am losing patience with. Chia Lin was one of them. So it has a new lease on life by producing that sheath!

I hope you get a nice fat sheath with your new growth.

[Cattleya17]

I know leafmite! its the first Cattleya I have ever seen in bloom and i have been haunted by the memory ever since lol! I cant remember the fragrance but i remember my friend exclaimed "oh my god" when she sniffed it!

its quite frustrating! ill keep you posted as to what happens with this growth! Fingers crossed!

[NYCorchidman]

That sounds like my Susan Fender Cinnamon Stick that I tossed. It grew and grew and never ever flowered again for me.

I have a few large flowered catt and they all flower fine for me.

I hope you are more patient than I and yours will bloom eventually.

I saw Chia Lin New City at a farm in Hawaii, and wow~ what a beautiful red cattleya!!!

[Bayard]

Sometimes you can get a bad clone that grows but never flowers. This has happened to me more than once. If you want a good one, try to buy a plant in flower or one that has bloomed in the past.

[Cattleya17]

Originally Posted by Bayard

Sometimes you can get a bad clone that grows but never flowers. This has happened to me more than once. If you want a good one, try to buy a plant in flower or one that has bloomed in the past.

Ok Bayard this is what must be happening. This is my third chia Lin. The first one was the one that bloomed and made me fall In love. Almost 10 yrs ago.

This third one I've had the longest! If it doesn't bloom this time. I'm gonna try to find one currently blooming and hope for the best!


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[Cattleya17]

Originally Posted by silken

I hope you get a nice fat sheath with your new growth.

I am over the moon and happy to report that the leaf has split and there is a thick fat sheath inside!!!!! I am quite hopeful that it will produce blooms. This sheath is epic! Your well wishes and our talks of impending death must have whipped this Chia Lin into shape!


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