Lc. Cariads Mini-Quinee ‘Angel Kiss’

[Selmo]

I saw this post, so I went and looked at the plant to see if it had a sheath or not. Because I really had not noticed if it did or didn’t. Now I am not an expert, just a hobbyist, I do have a degree biology and agronomy, (doesn’t count for much when it comes to orchiids, all rules go out the window) but all cattleyas bloom from a sheath, weather it is green, brown, dry, new, big or small, they all bloom from a sheath. I will try to post a photo of it. But it does have a sheath, although it is very small and I would call it a bud sheath more than a leaf or leaf like sheath.
As far as culture is is easy (sorry to those who struggle with these) to grow if you give it general cattleya culture. Chunky bark, the bigger the better. You can also mount it, if you like. water a couple of times a week, more if hot. Let dry between waterings, less in the winter/cooler months. Good air movement, ample light, not full sun but enough to make the leaves turn red/purple on the edges or spots. Usually if you wave your hand over it and you can see a shadow, it is ample enough light. Fertilize it when you want, weekly/weakly, and you should be good. If you have more questions, let me know. Happy to help

[SouthPark]

Hi Selmo! I think that at least some catts (or even a lot) will produce spikes sheathlessly ------ one kind of catt -- just for example is Rlc. Memoria Helen Brown 'Sweet Afton', which is sheathless when it produces flower spikes.

That's just referring to those unmistakable visible structures (visible pocket/packet) that everyone generally calls 'sheaths'. Although, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if 'sheathless' catts do actually have their spike come from much smaller structures that are hidden from view, unlike regular visible 'sheaths'.

Originally Posted by Veksa

it is a first time i see something emerging from the bulb, time will tell, I just wanted to be prepared as to what to expect.

Veksa. That feature coming out there is 1 flower bud. Just keep doing what you are doing (ie. caring for it) and don't move the orchid around to other locations etc ...... and everything going smoothly will see this bud eventually come right out on its spike, and then open up to a nice flower!

[Roberta]

There's a group of Catts - Hadrolaelia that does this - no sheath, the buds emerge from the newly-opened leaf. This particular hybrid has Lc. Mini-Purple as one parent, and that one is L. pumila (which does this) x C. walkeriana, which does something similar, sometimes produces the bud at the tip of an almost leafless pseudobulb, also weird. The other parent is C. intermedia, which does a "normal" sheath. The bud-production looks like it especially harks back to the L. pumila grandparent, seems to be very dominant even though it's only 25% of the hybrid.

(Sophronitis does this "bud in the leaf" too, but isn't involved in this particular hybrid. Also with this behavior, related to L. (C.) pumila, are L. (C.) sincorana, L. (C.) johgheana, L. (C.) praestans, and a few others I can't remember at the moment, just for reference)

[SouthPark]

This page of a book here has some relevant material.

Click Here

[Selmo]

This is why, you can throw out all normalcy with orchids, they are the always the exception to the rules.
I’ll bet even the examples given, have a ‘sheath’ that the bud forms in. Whether it is called a sheath or some other modified structure.
Are there cattleyas that the bud/spike originate at the base of the plant, rather the at the base of the leaf?
Once again I am no expert but do like the conversation.

[SouthPark]

I'm not sure Selmo. It will be awesome to find out for sure - as in whether it is true that some cattleyas (or a lot of them) will produce a spike with absolutely no covering structure of any sort (ie. no sheath or protective covering at all).

That is - for those cattleyas that appear to produce spikes sheathlessly ------ it will be very nice to find out whether indeed the spike formation is absolutely sheathless.

As for cattleya producing spikes from other regions, aside from at the top of the pseudobulb (where the leaf is joined to) ------- no reported cases as far as I know.

[Veksa]

This thing is growing faster than I ever expected. (so far). Me no expert, but this does not look like a sheath to me.

[Roberta]

Not a sheath, a bud. The L. pumila grandparent, which produces buds as the new leaf unfolds (No sheath) is very dominant here - the buds appear almost out of nowhere, as the new leaf opens. One of the defining characteristics of the Hadrolaelia group of Cattleyas.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Veksa

This thing is growing faster than I ever expected. (so far). Me no expert, but this does not look like a sheath to me.

Veksa ----- it's a flower bud. Click Here

Looking good.

[Selmo]

Veska, it does have the appearance that there is no sheath there, but peal the leaf sheath (the papery covering that the leaf emerges from, has the drop of water on it in your photo) back and and look in side, I bet there is a small short sheath that the bud is emerging from.
In the first photo the leaf sheath has turned tan (or dryed), but looks like yours. The old flower spike is coming out with no sheath. In the second photo, the dry steath has been pull back revealing the small short sheath.
Hope this helps answer your questions. And your plant seems very happy.