bud growing in yellow dehydrated sheath
 

I repotted this noID catt in September after new roots showed up. Its sheaths yellowed and began to dry shortly after so I didn't expect it to flower this year. To my surprise, I noticed a bulge in one sheath a few days ago and it has been growing steadily since.

Might the buds need extra help breaking through the sheath, or other special treatment?

I expect they will push through no problem. You could snip off the top 1 or 2 cm of the sheath if you wanted to be sure, but then be careful about getting any water in there. Looking forward to seeing the flowers!

MGP made an excellent point about the sheath. If the plant grows outdoors, then just got to watch out for water getting trapped inside the sheath.

If the orchid is sheltered, then it's ok if you very carefully peel apart the two sides of the sheath - beginning from the top - sort of like opening a packet of crisps/chips.

Otherwise - the buds will likely pop-out even if you don't intervene ----- as out in the wild, usually nobody can intervene --- and the sheaths have evolve in a way to easily split open when something from the inside forces it.

Buds coming out from dried sheaths is certainly seen by lots of orchid growers. It will be just fine.

Some species do bloom from dry sheaths, and if those are in the background of a hybrid, it will do the same. Surprise!

It is exciting to see how a flower sprouts from a dried sheat. As I do not know the relatives of my hybrids, I do not cut any dry sheat