Upside down flower

[Nancy T]

I am new to the site and have spent a lot of time reading posts about various orchids (species and hybrids), culture tips, dealing with pests, admiring photos, etc. So, here's my problem. I have had Rlc. Mount Anderson 'Geneviève' for more than 10 years. This year, when it flowered, it had 2 flowers and 1 of them was upside down. This is the first time this has ever happened to me when a cattleya hybrid orchid blooms. I tried searching for upside down flowers in the 'search engine' but no posts on this topic were found. So, that's my question. Anyone else have this? Is this common? Is it related to culture? As an aside, the flower opened October 30, 2024 and is starting to fade today, Dec. 2, 2024.

[Roberta]

Welcome!

It's normal. Most of the time orchid flowers actually start upside down, and then rotate to place the lip downward as they open (resupinate). Occasionally, especially if there's crowding, one may not do that rotation. Of course, there are many species where they stay lip-up (non-resupinate) like a lot of members of the genus Prosthechea.

[estación seca]

Welcome!

[Nancy T]

Thank you Roberta for the information. Thank you estaceion seca for the welcome.