Empty sheath?

[our3swimmers]

I purchased a no-id cattleya seedling a couple of years ago from Lowes. I planted it in bark after I bought it and replanted it in expanded clay pebbles in beginning of this year. It was under 6 4-ft fluorescent lights with my other orchids in the winter and moved outside in the summer. I think it has done quite well. It has never bloom and I have never seen a sheath. Are these sheaths? There are two of them but I don't see anything inside the sheaths. Should there be buds inside? Also, the temperature in my basement growing area does not have a wide temperature swing (70 ºF ~ 60 ºF). I have read from you guys that in order to set buds, there should be at least a 15 degrees of temperature different between day and night. Can I move the orchids to the garage where the temperature is about low 50's at night to help setting the buds? If so how long should I be doing that? Thank you in advance. I am not sure how to post photos. In case the photos don't show up, here's the link:



https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...53904120274961

[NYCorchidman]

I do not see your picture, but let me comment on a few points based on your descriptions alone.

Sheaths on cattleyas are very obvious.
Most cattleyas make one or two leaves per lead. Then there follows a sheath or no sheath (and still flower from the lead).
Leaves will come out folded in half at first, but then as they grow out bigger, they will open up flat.
Sheaths will not be folded, and usually much smaller than leaf.

Now, sheath may sit doing nothing for a long time depending on what variety they are.
I have one that makes flowers as soon as the sheath are mature. then I have one plant that matures sheaths during the summer and fall, but they will not make flowers until come spring.
Then some sheaths will not make any flower but just die.

I don't think most cattleyas take temperature as a cue to bloom. They are more dependent of day/night length.
Day/night temperature change is needed for pretty much any plants. It is needed for plants to convert the sugar they make during the day into carbohydrates for future use.

[silken]

I find that quite often a Cattleya's first attempt at blooming will only produce an empty sheath. And as NYCorchidman mentioned, some will sit for months empty before producing buds and others will produce buds very quickly. I also can't seen your picture which would help to see the size and condition of the sheath. Even if they dry up and turn brown, don't destroy them as some will still produce buds from a dried up one.

---------- Post added at 03:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:18 AM ----------

OK, I see your picture in the link you included. It is definitely a good sized looking sheath. Some of my species Catts require a fairly dry and cooler winter rest even tho they already have a sheath. They are supposed to bloom in the spring. Unfortunately with a NOID, its hard to say what it will do. I wouldn't subject it to low 50's, but mine live in a cool greenhouse where nights are mid 50's and days are mid 60's. If you do find a cooler place, remember not to overwater it as they are prone to root rot if kept wet and cool. Also how long are the lights on for? You could cut the time down to around 10 or 12 hours if you are currently running them for longer.

[Lorraine]

A word about sheaths....When I was a newbie I was not sure about the sheaths. Some spiked as green sheaths some spiked as they were turning brown and some the sheaths stayed flat and brown. That said, I (as a fairly newbie) started trimming off the brown flat dry sheaths only to discover that a spike was starting very low in the sheath. I almost snipped of the top of a bud!! Now I let those flat dry sheaths alone until somewhere else on the plant a spike has formed and this one did not, then they all get trimmed back when done blooming. Some pseudobulbs just don't have it in them to give a flower. These sheaths act as a "greenhouse" for the spike. I hope this helps

[our3swimmers]

That was very helpful. Thank you for your suggestions. My lights are on a timer for 12 hours (8 am to 8 pm). Some of the leaves are slightly warm. The leaves are still apple green, not yellow. My Phal has some streaks of purple, I suppose it's sun screen for its own protection, right? Judging from that I am assuming that the light is not too excessive. Should I cut down on the hours of light I provide to the cattleyas?

[silken]

I think your light sounds fine and it is just a matter of waiting now. The sheath and leaf looks healthy. Some sheaths sit for many months before producing buds!

[NYCorchidman]

I think you should reduce the artificial day length according to different seasons.
That is how many cattleyas take cues on changing seasons and do their things.
If it is constantly set at 12 hours day and night, I don't think it is good.

[Leafmite]

Some cattleyas put out sheaths at the end of summer and they don't bloom until...spring (or, winter, if you are very lucky)! Others kindly bloom right away so you don't have to wait for months on end (thank you, C. gaskelliana). It depends on the species or, if a hybrid, which species ancestor dominates the blooming pattern.

[silken]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I think you should reduce the artificial day length according to different seasons.
That is how many cattleyas take cues on changing seasons and do their things.
If it is constantly set at 12 hours day and night, I don't think it is good.

But if it spent summer outdoors, it would have had somewhat longer days than 12 hours at that time.

[our3swimmers]

When I put the cattleyas outside, they got about 14 hours of daylight in the summer. I have a Blc. Taiwan Ruby 'Taiyoung which I acquired this February developed buds after spending a summer outside. What should I do to keep the buds developing into healthy flowers? I use expanded clay pebbles as the medium under 6 fluorescent lights about 4 inches from the tallest leaves. I water them about twice a week. The medium under these strong light dries pretty quickly. The temperature varies between 70 ºF and 60 ºF in the grow area and receives 12 hours of light every day. I mist the leaves every time I water (weakly, weekly) with diluted liquid seaweed fertilizer. Am I doing the right thing?