cattleya help - Orchid Board

Kaschmitz · #1 08-10-2021, 09:36 PM

my new growth is turning yellow. Is it too much water.
Can it be saved. see pics.
thank you

BobcatJohnson · #2 08-10-2021, 10:29 PM

Looks to me like a sheath that is drying off. If there are no buds in there then it is a blind sheath running its course. I don't have enough experience (yet) to give much more than that. I wouldn't worry if it was in my collection and turned out to be a blind sheath.

Shadeflower · #3 08-10-2021, 11:21 PM

That is a concerning development as it is the latest leaf on the newest bulb that is affected but I'm sure it can be saved.
Before you do a repot to check the roots, what are the growing conditions, day/night time temps, how much light? Anything that could have caused it stress? How long have you had it?

What are you fertilizing with and how much have you given?

Roberta · #4 08-10-2021, 11:39 PM

I do think it was a sheath that didn't bloom rather than a leaf - all of the growths have just one leaf, the leaf on the growth in question is nice and green.

Leafmite · #5 08-10-2021, 11:48 PM

From the picture, it looks to me like a flower sheath, especially since all the other pseudobulbs have just one leaf, which, if so, as already stated, may or may not contain buds. Some Cattleyas develop buds in dry sheaths so the sheath dries and the buds develop and eventually emerge. Others develop buds in green sheaths, some develop buds without sheaths and...there is much variation. Unless it is a species or popular hybrid, it is difficult to know what it will do. My advice is, if it is indeed a sheath and not a leaf, which it appears from your picture to be, to just leave the sheath alone.

If you have verified that it is indeed a leaf (I have had hybrid Cattleyas that have occasionally produced two leaves when most of the pseudobulbs have one), then you would probably wish to look into nutrient deficiencies.

Shadeflower · #6 08-11-2021, 08:19 AM

We'll have to see what the OP says.
To me this looks like it was bought straight from the shop, the new roots look a little stunted for whatever reason and this looks like a leaf not a sheath but if it is a sheath that's less worrying, I've just never seen a sheath that is longer than the leaf before..
But lets se what the OP says

Kaschmitz · #7 08-11-2021, 09:13 AM

Thank you all.

SouthPark · #8 08-11-2021, 04:49 PM

A few more pics could be handy here ------ as in ---- take a close-up of the red-circled region, so we can check out what's going on there.

And also take pics in the directions indicated by the red arrows ----- ie. pics that view the yellow portion from various other angles, such as from the top etc. More pics from various angles provides more information.

Kaschmitz · #9 08-11-2021, 05:14 PM

Okay, here are a few more pic.
Also, there are a few deflated pseudobulb, should they be cut off when I re-pot.
Thank you

SouthPark · #10 08-11-2021, 05:23 PM

Thanks for uploading those pics kash. Excellent shots.

They confirm that you have a sheath there. And - very importantly ----- it's well known that flower spikes and buds can still potentially emerge from even black-coloured or brown coloured or even yellowed (colored) sheaths.

The main thing is to don't worry about whether a spike or buds will form in any sheath. As long as you just provide satisfactory conditions for the orchid to stay healthy and have the potential to flower (good lighting etc etc), then that'll be great. And it certainly appears that your orchid is just fine ------ as it looks like it has new shoots that will be growing later ------ more bulbs.

When repotting ----- just cut off visibly dead (brown coloured) bulbs. Anything that is still green ------- is nice, as they can contribute to storage (of energy etc) for the entire plant to use.