I finally have some sheaths - Orchid Board

emg53 · #1 05-22-2015, 10:54 PM

I have been growing orchids for a little over 2 years and started with several small Catts. Two were seedlings from our trip to Hawaii and the other 2 were bag babies. I got tired of waiting for blooms so I purchased two blooming catts. One of the catts was quite large and after it finished blooming I divided it into four plants. All four plants have new p-bulbs coming up and I noticed yesterday most of them have sheaths

(this plant bloomed in Jan)
My other catt that had blooms has two new p-bulbs but they don't seem to be getting sheaths. The leaves are fully open and there are even new p-bulbs just starting to come up at the base of each of these new p-bulbs. So does this mean that those two p-bulbs won't get flowers? This plant was blooming in Oct. so I assume it should bloom around that time.

Cntry · #2 05-22-2015, 11:08 PM

Hi EMG, Can you tell us what kind of Catts you purchased and what the seedlings are. This way maybe someone can help you a little more with answering your questions. I know different Catts bloom at different times of the year. So it all depends on the type you have.

emg53 · #3 05-22-2015, 11:37 PM

The catt that has all the sheaths is a BLC Mildred Hollingsworth "Sun Bulb" which was blooming in Jan when I bought it. The other I bought in Oct and it was blooming but the two new p-bulbs don't have a sheath. That one is a LC Blue Boy " Gainsborough". Both are bifolate but the new leaves seem to have only one leaf.
My smaller catts are probably just too young yet although My George King serendipity is now producing 2 p-bulbs at a time. The two new p-bulbs look fully grown with no sheath and there are two new p-bulbs just starting.

silken · #4 05-22-2015, 11:56 PM

Usually you will see the sheath as soon as the leaves open up. Often the sheath can be there for many months before it actually blooms. I looked up your two Catts in Orchid Wiz. They are both lovely crosses.

Mildred Holligsworth is a very complex cross with a lot in its background. Often when they have bi-foliate and uni-foliate parentage in their background they can produce one or the other, so it could have one leaf or two. Also some produce sheaths sometimes and just a bare spike other times. Some of my Catts don't show a spike until the growth looks pretty much mature. If you are getting a sheath, you will see it right away tho.

The Blue Boy is made up of 4 species. 2 have single leaves and the other two have 2 to 3 leaves. So again, you could see either. It has been awarded a few times and it does seem to bloom mostly in Oct. Nov. time frame, or at least that is when people are showing it and winning awards. So it may have a real regular bloom time. And I could see a sheath in a lot of photos, so it may have a sheath most or all of the time. Often if they don't bloom, it is not getting enough light.

emg53 · #5 05-23-2015, 08:54 AM

Thanks silken for looking up my two catts on Orchid Wiz. They both should be getting enough light as they they have been outside in partial sun (covered during the middle of the day) since March. Since I am in Florida we are now getting into the 90's everyday so they now get watered once a day at 9 AM.
I am really thrilled that the Mildred Hollingsworth has so many sheaths since that was my first division and I landed up with 4 plants. The one from the oldest back bulbs is suffering a little from heat stress since it hasn't grown too many roots yet. I put it back in the house. It has one new p-bulb with no sheath yet and is growing roots. The p-bulb is small still so I am hoping it will get one. It is in a west facing sliding glass door so it gets plenty of indirect sunlight.

silken · #6 05-23-2015, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emg53

Thanks silken for looking up my two catts on Orchid Wiz. They both should be getting enough light as they they have been outside in partial sun (covered during the middle of the day) since March. Since I am in Florida we are now getting into the 90's everyday so they now get watered once a day at 9 AM.
I am really thrilled that the Mildred Hollingsworth has so many sheaths since that was my first division and I landed up with 4 plants. The one from the oldest back bulbs is suffering a little from heat stress since it hasn't grown too many roots yet. I put it back in the house. It has one new p-bulb with no sheath yet and is growing roots. The p-bulb is small still so I am hoping it will get one. It is in a west facing sliding glass door so it gets plenty of indirect sunlight.

You should have no problem getting sunlight in Florida! I think you did the right thing bringing the smallest one in. Until it has some roots from the new growth to help support the older parts, it likely will be a bit stressed in a lot of sun and heat. I have some divisions too and the older leaves are all a bit leathery since roots were old. But new growths are growing on them. Till then I try to protect them a bit.

tucker85 · #7 05-23-2015, 12:18 PM

The pseudo-bulbs that don't have sheaths probably won't bloom. On rare occasions a cattleya will grow buds and bloom without a sheath but it doesn't happen often. Some cattleyas will produce one new pseudo-bulb per lead each year and some will produce two. The cattleyas that produce two psuedo-bulbs may only bloom on the last one. Depending on the DNA of the plant, some don't bother to produce a sheath on the first pseudo-bulb but only on the one that will bloom. Some of the best cattleyas will grow two pseudo-bulbs per lead and bloom on them both. I have one cattleya with 6 leads and 2 pseudo-bulbs per lead and it blooms with up to 3 flowers on all the new pseudo-bulbs. Those types of plants are rare though. I'm not a fan of dividing cattleyas. The larger the plant gets, the more stored energy it will have and more potential for blooming. I just move them up to a larger container and I try not to disturb the roots too much. Good luck. Post some pictures when they bloom.