Cattleya: Flower Sheath and Dormancy.

[catwalker808]

Manfred.
I think you got some of us a little confused. I know that I had a very different impression of your growing conditions, until your last post (above). Your country flag says Germany, so I logically assumed you were from a temperate climate. Now out of the blue, you mention that you grow in Java/Indonesia (which is half a world away from Germany) and a totally different climate.

In any case, my comments were for C dowianas specifically and for many Cats in general. My comments about canes hardening off were more intended to address maturity of the canes ... soft immature p bulbs become harder mature pbulbs. The color can vary, of course, depending on heat, light and moisture ... also on how much a grower fertilizes.
Your proposed plan of action seems like it should work in your year round warm climate with wet and dry seasons. Good luck.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Manfred Busche

When the mentioned C. dowiana arrived, it had 3 pseudobulbs, it's roots damaged in transport.
I placed it in a clay pot with big holes, on top of chunky pieces of fir bark and hung it into light shade and, after the first new leaf shoot sprouted and had developed roots, subjected it to my Stanhopea regimen - spray until drench with water laced with fertiliser, every day if the day is sunny ...
Within 2 years this plant has grown 16 pseudobulbs + 16 leaves + lots of active roots. Few roots grow into the fir bark, most grow sideways to be 'air roots'. Customary for this plant, each leaf comes with a flower bud sheath, which dries up after some 4 weeks ...

Manfred,
I have read many times that dowiana does not require much fertilizer at all. In fact, Ive read that if you grow in bark, you don't really need to fertilize at all. The average Cattleya needs waaaay less fertilizer than the average Stanhopea, so your Stan regimen for your dowiana is probably the reason it does not bloom. Over fertilization will often cause lots of green growth with no blooms. As for the dormancy, your dowiana will bloom on a green sheath. Mine is currently in bud now and showed its buds through the sheath before the pseudobulb was fully finished growing. If you have green sheaths, do not fertilize!!!!!! It will prevent blooms!

Originally Posted by Manfred Busche

catwalker808 says (!THANKS!) that C. dowiana is "seasonal" and that flower sheaths indicate that flowering would be forthcoming in "summer", and that the pseudobulbs (canes) need to harden / ripen...
(a) In nature, the proces of "harden & ripen" probably occurs when the plant undergoes a dry season ...
.....I have 2 seasons here :: a rainy season and a dry season; I could easily subject a Cattleya plant to a
.....DRY SEASON, if that would cause the plant to flower.
(b) However, the plant in this photograph shows very neat and pretty pseudobulbs, color like Granny Smith Apples,
.....which obviously have undergone no "harden & ripen", but ló and behold (!!), the plant does flower !!
.....But - does it do so regularly / every year ??

My conclusion ::
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Any adult species orchid should regularly flower once every year.
To persuade my C. dowiana to do so, I will subject it to a DRY SEASON, so that the pseudobulbs can harden and ripen,
as catwalker808 says ...
Thanks to you all.

While catwalker808 is correct for some species with regards to requiring a period of 'hardening' before blooming, you never mentioned what species of Catt you were asking about, so the answer CW808 gave may not have suited your particular needs about a dowiana. This species will bloom on growths just finished growing and does not need to 'harden' its bulbs before blooming. Cut back on fertilization and my guess is that you will get blooms for your plant.

P.S. You also mentioned that your dowiana's roots do not grow into the media. This means that your media is most likely too wet for the roots. Dowianas like to dry pretty quickly after watering. All of mine are in baskets with large chunk bark and tend to dry very rapidly after watering. You might want to mount yours, put it in a basket or give it less water that it is currently receiving.

[boytjie]

Originally Posted by catwalker808

C walkeriana produces slender canes in year round warm climates. In temperate climates, the canes fatten up and become very rounded.

Aha, that explains the differences! Really interesting info! I have had gotten three Walkerianas over the past six months from different vendors, and wondered why the pseudobulbs were so varied in shape. The semi-alba's bulbs are long and thin, the alba's are like fat little marbles, and the coerulea's are in the middle. Thanks for clearing up the mystery!

[Manfred Busche]

Despite the confusion (sorry), I feel that you have been able to give great advice and I thank you for that...
I must confess that there is a back story :: I am more interested in Stanhopeas & Coryanthes than in Cattleyas - but
my wife loves Cattleyas and asks me (pointedly) why I can't get ours to bloom ...
Hmm ... after C. dowiana now being understood, what are the preferences of Cattleya persivaliana ?
Same case, this one also hangs near the Stanhopeas and gets treated the same as C. dowiana (see above), except
that it is planted in an empty 8' x 8' x 4' deep slat basket. The plant grows 3ft long roots out of and through the basket
but has produced, unlike dowiana, only 1 leaf shoot per year. This plant also, after it's arrival 1 year ago, has yet
to flower ...
Some more advice ??

[isurus79]

Oh, I forgot to mention the fact that the most common reason Catts (and orchids in general) do not bloom is lack of sufficient light. Both dowiana and percivaliana are high light species. If you are growing them under the same lighting regimen as your Stans and Corys, they are probably not getting enough light. Do you have any pics of your Catts?

[Manfred Busche]

Hi ...
To-day I have taken my C. dowiana down from it's perch, have cleaned up this & that, here & there, and
have relocated it to a new place high-up in the non-fertiliser area.
No misunderstanding though ... there is nothing limpy or spotty on this plant, which stands 16in tall,
showing 16 apple-green leaves ++ new growth...
All of you, I believe, would appreciate this plant ...

Awaiting the flowers and thanking you all,
Manfred.

1.) PS :: "SP2340" deserves a special salute for having revived this more-than-1-year-old post ...
2.) PS :: No photographs available, sorry, as I am awaiting the opportunity to purchase new equipment.

[ToddsterVonCattMan]

Manfred, all the advice here is good—lots of light (as in light apple green leaves) for dowiana, and a little fertilizer while in active growth only. During its dormant season (September to March in the northern hemisphere), try to keep dowiana as dry as possible (and of course NO fertilizer). It's also a very warm grower, and does best if temps never, ever, drop below 18C/65F at night. It's also notorious for being fond of heavy air circulation.

Of all the Cattleyas, dowiana is the most like growing a Vanda...

[Manfred Busche]

I am glad, ToddsterVonCattMan mentiones the term "dormant season", which was my original subject when I placed
this post a year ago ...
Anything more, relative to orchids, on "dormant season, Dry Period etc." ???
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The capability to become dormant, more or less so, in nature enables certain living organisms to survive
long lasting, life-threatening adverse weather contitions.
Orchids with bulbs and pseudobulbs (Cattleya) obviously do have those bulbs to cope, in nature,
with a Dry Season, right ? - No Dry Season occurs = no bulbs required (see Bollea, Phalaenopsis) ...

If in cultivation our regime does not provide for an "artificial Dry Season" to a Cattleya plant,
are there adverse effects on the plant ?
Example: see what happens if a chain-smoker gets his cigarettes taken away ...

In Florida they grow lots of Cattleyas. What do Cattleya growers there do during the Florida Dry Season ?
I have a year ago politely asked this question to Ruben In Orchids. He did not answer ...