Bud crowding
 

I've seen this a bunch lately with all of the plants that are growing flower spikes or those that I have received in spike. The buds are all growing on the same trajectory and since the blooms are fairly large they battle each other to open.

I had a phal drop almost all the blooms because they were so crowded. Currently, I've got a catt that is starting to bloom but all the flowers are competing with each other.

Can anything be done or is it is what it is? A few other catts I got from Carmela's are in bud that are closely bunched, I'd like to give them the best opportunity to bloom to their potential!

Pic of Blc. Hawaii Island Bride '#34' getting squeezed, middle most bud still to open!

I would not "re-orient" the direction of any buds that are forming. It tends to really get them screwed up.
What I have seen done that seems to work pretty well for spreading the buds to give each better space to develop is to stuff chunks of spun wool (that stuff they use for stuffed toys) between the bases of the buds. It's soft to prevent damage but dense enough to provide support.

Inflorescence growth may have “stalled” due to the shipping environment or the change to yours. Nothing can be done about it. If that was the case, future flowerings should be fine.

It may also be that the plants are predisposed to tight groupings.

Thanks for the info guys, I had a feeling that the shipping may have had something to do with the cattleyas looking like that. I also think that the particular environment of my grow space affected the phals this year. Its a little cramped so the flower spikes have to grow at lower angles, seemed to cause the buds to get wonky.

I make notched pieces of cardboard to spread the buds. They look like little weaving shuttles. I will also sacrifice a bud if it helps the inflorescence present better.

Probably the latter farley. But then again, if in advance there appears to be our own definition of an over-crowding scenario, then we have the choice or option to remove particular buds or flowers. But with no human hands intervention - which is like out in the wild - we will typically get the 'it is what it is' situation.

I took this photo this morning - and there was definitely some push and shove for at least 1 of the pairs of the flowers on a catt hehehe. Click Here.

It is common for plants that shipped in bud to have assorted issues.

There are some plants, which always have problems. This is mostly found in seed grown plants (nobody meristems a plant that habitually displays flowers poorly).