Laelia anceps - Dry sheath
 

Hello, my friends

What does it means to have a dry sheath in Laelias?
Is that normal or I won't have blooms this year?

Bump!

I have an anceps, but I honestly can't remember if it has ever bloomed from dry sheaths, sorry ...

Hope someone else can help!

Thanks for the reply Sonya.
I couldn't find any information about this, only that some Catts/Laelias bloom from dry sheaths while others don't.

Hello~
I have had a Laelia anceps for at years 9 years. It ocassionally produces "dud" spikes, and I don't know why. (we call them "practice" spikes) But, it also pushes out green living replacement spikes later in the season, which then bloom in late winter.
For L. anceps (mine is mounted on a chuck of oak branch) I find the I have to give it the most sun possible in the summer with daily showers from the hose and weekly feeding. I likes breezy weather and enjoys rain storms too. This is to mimic it's Mexican environment. Then in late fall and winter, the watering is cut back and it endures cool temperatures into the low 40s F, close to freezing, but not quite. Still as much sun as you can give it. It flowers for our society's February show.

Also, L. gouldiana, L. autumnalis, and their hybrids do well with the same 'harsh' treatment. These have been reliable bloomers for me in Massachusetts.

Good luck!
Maryanne

Full sun here in summer might be a killer. I'm giving it indirect light suitable to catts.
I'm not sure what caused this because all of the required environmental parameters were met except maybe the watering/misting which was too low.

It's the wrong time of year for blooming, so don't give up. It might flower from that sheath in November.

True but as I've read the flower spikes should be growing by now.
The plant has a second new growth with a new leaf and it hasn't a sheath yet. I've increased watering and misting to see what happens.

Patience is the key...together with creative experimentation.:biggrin:

Not the expected time for it butI wonder if this is a sheath...I've looked at my records and didn't find anything like this in previous growths.

https://s9.postimg.org/kjh8rlqpr/20180131_174351.jpg

https://s9.postimg.org/dt0ri50z3/20180131_174300.jpg

If that is straight L. anceps, the green sheath will probably develop slowly, may start to spike by the end of summer... but will still probably wait until next fall to bloom. (These can tease you for many months.) As far as full sun goes... L. anceps needs more light than nearly all Catts. I grow mine hanging above the Cymbidiums. I do have light shade cloth (40%) because my yard runs east-west, without trees in that area, so not only is sun brutal in summer, but it is that way the entire day, like 13+ hours. But these tolerate a LOT of sun, I think more than nearly any other orchid, even more than Cymbidiums. And as you can see, it does not like pots very much, growing so much better after it escaped. (Since they tend to outgrow mounts, I use wood baskets with little media, and the roots then grab the wood and sometimes wind around it which keeps the roots out of neighboring plants.