sometimes you need to cut the sheath...
 

You will probably notice that Catleya blooms are very sharp and pointy so they will penetrate the sheath when they need to. But sometimes spike gets folded up in the sheath and starts to grow the wrong way, then you need to do a little emergency surgery and cut a hole in the sheath.

Don't do it until its super obvious there is a problem, doing it too early can kill the spike, but not doing it when its needed can lead to trouble too. If you hold the plant up to bright light you can see the spike and buds through the sheath, and if they are bent right around in a upside down U or S shape you might want to intervene. I have a no-id cattleya (my first non grocery store orchid) that seems to have a habit of doing this.

(That was for the OP, not you Roberta, obviously.)

Hi guys,

When I woke up this morning my Cattleya had black spotting/darkening on its petals. I installed grow lights over the weekend, but they're low-intensity and very barely put off any heat. The Cattleya is about 6-7 inches (from the top of the uppermost petal) below those lights. The blooms have been active for about a week and a half. I know Cattleya blooms are pretty short-lived. Do you think the browning is just the beginning of the flowers dying or do you think the grow lights burned the petals? Thanks for any help. I've got two other orchids currently blooming on the same shelf; wondering if I need to move them to a different spot so they don't potentially run into the same problem.

I think that's just the natural fading of the flowers. A more mature, stronger plant may be able to hang on to its flowers a little longer, but they really don't last long. Also, the plant (and buds) have been through the shipping process, then the plant's environment changed and it had to readjust. All of those factors will also shorten flower life since the stress the plant. Once the flowers fade, it's time to think about those roots...

Thanks Roberta for replying :) It seemed like it was such a fast transition though, Friday and Saturday the lip of each bloom was fine; although the edge browning was there. And then when I woke up this morning, the darkening/browning of the lip was very noticeable on each one. I moved it out from under the grow lights because I was worried. Do you think I should put it back under them? These are the lights I bought:https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Sunl.../dp/B08NX1N3YJ.

When Odom's sent me this orchid, they told me not to repot until next Spring. My order of potting mixes and pots from repotme is being delivered today (I'm looking to repot a couple of ones that I got from that big Hawaiian order a couple of weeks ago) Do you think I should go ahead and repot this one once the blooms fall? Currently this Cattleya is in a pebble media. The Cattleya potting medium I bought is this: Cattleya Imperial Orchid Mix

– rePotme

Do you think the transition to a new media type will hurt it? Also (sorry for all the questions!) but, on some of the pseudobulbs, they seem to have a mix of lighter and darker areas. Like, the pseudobulbs got "wet" but haven't dried so to speak. I'll take a picture of what I mean when I go home for lunch today.

If the mix includes pebbles, it is fine, follow Odom's advice - best to pot when you just see new roots. It's all about roots. That's the time to make any transition unless there's an emergency, and there appears that there isn't one. So for now, just leave it alone. Observe, when you see roots just starting, that's the time to repot. (Some of the yellow hybrids, that have a lot of C. dowiana in them, will root in the fall. But this one is likely complex enough that other ancestors dominate the rooting season. So observe, observe, observe.)

I am not familiar with those particular lights, but in general, just give the plant it's regular culture... The first bloom in your care is no indication of any problem. Flowers don't take well to a lot of change, not a big deal.(Often they blast after shipping... you're lucky you got to see the flowers!) The plant has been through a lot, now just care for it, and don't fuss over it too much. (Moving it around doesn't give it a chance to adjust to anything)

I'll move it back this afternoon and just observe the roots like you said and leave it be. I suppose I was probably just worried about the timing of the lights being installed this weekend coinciding with the darkening of the petals.

Just chant my mantra, "Orchids teach patience" :) when you are tempted to mess with it.

Roberta, this is the petal tonight. I’m trying my very best to not stress lol but is it normal for the petals to turn black like this? :(

Another pic.

Flowers are on their way out. Force of nature. It was shipped in bud, so you did get the instant gratification of seeing what the flowers look like. But now you need to let the plant adapt to its new home, so that you will get flowers again and again. And later blooms, on a healthy and happy plant, likely will last longer (and have better form too) So concentrate on the plant, don't stress over the flowers. Your next big thrill will be beautiful new roots, probably in the spring.