Jump Starting Rlc. Williette Wong 'The Best' AM/AOS

[K-Sci]

I have a Rlc. Williette Wong 'The Best' AM/AOS I just purchased from Chadwick and Son. It has a lot of growths, and three new leads, all blind! What should I do to jump start the flowering on this beautiful yellow flowered reluctant bloomer?
Also, does anyone know the season it should bloom in?

[estación seca]

I haven't grown this to maturity (a very small mericlone got eaten) but to me it doesn't look mature enough to flower yet.

[Shadeflower]

to me it looks pretty big. I count it being 9 bricks tall so I am guessing 45 cm tall, 60cm with the pot.

If you compare that to other blooming sized plants like this one I think it looks mature enough Rlc Williette Wong 'The Best'

It's so big I think it could do with a bigger pot.. Based on that post it looks like it's blooming season is now which means this one has missed it and could do with a bigger pot.

[SouthPark]

That latest new bulb developing right now could possibly get a spike. Fingers crossed!

[Fairorchids]

It is a well known reluctant bloomer (I have much better luck with it's progeny).

My first shipment was all mis-labelled. My second shipment came in some 4-5 months ago, so I do not have much actual experience with this clone yet.

[WaterWitchin]

JScott is a buddy (the one ShadeFlower shows the blooms from in his link). I'll ask him to chime in if he has time. It definitely looks mature enough to bloom. Maybe he'll have some tips?

[K-Sci]

Attachment 154061

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

to me it looks pretty big. I count it being 9 bricks tall so I am guessing 45 cm tall, 60cm with the pot.

If you compare that to other blooming sized plants like this one I think it looks mature enough Rlc Williette Wong 'The Best'

Shadeflower, you're not far off. Without the camera parallax the largest growth on this plant is 38cm, sans pot, which is on the small side, but I think the growths are mature size. I attached a photo showing my WWtB alongside one of its parents, Blc. Toshi Aoiki. From the photo we can see that the hight difference is mostly due to the minuscule pseudobulbs on the WWtB.

The WWtB you linked us to flowered the first time with at least 7 visible bulbs and the flower is huge in proportion to the plant. If the small stature and bulb size of the WWtB means it requires 6 or 7 full size healthy growths to support the flowers. This would explains why all the growths on my plant are blind.

My WWtB has three leads, left backside and right in my OP photo. All three lead away from a couple dead bulb stubs at the pot center. My plant is actually three unconnected plants with 4, 5, and 5 bulbs respectively.

So, Estación seca, I suspect that you're right. My plant has a lot of growths, but it is three plants, none with enough mass to flower.

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

It is a well known reluctant bloomer (I have much better luck with it's progeny).

Kim, I've also heard that WWtB is notoriously reluctant to bloom. Perhaps the small stature and pseudobulbs along with very large flowers means WWtB needs more bulbs than most cattleyas to support the enormous flowers. The repetitive setback that occurs when dividing and repotting, and dividing plants into 4-5 bulbs could explain why many growers conclude that WWtB is a reluctant bloomer. Only the largest plants can support their flowers. Is this consistent with what you've seen?

My plant does need repotting. To minimize the setback, when new roots emerge, I'm going to remove loose media and move it up from the 5-1/2" to an 8" pot with straight Orchiata. That should hold it for 3-4 years. I'll put it in a bright spot in the greenhouse, fertilize and KelpMax well, and see what happens next summer.

-Keith

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

JScott is a buddy (the one ShadeFlower shows the blooms from in his link). I'll ask him to chime in if he has time. It definitely looks mature enough to bloom. Maybe he'll have some tips?

That would be great! It looked like his plant might have been grown indoors, which can make it harder to get a plant to flower to start with.

-Keith

---------- Post added at 10:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 AM ----------

Originally Posted by SouthPark

That latest new bulb developing right now could possibly get a spike. Fingers crossed!

That is definitely still possible. There are three leads and three opportunities.

-Keith

[Shadeflower]

3 plants in one pot isn't too bad. Generally with any new Cattleya I have to wait for a new bulb to grow before it can flower. If the new bulb grows smaller than the last one then it needs to get stronger first, if the new bulb grows big and strong there is usually a good chance it flowers.
So if it is 3 individual plants you will just have to wait and see how the new bulbs develop. You'd be surprised at the black rotten looking eyes that have sprung back to life on some of mine, seemingly coming back from the dead so sometimes just the outer layer goes black and there is still something alive underneath.

But I also have my fair share of troublesome Catts. I think my most troublesome so far has been a Ports of Paradise. You don't really see many people regularly post pictures of that variety but maybe that is just my imagination because it seems to be a bit more picky than my others. JScott grows that one too incidentally

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

My plant is actually three unconnected plants with 4, 5, and 5 bulbs respectively.

That could possibly be the reason - as in what we observe is not a plant. Instead, there are three individual plants. But the nice thing is that each one now has a significant number of bulbs. So definitely getting there.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

JScott is a buddy (the one ShadeFlower shows the blooms from in his link). I'll ask him to chime in if he has time. It definitely looks mature enough to bloom. Maybe he'll have some tips?

This is one of my all time faves. It looks like it's about ready for its first bloom, size wise. Looks like a happy healthy plant, it just may need a little more time. It seems like it takes this one a little longer to start blooming than most Catts, and yes it can be a reluctant bloomer. Mine blooms at any time of year. All of the new growths have sheaths, but only some of them will bloom, and as far as I can tell, there's no way to predict who will bloom and who will not.

Just be patient. That's a healthy plant. It will bloom when it's ready.