flower bud without sheath?

[Ania]

My Catt. Portia Cannazzaro has bud growing without the sheath. Does this kind of thing happen often with Catts? It did have the sheath last year...

A

[orchid-man]

Yes, it does happen quite often.

[Ania]

Good! I wont worry then and just wait for the flower. And wait, and wait, and wait...It is taking sooo long!

A

[Jmoney]

usually on young plants that can't make up their mind. also the blind sheath, that produces no buds, also on younger plants not quite fully mature.

[Mahon]

Yes, I will agree, this 'naked bud' thing happens sometimes... =)

(except I have never been able to bloom them without a sheath, they yellow off pretty fast...)

-Pat

[Ania]

So sad to hear that! There were two buds at first. One turned yellow and fell off, but the other one keeps on growing. I will let you know if it makes it or not.

A

[ThirdDayOrchids]

I just had a catt finish blooming off two new growths both had no sheath and both had two flowers.and also have two others that have sheaths but no buds.
jason

[Ania]

Well, the flower bud made it into a flower! I am very happy with it. It has a yummy fragrance that reminds me of jelly beans. Hopefully it will have more flowers next time.

I especially like this plant, because it is a true rescue catt. I picked it up from the rejects pile after an auction in local OS club 5 years ago. It was completely wilted, but still green. It came back from death for me and it turned out to be a beauty!

A

[Piper]

Very nice, Ania!

If that was its first blooming, then you can expect more flowers next time as the plant grows bigger and stronger. Just make sure to increase watering during spike and bud formation.

McJulie

[Ania]

You are right Julie, under-watering was most likely the reason for the under-flowering (is there such a word?). I don't water enough and fertilize very infrequently. I know my plants would flower much better if I did a better job. Something for me to work on.

A