Cattleya evolution

[Phyrex]

So it's quite normal for catts to have waking eyes while the last p-bulb doesn't even have roots yet? And just branching out while it's been going straight across the pot for a long time?

[Diane]

Oh yes. I've got many that do that.

[clintdawley]

Hybrids are fairly crazy and unpredictable. Species catts are very predictable as to when they form roots and new growths.

For instance, my C. luteola makes scads of roots after sheath production and then blooms. However, C. warneri blooms and then forms roots on the lead pseudobulb.

You can imagine with such complex parentage (and hybrid vigor) that these chimeras have how interesting and variable their growth patterns are.


Does this plant have a name tag? If so, I can do a pedigree and find out the closest species ancestors.

[Phyrex]

It's a C. dowiana. You wouldn't usually find information like this on culture sheets would you?

[clintdawley]

I'm sorry..I seem to have lost the name in all those pages of scroll and I have a very short memory span when it comes to forum postings..

I'm going to share some information with you written about all the major Cattleya species written by a very experience friend of mine (Thanks Ki!)

C. dowiana: Costa Rica and Panama, warm, light not as strong as other sun-loving cattleyas such as warscewiczii or warneri, water well in spring and summer when slight ribbing of pseudobulbs is noted, blooms June-July and roots after blooming.

My seedling produces roots on mature pseudobulbs. It was just now transferred in a 4" pot and is probably 2 years away from blooming.

It might be difficult in Canada to provide this plant with the warmth it needs in the Winter unless you provide heat somehow. Temps from 60-85 F best year-round suit it well. Overwatering in the winter causes black rot that destroys the plant quickly. Many fine old cultivars of this plant were lost at the Kew Botanic Gardens.

Chadwick (famous Catt man) has written about this plant. You may be interested in this linK:

Cattleya dowiana

[wetfeet101b]

Splitting Eye covers
That is normal. That just indicates that the buds are swelling and ready to grow.
The "skin" that is splitting is just another layer of sheath that protects the bud while it was dormant.
I personally do not like to peel away the brown covers while the buds are still young. From my experience, I tend to damage the buds more than help them, specially if I accidentally scratch the bud or detach them from the plant.
Buds are very easily removed from the plant. Those sheaths help prevent that from happening.

White spots on the roots
Those are root nodes where secondary roots can grow from. I do not think there is a specific pattern on where they show up, but they can be all over the root system.
Think of them as dormant eyes for roots.

[Phyrex]

As suggested I kept an eye on my C. dowiana and I've just found out that the darkening/browning has continued to the crown of the leaf (or almost). How can I make sure it doesn't rot (if it even is rot) into the p-bulb. It might however just be the normal process of getting rid of the old sheath since all the other leaves don't have any remnants of any old sheaths (where as my other catt does have the remaining spikes)? What should I do to prevent any rot?

PS The brown parts are very very dry.

[Diane]

That looks perfectly normal to me. It's just the old spike and sheath dying off. Just keep water out of there - that goes for all joints and axils on any orchid.. don't let water sit in/on the plants.

[Phyrex]

Thanks Diane for the quick reply. I was worried since the sheath was acting weird before. I guess it's the the nature of the Catt. I'll be diligent to cut the sheath down by half right after it's bloomed and ensure the water stays out of it.

[wetfeet101b]

If the remaining parts of the sheath are dry and does not feel mushy, then it is ok. It will eventually dry up completely and seal off the crown.
The base of the leaf and the top of the pseudobulb looks healthy to me.

The second picture you have there looks like an unbloomed pseudobulb. This happens with cattleyas sometimes.
Maybe because the plant did not have the proper nutrients to develop flowers during the pseudobulb's growth stages. Or perhaps the developing spike actually died while still in sheath.