You need to look at its background. There are people here with OrchidWiz and maybe someone will look it up. It may need a cool, rest period, dry, etc. Some of these mixes are tricky and you can have them for years, thinking the conditions are ideal, but with one factor off, you don't get blooms.

Hopefully, someone will check it for you,

Jane

Ok thanks for the tip.

So if someone has orchidwiz please help?

Lc Mini Purple is laelia pumila x cattleya walkeriana. I have Mini Purple "Lea", "Expo 84", and "Blue Hawaii" clones. They all bloom under my typical "catt conditions", no special care, i.e., as much light as I can give them indoors. I grow one in an east-facing bay window (w/glass on 4 sides), the others next to an east-facing window about 6 inches under fluorescents.

(Lea & Expo 84 bloom bright magenta-purple flowers and are a bit more vigorous than the Blue Hawaii which is a pale lavender blue.)

Not sure what's going on with your plant. With eighteen growths it is certainly big enough to bloom. (Mine bloomed with 3-5 growths.) It might need more light than the potinara...?

Thank you for the info. I will try getting is closer to the light. It has currently been about 6-8 inches away from a 45 wt CLF so I will move it a touch closer I am always surprised how much light some of these take.

Just looked at the local orchid society records i have kept for the last 10 years and Lc. Mini Purple 'Tamami' doesn't seem to have a particular blooming time. it has been benched in Autumn, Winter and Spring.

I agree, it is probably a light issue. Obviously your light isn't terrible but it just isn't getting past the tipping point. Thing is, 6" - 8" under a 42W is pretty close. I would be asking myself whether it is time to consider other options beyond simply trying to get the plant closer to the light. For example, run time. What is it presently? If you can add two or three hours to the runtime each day and still not go over 16hrs then it is probably better to do that. If you are already at 16hrs then it might be time to consider a 65W or even 85W CFL. Distance from the bulb can now remain the same or even increase slightly, especially at first when the change in light level will be most pronounced.

H

I have considered bigger CFL's the only reason I haven't is because I can buy 42 watt locally but will have to order bigger online. Unless I find someplace that has them soon.

Run time is generally around 16hrs I don't have them on a timer because they are in my bedroom and my wake and sleep times vary. Most days they get 16 hours though.

Being that my grow area is limited it may be better to hand this one off to someone and not disrupt what is working for the rest.

Another thing to consider is the age of the bulbs. They should be replaced periodically as they get weaker with age.

I am not sure what you mean.

It has grown about 3 new growths each year for the 2 years I have owned it.

Me, I am about to lug off at least 10 Cattleya's to my OS tomorrow night to auction off. They are large, well grown but too difficult to flower. Some have never flowered.

I realize, I can't provide the light they require to flower. I grow in my living room with octopus lights which are rated for 40 watts each. I cannot go larger.

I'm still hanging on to my favorites (they bloom) and making room for some new plants.

It all comes down to what you can provide in your environment. Can't drive yourself crazy.

Jane

I would have no problem getting rid of it other than it was one of the first and I am just glad I didn't kill it during my nube time. Of course my naïvety lead me to buying it in the first place. Maybe that one that doesn't flower will remind me to not get another.

Hi Jane. Sounds like George King will be finding a new home. A friend of mine at work seems to have very good luck blooming Lcs and recently Potinaras on her windowsill. She's convinced she can't bloom Blcs. I don't know whether that's true or not but maybe these have higher light requirements? Have you had luck blooming other Blcs?

To original poster - sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread. The question is pertinent to your issue, though.

John

Hi John, I was waiting to hear what happened to your sheath. It's too soon yet to know if you'll get flowers...right?
I just got back from OS meeting and brought 10 plants for the raffle. I left 'Georgie' home. I will give these growths another shot and then it will go. I have it directly under CFL's, so close I burned a leaf.

You should have flowers. You have the 'super-lights.'

I have lots of Blc's and get flowers. That's why I jumped in on your post. I can't get this one to flower. I have a bunch which flower 2x a year. So don't give up on Blc's. This one is different. I don't know why... remember - 'We won't be defeated!'

Jane

Glad you kept it Jane. Also happy to hear that you have other Blcs that bloom. I think that my friend just has it set in her head that she can't bloom Blcs.

The growth with the sheath still has a ways to go before maturity so I'm thinking spring. But it's not like I actually know from experience what it does, LOL. The growth is only big enough now that I can see the top of the sheath without looking down into the leaf.

Enjoy your new orchids,

John

No new plants for a while. Trying to downsize which is why I gave 10 plants for the raffle. Most likely Spring for your blooms.

Good luck,
Jane

Oops, I misread your email. I thought you'd bought 10 to replace the onces you donated.

Downsizing is great. 'Cause then you can upsize later!

J

do you think that maybe changing fertilizer, temp. or location would jolt the plant into some stress situation to bloom?
sue

You have nothing to loose. Sometimes threatening to dump them in the compost has done wonders. Try a temp change. I find light and temps can jolt a plant to perform. Sometimes starving it. Make a major change in conditions. Worse that can happen is its dead!

Sorry, very frustrated with my Blc.
Good luck,
Jane

L. pumila and C. walkeriana are both used a lot in compact cattleya breeding for the home grower. Both are small, both have the capacity of blooming more than once a year, neither are finicky about temperatures (but probably go towards the warm end), pumila is not a light hog, and the higher light requirement of species walkeriana becomes recessive when used in hybridizing.*

From pictures I see of Mini Purple, it blooms directly off of new, not fully mature growth, no sheath. So the problem is probably not anything obscure or mysterious. The most common problem with healthy plants not blooming is insufficient light.

* Alan Koch, Cattleyas for the Home Grower.

HTH,

John :>)

Going back to post 1 why this orchid was a whole dollar? It is the height of summer here and the only large flowered Cattleyas in bloom are some Blc's x walkeriana.

As for the beautiful Blc. George King 'Serendipity' I've never been able to grow it, let alone flower it.

Why is 'George' so difficult to flower. Someone must grow and flower it indoors.

Sorry, just had to vent...

Jane

Oh good, our little club is growing. We should do tee-shirts.

A couple of nights ago I actually *drempt* that I had a bud in the sheath of my GK. It was lovely while it lasted.

P.S. The sheath isn't full-sized. Not one of those little proto-sheaths, but not full-sized either.

John :>)